International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE) ’06 Convention .. a trip report by Jan
Whenever I go to a TG conference, meeting or big group get together, I write a trip report to show the members of my support group, Mid-Hudson Valley Transgender Association (MHVTA), how it went. I, along with many others (I think there were 300 attendees), joined together at the recent International Foundation for Gender Education Convention (IFGE) in Philadelphia so this is a report about that. I also asked the several members or friends who live relatively local to our area and have attended MHVTA meetings if they’d provide their views to flesh out the report from their own experiences.
| Name | Where you live | How do you identify | Group Involvement |
| Mary | ½ hr. north of NYC | CD/TS | MHVTA |
| Sherry Prince | Newburgh, NY | TS | MHVTA |
| Patti | Lower Hudson Valley | TS | MHVTA, MENTA, Westchester GLBT Advisory Board, Donna Festa’s TG group |
| Edie Dee | Dutchess Co., NY | CD | MHVTA |
| Susan Cooper | Saratoga Spring, NY | TS Post-Op | MHVTA, SGA, Erie Gala/Sisters |
| Stephany | Albany, NY | CD | SGA, Erie Gala/Sisters, MHVTA |
| Rochelle | Orange Co. NY | CD | CDI (pres.), MHVTA |
| Marlene | Orange Co. NY | CD | 1st timer.. to be determined |
| Janice | Eastern Pa / NY border | TS | Various groups including MHVTA |
| Jan Brown | Dutchess Co. NY | CD | MHVTA, visit other places |
From the IFGE website:
“Transgender 2006”, our 20th Birthday Celebration, "Remembering Our Past Shaping Our Future" will be held at the Philadelphia Airport Hilton, Philadelphia, PA, April 5-8, 2006. There will be numerous seminars and workshops on various trans subjects, free time for networking, fun events, & a gala banquet on Saturday night.
Open to all! — Transgender, Crossdresser, Transsexual, Transvestite, Female to Male, Male to Female, Significant Other, Friend, Admirer, Helping Professional, Student, or Educator.” Note: there were also supporting folks including vendors, doctors, and presenters.
“There were lots going on at the conference —
To get the spirit of the convention, I asked the following questions: What was your expectation going to IFGE Convention & did it meet your expectation:
Edie looked forward to an educational, yet party-ous, experience and it was that. Patti wanted to meet Donna Rose and did and found the convention to meet her expectations and more while Susan and Stephany both felt it met their expectations. One thing Stephany wanted to do was meet old friends. Jan wanted to gain a better understanding of Gender Spectrum and she felt it did that well.
Sherry Prince was seeking resources for her transition saying "The (convention) resources were overwhelming and that was the problem. I had to make too many exclusions in order to attend what I felt was most important. Unfortunately I felt too many "like" presentations were scheduled at the same times. With the surgeons that worked out fairly well as that was my focus. But on other issues I had to make hard choices. I am not sure what the answer is to this. I just could not, obviously, be everywhere at once, although I tried. I heard second hand from someone that I was like a kid in a candy store and that is just how I felt.
The people I met in passing were also so important in sharing experiences with. I also had such a sense of connection to all the MANY groups, all supporting our path in our various communities, in gender education issues, in political reform, the science of transition, etc. There was such a sense of a growing coalition to meet out needs on so many levels. "
Check out the IFGE Convention web site for activities and schedules. Pictures (taken by Janice) aren’t up yet for ’06 but ’05 pictures can be viewed.
http://www.transeventsusa.org/ifge/index.shtml
The only real hassle our group had with the convention was arranging for rooms. Several “where am I staying” calls but it was eventually resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. If you arrived early, some members were able to tour Philly.
Edie was part of a group of 5 who made the historic Philly tour on Wednesday and had lunch at the historic City Tavern, and hit the dinner theater dinner on Thursday along with Patti and Jan and 40+ of our closest new friends.
A Paradox: Dr. Cerise & Dr. Alice at the Dinner Theater
Sherry on the other hand was focused on seminars and didn’t get there until Thursday and didn't get out until driving home on Sunday. Jan also visited Philly on Wednesday for lunch with another new friend Patricia & visited the William Way GLBT Center Library.
Rochelle said it was very entertaining and informative. She met up with Edie, Jan, Sherry, Mary, and Mandee and also went into Philadelphia every night to see the nightlife. I went with other CD’s to a family style restaurant and had a wonderful meal with friends old and new. The nightlife was fun and hopping in Central City and went to a wonderful jazz club on Saturday after the banquet.
Janice said “I was pretty well occupied by my job an event photographer. I really didn’t get to sit in on a lot of full sessions. However I did end up inadvertently gaining one very close friend at the event and met many very nice people, both new and existing acquaintances. I thought it was a very worthwhile event, which was also my opinion of the IFGE 2004 event I attended earlier.”
