PFLAG Southwest Washington Newsletter-August 2019 1 | P a g e

Southwest Washington Chapter August 2019 Newsletter

Phone 360-562-0491 Email pflagswwa@gmail.com

Website: www.pflagswwa.org WSC Website: www.pflagwsc.org

Join us at our regular meetings:

Vancouver Meeting Second Tuesday, 7pm Children’s Home Society 1112 Columbia Street, Vancouver, WA 98660 Battle Ground Meeting Third Thursday, 7pm Mallard Landing Assisted Living (formal dining room)

813 SE Clark Ave

Battle Ground, WA 98604

Aug 13, 7pm-9pm. Vancouver Meeting

Program: Sgt. Julie Ballou will discuss Vancouver Police Department’s efforts in training officers in LBGTQ considerations. Sgt. Ballou spearheads the Vancouver Police LGBTQ training.

Our caring and sharing support group will follow.

Aug 15, 7pm-9pm. Battle Ground Meeting

Program: Caring and sharing support group and advocacy discussion.

2019 dates to remember:

September 10, 7pm Vancouver meeting

September 19, 7pm Battle Ground meeting

October 8, 7pm Vancouver meeting

October 17, 7pm Battle Ground meeting

In this issue: Upcoming LGBTQ Happenings

Annual Triple Point Picnic The Science of Gender presentation Vancouver School District’s Go Ready Festival Fourth Plain Multicultural Festival Peace and Justice Fair

Recent LGBTQ Happenings Vancouver USA Pride (Saturday in the Park)

National Night Out, Battle Ground Harvest Days Parade and Fair, Battle Ground

PFLAG National Opposes White Supremacy Research participation opportunity: PrEPping Parents for PrEP PFLAG National Convention

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Please join us at the

Annual Triple Point Picnic Tuesday, August 20, 5 pm

Esther Short Park

PFLAG Southwest Washington and the Children’s Home Society will put on the annual Triple Point Picnic for LGBTQ youth on Tuesday, August 20 at 5pm at Esther Short Park. Fifty-one youth and adults attended last year. The chapter provides sandwiches and water while members, parents, and friends bring salads, sodas, chips, and desserts.

Triple Point is for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and questioning youth ages 11-18. Triple Point empowers LGBTQ+ youth and allies by providing education, safety, support and acceptance. PFLAG partners with Triple Point in providing additional support for LGBTQ+ youth.

Parents and friends please bring salads, sodas, chips, and desserts

.

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Science on Tap presents

The Science of Gender

Wednesday, August 14

Kiggins Theater, 1011 Main Street

Doors open at 6:00 pm; Event begins 7:00 pm

Cost: $9.00 advance tickets, $10.00 suggested cover at the door

Beer, wine, popcorn, pizza slices, and snacks available

Overview:

Mention the word gender, and everyone has an opinion. We have been taught that gender is a social construct that determines behavior based on sexual anatomy. Biology focuses on the 23rd pair of chromosomes as if there is no variation in the XX/XY function. It all seems so simple, until we learn that it isn’t.

Program:

In this special Science on Tap, you will hear from both Dr Jena Lopez and Linden G. Jordan that chromosomes can vary widely with variations in results and why it is not useful to speak of sex and gender as the same entities. Sharing about fetal development and the many variations that occur that directly impact one’s anatomy and one’s sense of self where gender is concerned, this discussion will give new meaning to the words gender, transgender, gender fluid, intersex and queer.

Speakers:

Jena Lopez M.D. is a Board-Certified Emergency Physician, currently practicing in the Pacific Northwest. She started the Northwest Trans Youth Clinic, where she helps people hormonally transition so their bodies can be in alignment with their gender identity. Prior to opening the clinic, she spent three years learning by attending conferences and working with experts in the field, such as Johanna Olsen-Kennedy MD (at CHLA) and Keven Hatfield MD (at Polyclinic in Seattle). Dr. Lopez is also a member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. She has presented to numerous healthcare professionals on transgender health, in an effort to create awareness and help educate the healthcare community on how to better serve this population.

Linden G. Jordan, MA, JD has worked as an attorney, a mental health counselor and a professor in his career spanning 34 years. When he retired rather than taking up golf or going around the world, he transitioned from his assigned female birth gender to male. His lived experience will add meaning to the discussion about the Science of Gender. He is currently a board member of PFLAG and a member of the Speakers Bureau. He lives in the little town of Marblemount with his partner, three dogs, and several chickens.

