For the Center on Halsted's first International Trans, Queer, Intersex ( ITQI ) Day of Visibility celebration on April 4, the stage and stadium seating of the Hoover-Leppen Theatre had been removed and replaced by an array of sofas and candlelit tables.
Two DJs provided the music as transgender, genderqueer, gender non-conforming and intersex individuals of all ages and backgrounds casually chatted together, tried their hand at an open mic, a dance-off and even an impromptu game of Twister.
Approximately 180 people had RSVP'd for the event via Facebook. For organizer and Center on Halsted Trans Liaison Jessica Sage Celimene-Rowell, it was the culmination of an idea that began to take shape two years ago. "I wanted to bring the community together incorporating all trans and intersex experiences," she told Windy City Times. "We have such a variety of experiences within our community that we have to take into account to make sure everyone feels included."
"We need to do a lot more work on uniting our community," Celimine-Rowell added. "There are members who face challenges and struggles just to survive. We need to put our most vulnerable at the forefront of our demands and our focus."
Cary Costello, who coordinates the LGBT studies program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, traveled more than 90 miles to the event. "Celebration and visibility is really important," Costello said. "So much about the way people think about trans-issues outside of trans-culture is about invisibility. I don't think a goal of our community should be that none of us could ever find the rest of us because we can't see each other."
Livia Rowell-Ortiz is a student and trans-organizer in Milwaukee. "Everyone is scared of progress in Milwaukee," she said. "When it comes to transgender rights and pushing the envelope we're basically told, 'Now isn't your time.' In environments like universities, you have marginalized identities and you don't see the representation that trans students need—for example, when it comes to trans people of color.
"We're trying to dismantle aspects of patriarchy and confront the idea that your gender is known at face value—that there's an assumption to it and that you owe people explanations. An event like this is moving forward. It says, 'We are here and we can take cis spaces that are not traditionally for us and we're looking forward to forge something new.'"