Everyone comments that the convention hotel was fabulous. Jan and others said the food was good and rooms were great.. very plush. The hotel staff was super! Edie was next to the elevators so it worked out to be easy on and easy off. It was a first class act and the convention logistics were well run by Kristine James (a tough but warm hearted task mistress)!
Here’s a peak at the entire schedule from the IFGE web site:
http://www.transeventsusa.org/ifge/tg06_schedule.shtml
Scenes from the convention at luncheons
Patti and Sherry
Janice, Jenna, and Namoli (TS performer) Janice the Photolady
What 2 or 3 things you most liked about the convention:
Patti felt it was a safe space with knowledgeable presenters. She rekindled old friendships and made some new ones while Susan liked the variety of seminars and on-site facilities. Stephany said “I go to the conferences for a totally different reason then the educational seminars. I go to see so many old friends that I only get to see so rarely.. old home week you might say. Also there's always a newbie that is very shy and at times quite intimidated and I always look for this and try to make them feel welcome and maybe give them a friend to talk to and help to get them acquainted with others that I know and there's always regular people at the hotel and it seems they are interested and approach to ask questions which is great and after chatting (generally over a cocktail) they not only have a totally different view of us, we get to educate them as well”. Edie loved the casino night on Friday, enjoyed the Saturday night dance and the dinner theater. Obviously she likes the party side more than the educational aspect. Jan liked meeting wonderful people and networking to many leaders she has only seen in print but never met before, the late night impromptu wine party, being Jan 24X6, and the dinner theater & Follies (on Sat. evening) were great! Sherry felt the conference far exceeded her wildest dreams. She was “overwhelmed with trying to sort out all that took place in such a short time as it was a “Pure sensory overload”. She had to make too many hard choices of where to go and what I had to pass up but it opened her world even wider with the resources and people I met than I thought was possible in so little time. I am glad to be back home with my family (referring to MHVTA) but am also overwhelmed with my road ahead as there are so many challenges to be met to reach my dreams”.
More scenes from the convention:
Seminar on support groups (Holly, Marisa, our own Rochelle, Cathy)
Alison Laing speaking to audience Alice Novik reading from her book
It was also mentioned that the community leaders were accessible and one could sit down and chat with them during the course of the convention.
Keeping with the theme, what 2 or 3 things did you least liked about the convention:
Sherry said it was all the sessions she couldn't attend all of them while Edie was disappointed by the small turnout for the Philly tour and there was a shortage of vendors (“no Glamour Boutique, what's up with that?”). She also thought there was a lack of CD directed seminars. Jan similarly felt the seminar content overloaded w/TS stuff and she wasn’t always sure where knowing where to go in the hotel (sessions were spread out throughout the entire hotel). Patti was surprised there were no talks for spiritual faith-based TG’s and no talks on TG-related family situations. Susan said the hotel was a bit out of the way for going downtown or needing to pick up anything other than an airplane.
What was most important to you now that you think about it?
Sherry felt being Sherry every waking moment without the luxury of throwing on a wig now and with all the make up and clothes changes that would provide a better sense of living full time than I have had the luxury to experience so far. She felt this challenging experience will only come to fruition for me when I have FFS so as not to rely on female "trappings" to be passable where my appearance on the job is in constant scrutiny by my clients and mostly in construction mode.
I have to say that the euphoric times are now less as reality of the "how to get there", meaning “Transition is sometimes daunting”. However the conference, again, was a huge "high" for me. Sharing the experience with my beloved friends made it more meaningful.
Edie said what's not to love about a week en femme and networking with the sisters.
Patti felt it was meeting itself and speaking to Donna Rose.
Susan said all the seminars were good.
Jan liked meeting lovely people who care and are doing something special and she saw the face of TG activism. She really liked talking to couples who care for each other.
Would you attend next year?
Patti said “Yes, you bet your ass.”
Jan said “Yes.. most likely.”
Sherry was unclear as she’s “making lots of changes for next year so it is hard to say. Maybe another day or half day of presentations as well as a better spread of similar topics as it was some times feast or famine. Attending next year depends a lot on where I am in transition then, but I expect there will still be a lot for me to learn then as well.”
Edie said “Yes, but would arrive on Wednesday. Now that I've done the pool party and the historic Philly tour, I'm good.”
Any changes you'd like to see made?
Edie wanted more nights with DJ’s, and more vendors because she felt she "needed more resources than IFGE thinks I do, hosiery and hair services, particularly." Patti said “No but I would like the correct exit in directions.” Jan wanted more program (CD/TS) balance.
More scenes from the Follies show on Sat. night:
