On this March 2010 Gender Blender, hosts Laura Calvo and Jacob Anderson-Minshall talked to women involved with Portland's POW fest, the ENDA legistlation lobby and a symposium on Feminist Pedagogy.
The show started with in-studio guest Tara Johnson-Medinger, producer of Portland, Oregon's women's film festival, POW Fest, talking about Kathryn Bigelow's Oscar Win and how female directors differ from their male counterpoints. POW Fest runs March 18th-21st and you can get tickets here. Tara tells us that LGBT audiences may be particularly interested in two short film collections this Saturday: The Many Faces of Womanhood and Rated M for Mature. If you'd like to hear Tara talk more about the festival, check out her appearance on KBOO's Feburary Behind the Screen.
Next the hosts spoke by phone with transgender workplace activist Jillian Weiss about the transgender lobby day and the hold up on ENDA (Employment Non Discrimination Act) legislation that would protect jobs for LGBT employees. This Thursday, Jillian's Transgender Workplace Diversity joins other blogs (including The Bilerico Project and Pam's House Blend) urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi to push the ENDA legislation forward. Jillian also called on the LGBT community to call Speaker Pelosi's office directly at 202-225-4965 to share their stories and tell her why it's so important that we get this legislation passed before the mid-term elections. After all, especially in this economic downturn, many of our very lifelihoods are on the line and we need those protections in law. So call, blog or share your opinion with your friends.
Last but not least, Jacob spoke with Sally McWilliams, director of Portland State University's Women Studies Department and Sally Eck, and instructor in the department. The two are the organizers behind April 16th's Symposium on Feminist Pedagogy, Social Justice & Diversity and talked about Feminist Pedagogy, how it differs from other teaching methods and what people can expect from the symposium. Some of the workshops include Feminism and Transgender Identity, The Pedagogy of Sustainability and Challenging Privileged in a Room Full of Privileged Students. The symposium is free and open to the public! Plus if you register in advance, you'll get a free lunch.
The show also featured music from Good Asian Drivers, "For Our Daughters" from their Drive Away Home album; "If You Can Dream It" by Athens Boys Choir and Namoli Brennet 's "Freedom Train," from the new album Black Crows.
Related links:
POW Fest http://www.powfest.com/
Jillian Weiss's blog www.transworkplace.blogspot.com
PSU's Symposium on Feminist Pedagogy, Social Justice & Diversity http://feministeaching.wordpress.com/about/
Good Asian Drivers http://www.goodasiandrivers.com/
Athens Boys Choir http://www.athensboyschoir.com/
Namoli Brennet http://www.namolibrennet.com/
- KBOO