Linden’s pamphlet Why I am Transgender will be on sale at the PFLAG table for $2.00

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Go Ready Festival August 20, 10 am

Hudson’s Bay High School

PFLAG Southwest Washington will participate in the 2019 Vancouver School District’s Go Ready festival starting at 10 am on August 14 at Hudson’s Bay High School. Go Ready is designed to help students get ready for school.

It includes food, entertainment, family-friendly activities, and information about early learning, employment, health care, housing and other resources such as PFLAG and the YWCA. In addition, school nurses give immunizations and school counselors will be present.

Fourth Plain Multicultural Festival September 7, 11 am-5 pm

Evergreen Park

Join PFLAG Southwest Washington in celebrating the Fourth Plain International District‘s annual Multicultural Festival. PFLAG is participating for the second year.

It is a free and family-friendly. There will be ten live multicultural music and dance performances, local food vendors, games and art activities, a raffle, a celebration of the new Fourth Plain wall murals, and booths representing local organizations.

Evergreen Park is next to a C-TRAN Bus Rapid Transit stop (The Vine) — walking, biking or taking transit to the event is encouraged as parking is limited. For maps of parking options go to www.fourthplainforward.com

Mark your calendar for the

Peace and Justice Fair September 14, 9am - 4 pm

Esther Short Park

The Vancouver Peace and Justice Fair will showcase the hard work and creative spirit of individuals, social justice groups, peace organizations, faith communities, performers, artists, businesses, and environmental activists who are making the world a better place. PFLAG Southwest Washington will be there.

PFLAGERs Dale Clukey, Linda Buckley, and De Stewart at

the 2018 Go Ready event. Linda provided Spanish

conversation.

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Vancouver Pride Saturday in the Park, Vancouver USA’s Pride Festival, celebrated its 25th aniversay on July 13th at Esther Short Park and PFLAG Southwest Washington was there again for the 25th year to add to the festivities. PFLAG vounteers tabled at the chapter’s colorful booth and passed out pride flags to kids and provided information about PFLAG to the adults.

PFLAGers Nancy Dresher, De Stewart, and Mary Wright tabled at our information both.

PFLAG member Gail Wolz featured in Columbian article

Vancouver’s Saturday in the Park Pride an ‘expression of love’

By Jake Thomas, Columbian political reporter Reproduced with the permission of The Columbian

Published: July 13, 2019, 9:21pm

Gail Wolz, of La Center, said she gave out a hundred “mom hugs” at last year’s Saturday in the Park Pride

event. Standing next to the PFLAG of SW Washington booth at this year’s Saturday in the Park Pride event and

wearing a “Free Mom Hugs” T-shirt, Wolz said she has a transgender son living in Bellingham that she can’t

hug as often as she’d like. So she came to Vancouver’s annual LGBTQ pride event held in Esther Short Park to

embrace her son by proxy, offering hugs to individuals who may not be accepted by their families because of

their sexual or gender identity.

“The least I can do is give a hug and a blessing and let them know they are loved,” said Wolz. By about 1 p.m.

she said she’d given out about 50 hugs with plenty of time left to offer more.

On Saturday, Esther Short Park filled up with booths from churches, nonprofits, grocery stores, health care

providers, political candidates, banks and other businesses. Children, senior citizens, families, couples and

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individuals walked through the park. They ate pizza, stopped at booths and checked out bands, dancers, drag

queens and other acts that took the park’s stage. Rainbow flags were everywhere.

Most pride celebrations are held in June to memorialize the Stonewall Riots that broke out in New York City in

1969 after police raided the now-famous gay bar. But Vancouver holds its pride event the second Saturday in

July to avoid competing with other events.

“This is more of a family event,” said Micheil MacCutcheon, chair of Vancouver USA Pride. Now in its 26th

year, MacCutcheon said that Vancouver’s Saturday in the Park Pride includes people from all walks of life and

gives people a better opportunity to get to know each other than similar events.

He said that the event has also grown. Last year, 54 businesses, nonprofits or other organizations set up booths

at the event, which he said grew to 106 this year. MacCutcheon attributed the increase to the negative tone

present at the national level with more local groups and individuals wanting to show they’re still accepting and

affirming.

“This is a wonderful expression of love,” said MacCutcheon. He said the event includes young people coming

out for the first time to friends, as well as families with kids in tow. “Wow. It’s just people enjoying life,” he

said.

While Vancouver’s event may be smaller than other cities, MacCutcheon said it’s still a party.

Wearing a visor, sunglasses and a hot pink shirt, Skyler Jones said he came down from Seattle to visit a friend

and check out an afternoon dance party at Heathen Brewing Feral Public House. “This is more intimate for a

smaller city,” he said.

This is the third pride event Lisa Capuano, of Camas, said she attended this year after traveling to Portland and

Victoria, British Columbia, for their festivals. She said she began volunteering with Free Mom Hugs and her

dog Murphy had a rainbow flag tucked into his leash. “I just discovered who I am this year,” she said, realizing

she is bisexual. She added, “This is a whole new world.”

Battle Ground National Night Out National Night Out is designed to strengthen community connections. Battle Ground’s National Night Out was hosted by Prevent Together: Battle Ground Prevention Alliance in partnership with the City of Battle Ground,

Battle Ground Police Department and Fire District 3.

This was PFLAG Southwest Washington’s first time participating.

Many people stopped by the PFLAG booth. Youth and adults got information or showed their support. We gave out many pride flags - popular as usual and met many people from the Battle Ground community. Some community leaders stopped by to thank us for being at the event. We are looking forward to doing it again next year. PFLAGers Eunice Ingermanson and Jessica Cole were featured in The Reflector.

Jessica Cole tables at the PFLAG booth

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Battle Ground Harvest Days Events

For the first time PFLAG Southwest Washington participated in Battle Ground’s Harvest Days Festival and parade. Eighteen PFLAGers and LGBTQ supporters, including PFLAG Washington State Council leaders, marched in the parade. Many people shouted out in support through out the route.

Later in the day PFLAGers tabled out our booth. They were visited by Battle Ground’s Mayor Dalesandro and Lt Fort of the Battle Ground Police Department. Fair goers stopped by to picked up pride flags and PFLAG and LGBTQ information. Also, many people thanked PFLAG for being there.

Battle Ground LGBTQ leaders Jessica Cole and Eunice Ingermanson spearheaded PFLAG’s participation. [DC1]

PFLAGers and allies get

ready to march in the July 20

Harvest Festival parade.

PFLAGers meet with Lt Fort

of the Battle Ground Police

Department at the Harvest

Festival.

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PFLAG National Opposes White Supremacy, Calls for Accountability Diego Sanchez, PFLAG National

PFLAG National signed on to this statement dated August 6th, led by The Leadership Conference on Civil and

Human Rights (LCCR), of which we are a member.

We share it with you in hopes of giving guidance to us all across the country during this extradordinary and

historic moment, even as the President plans to visit Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas today.

CIVIL RIGHTS AND GUN REFORM ORGS SHOW SOLIDARITY, DEMAND ACTION AGAINST WHITE SUPREMACY

Contact: Kristen Voorhees, voorhees@civilrights.org, 202.548.7166

WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Voto Latino, MoveOn, and 100 other

civil rights and gun reform organizations issued the below statement in response to the mass shootings in El

Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio:

“The tragedies of this past weekend represent a confluence of two dangerous forces: the rise of white

supremacist terror and our federal government’s inaction on commonsense gun safety. Both deserve

sweeping and consequential action by our elected leaders. Every person in our country should feel safe while

shopping, enjoying a night out with friends, attending school or religious services, or engaging in any other

lawful activity. Instead, white supremacist violence against communities of color, religious minorities, and

other marginalized communities continues to escalate under the administration’s watch.

“When the president and his enablers routinely denigrate and dehumanize certain communities, he gives

permission to white supremacists to commit horrific violence – violence that is at a level unprecedented in

more than 20 years. None of this is acceptable. None of this is normal. Our organizations are united in saying

that members of Congress can no longer look away as communities of color and religious minorities are

murdered with impunity. It is not enough for Republican leadership in Congress to offer thoughts and prayers,

nor should they repeatedly blame gun violence on mental illness – an unfounded and harmful trope. We must

all unite and demand accountability.”

There were over 100 organizational signatories, including PFALG National

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Research participation opportunity

PrEPping Parents for PrEP

Mon, Aug 5, 1:06 P\M

My name is Leishla. I am a Research Study Coordinator with the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing at Northwestern University. I’m currently working with Dr. David Moskowitz, our Project Director, on a project called Prepping Parents for PrEP – P3 for short.

The goal of this study is to learn more about how parents of gay, bisexual, and queer teen guys feel about PrEP and the kinds of information they need about it.

We believe that by educating parents they will feel more comfortable and empowered to have better conversations with their teens about how to stay safe and HIV negative.

We're looking for parents of young gay/bisexual guys who want to benefit their teens and themselves by participating in research. We'll be running focus groups centered around teen sexual health and parenting GBQ teens.

If eligible, participants will get to share questions and concerns with other parents and receive up to $80 for participating.

For more information:

Email to p3@northwestern.edu

Text or call to 224-306-9227

Visit the website at https://sites.northwestern.edu/preppingparents/)

All are welcome! Visit pflag.org/2019nationalconvention for more information and to register.