Manager's Report

by Phinn Borg

(The Gender Centre advise that this article may not be current and as such certain content, including but not limited to persons, contact details and dates may not apply. Where legal authority or medical related matters are cited, responsibility lies with the reader to obtain the most current relevant legal authority and/or medical publication.)

The past months have been very busy with the S.A.G.E., reports, meetings and research projects with other organisations, as well as organising events for the coming year and so on.

This year a significantly higher number of service providers and employers requested training from the Gender Centre, and there was an increase in student visits from TAFE and private colleges. Our drop-ins are also increasing in size so that soon there will be a lack of space available for these functions.

Then there has been organisation of an event for the 2010 Mardi Gras. The Gender Centre, in partnership with the Inner City Legal Centre, will be presenting the 2010 Transgender Film Festival at the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts. The festival will start at 11:00am and finish at 9:30pm. A long day, but worth it.

All the films are documentaries. One is in French, with subtitles ... "L'ordre des Mots" ("Binding Words"). This film addresses gender identity issues head on by questioning often unchallenged societal norms and by analysing the nature of oppression and repression faced by the trans and intersex communities in France.

"Screaming Queens" tells of the riots at Compton's cafeteria. This award-wining documentary deals with the little known story of transgenders and transvestites fighting police harassment at Compton's Cafeteria in San Francisco in 1966, three years before the famous riot at Stonewall Inn Bar in New York.

"Still Black" is an alternative feature documentary on the lives of six black transmen.

"She's a Boy I Knew" is guaranteed to be the most compelling D.I.Y., gender bending, feel-good film directed by a transsexual lesbian you've seen all year.

"Unravelling Michelle" delves head first into the gender-bending highs and lows of Michelle's male-to-female metamorphosis through the eyes of Michelle and those closest to her during the process.

"Trained in the Ways of Men". In 2002, transgendered Alameda County teenager, Gwen Araujo, was severely beaten, tied up and strangled to death by four men who had been with her at a party. This eye-opening documentary combines interviews with Araujo family members and legal experts, with footage from both trials (the first resulted in a hung jury).

There will also be two short fillers around the eight minute mark.

We are calling for volunteers from the community to help out on the day and to help on Fair Day. If you would like to donate some time to help, please contact me at the Centre (9569 2366).

And now it is that time of year when I take my leave and spend some quality time with my partner and our now almost grown-up teenagers. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and will have a Happy New Year. Stay safe and I look forward to seeing you in 2010.

Polare is published in Australia by The Gender Centre Inc. which is funded by the Department of Community Services under the S.A.A.P. Program and supported by the N.S.W. Health Department through the AIDS and Infectious Diseases Branch. Polare provides a forum for discussion and debate on gender issues. Advertisers are advised that all advertising is their responsibility under the Trade Practices Act. Unsolicited contributions are welcome, though no guarantee is made by the Editor that they will be published, nor any discussion entered into. The editor reserves the right to edit such contributions without notification. Any submission which appears in Polare may be published on our internet site. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, The Gender Centre Inc.I, the Department of Community Services or the N.S.W. Department of Health.