SUMMER 2016: FROM THE SECTION PRESIDENT

In my last column, I noted the ways in which your officers have been hard at work improving the infrastructure and functioning of Section IV to provide more opportunities for our members. Here are some updates on our progress.

Section IV has been successful in funding and developing four brand new awards for both research and travel. These awards will be given for the first time this summer and are focused on honoring our Early Career Psychologist and Graduate Student members. These important new awards are meant to facilitate the implementation and presentation of cutting edge sexual and gender minority research among feminist psychologists.

I'm also pleased to announce that our Graduate Student Committee (GSC), consisting of 6 members and the committee chair, is now active and fully functioning. The GSC has already been hard at work overhauling the Section’s social media presence and helping to select our inaugural research and travel award winners.

Section IV officers continue the process of updating our bylaws, with the first initiative focused on the ability to hold Section-wide votes electronically rather than via snail mail. Members have likely already received their ballots to vote on this initiative. Other proposed bylaws updates (e.g., a change to our Section name) will be circulated to Section membership for comment and vote this fall. As always, we welcome and encourage your feedback on this process.

Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to personally invite you to attend the many exciting Section IV events that will be held at the upcoming APA Convention in Denver.

• 8:00–9:50 am, Friday, August 5^th—Section IV was thrilled to be accepted this year for collaborative Convention programming focused on “Violence Toward the Trans* Community: Connection, Collaboration, & Community Action.” Join us in the Convention Center Mile High Ballroom 3B.
• 10:00–10:50 am, Friday, August 5^th—Please join Section IV as we collaborate with all Division 35 Sections for a roundtable discussion on “Living at the Intersection of Marginalization—Struggles & Resilience of Diverse Feminists.” Held in the Convention Center Mile High Ballrooms 2A and 3A.
• 3:00–3:50 pm, Friday, August 5^th—Join your Section IV officers for our annual business meeting and social hour, which will be held in the SPW/AWP Hospitality Suite. All are welcome and snacks will be provided!
• 4:00–4:50 pm, Friday, August 5^th—Immediately following our business meeting/social hour, Section IV will present its annual symposium: “Emerging Areas of Science, Practice, and Education with LGBTQ Women.” Held in the Convention Center, Room 707.
• 8:00–8:50 am, Saturday, August 6^th—Section IV and Section I of Division 35 have teamed up to present a symposium regarding “What to Know, What to (Not) Do: Working with Trans Women of Color.” Held in the Convention Center Mile High Ballroom 4B.

Please also make plans to join us at 4:00 pm on Saturday, August 6^th for the Division 35 Awards Ceremony, followed by our Division Social. