Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

THREADS
screening & discussion
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
4:00pm – 6:00pm
Konover Auditorium
Dodd Center

A visionary leader in Bangladesh frees herself and hundreds of other women and families from poverty and social hardships by creating timeless works of art.

Torn from her family, her paintings, and her beloved Calcutta after the partition of India, artist Surayia Rahman finds a new life in Bangladesh teaching impoverished mothers to embroider her story-telling designs. An inspirational example of the power of art and the impact of empowering women and girls around the world, THREADS takes us on an intimate journey into the heart of an artist and celebrates an unconventional path to dignity and independence.

For more information, visit:
https://thedoddcenter.uconn.edu/2019/08/08/sept-17-2019-human-rights-film-series-threads/

The Out to Lunch Gender, Sexuality, and Community is a weekly academic lecture and discussion series with guest scholars and community activists from various disciplines examining a variety of topics related to gender identity, gender expression, and sexuality. Each semester offers a broad sampling of the areas.

The Fall 2019 semester is co-sponsored by the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department (http://wgss.uconn.edu).

This particular lecture is also included in the Suicide Prevention Week calendar of events, https://suicideprevention.uconn.edu


Today's lecture is entitled, "Understanding Suicide Risks Among LGBT Veterans in VA Care" and will be presented by Joseph Goulet, PhD (he/him/his).

Synopsis: Little research has examined LGBT Veterans risk for suicide. We hypothesize that LGBT status is a pre-disposing factor that increases risk due to minority status, the stress of prior and ongoing discrimination, including military sexual trauma, that may be increased due to proximal factors such as mental health and medical conditions, homelessness, a lack of engagement in care, system and providers lack of awareness of needs, among other factors. However, the engagement of LGBT Veterans in VA is difficult to estimate: sexual orientation and gender identity (SO/GI) data is not (yet) collected in a structured manner. We will use VA EHR data to identify LGBT Veterans to ascertain suicidal behavior(s) and assess risk and protective factors among LGBT Veterans in all gender, age, and racial and ethnic groups.

Biography: Joseph Goulet, PhD, is an epidemiologist and statistician by training, currently the Director of the Methodology and Biostatistics core of the VA’s Pain Research, Informatics, Multi-morbidities, and Education (PRIME) Center, and an associate professor of medicine at Yale. My research focuses on the impact of mental health conditions on the course of care and outcomes for Veterans with comorbid medical conditions. He has been involved in the design and conduct of large cohort studies using VA EHR data sources supplemented by patient surveys on topics including HIV, women Veteran’s health, and musculoskeletal disorders. He serves as a Principle Investigator on the current study for which he is presenting today, and works closely with his co-PI Dr. Qing Zeng on the informatics Aims.

Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunches

The Out to Lunch Gender, Sexuality, and Community is a weekly academic lecture and discussion series with guest scholars and community activists from various disciplines examining a variety of topics related to gender identity, gender expression, and sexuality. Each semester offers a broad sampling of the areas.

The Fall 2019 semester is co-sponsored by the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department (http://wgss.uconn.edu).

Today's lecture is entitled, "Intimate Partner Violence" and will be presented by Elliot Ruggles (he/him/his or they/them/theirs).

Synopsis: Gender, sexual and relationship violence have a history deeply tied to patriarchy and other forms of systemic violence and oppression. We will explore how these types of violence relate to an inequitable gender system. In the contemporary world, instances of gender and sexual violence function as microcosms of these inequities, as anyone interested in gaining power and control over others can quickly exploit vulnerabilities caused by systemic oppression. We will end by looking at how intimate partner violence interacts with other forms of oppression (classism, racism, etc.) and what steps minoritized communities have taken to lead the way around pursuing accountability and justice.

Biography: Elliot Ruggles holds a PhD in Human Sexuality Studies and a Master’s in Social Work from Widener University and is currently serving in the role of Sexual Harassment and Assault Resources and Education (SHARE) Advocate at Brown University. They have been organizing, teaching, running therapeutic groups, and conducting research in the fields of social work and sexuality for over ten years. Most recently he served as the Director of the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center at SUNY Oneonta. Before then, while living in Philadelphia, they gained clinical experience using trauma-informed and feminist modalities working with racially and socioeconmically diverse LGBTQ communities, adolescent parents, people in recovery from addiction, and children survivors of sexual abuse. Elliot is a fierce advocate for queer and trans people, strives for anti-racist practice and believes that liberation from oppression is the key to ending violence.


Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunches

This presentation is co-sponsored by the UConn Chapter of the GenUN UNA and UConn’s Student Health and Wellness.

The Out to Lunch Gender, Sexuality, and Community is a weekly academic lecture and discussion series with guest scholars and community activists from various disciplines examining a variety of topics related to gender identity, gender expression, and sexuality. Each semester offers a broad sampling of the areas.

The Fall 2019 semester is co-sponsored by the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department (http://wgss.uconn.edu).

Today's lecture is entitled, "You Can’t Change What We Never Chose: The Fight To Protect LGBTQ Youth From Conversion Therapy" and will be presented by Sam Brinton (they/them/theirs).

Synopsis: Research has proven that conversion therapy significantly endangers the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ youth. Despite these risks, conversion therapy is still practiced by licensed mental health professionals across the country. This conversation will educate about the movement to protect LGBTQ youth from the harms of conversion therapy as well as the ways in which everyone can help lead the charge for anti-conversion therapy protections in their workplaces and cities. This session will present an overview of anti-conversion therapy laws and policies, the coalitions working to enact protections, and the best practices for affirming LGBTQ youth as they are.

Biography: Sam is one of the world’s leading advocates for LGBTQ youth. They currently serve as the Head of Advocacy and Government Affairs for The Trevor Project, the leading national organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth. They are the founder of the 50 Bill 50 States campaign at The Trevor Project to end the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion therapy, first in the United States and then around the globe. As a survivor of conversion therapy, Sam has spearheaded efforts to submit legislation and promote public education in the hopes of protecting youth from its harms. They were the founding Co-Chair of the National Center for Lesbian Rights #BornPerfect Advisory Committee on conversion therapy and have spoken before the United Nations and Congress as well as testified on legislation from coast to coast. They have been featured in numerous media including a widely shared New York Times op-ed as well as The Washington Post, The LA Times, The Advocate, CNN, TIME, MSNBC, PBS Newshour, Huffington Post, and CTV in Canada. Sam uses they, them, or theirs as their pronouns as a genderfluid person.

Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunches

The Wolves are the best of the best. A pack of warriors protecting their undefeated record. But are they ready for the challenges they face on and off the field? The absorbing story of a high school girls’ soccer team combines the tumult of teenage self-discovery and the journey of finding your place in a group. Teamwork, competition and camaraderie of sport transcends the playing field in Sarah DeLappe’s compelling debut. A 2017 Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.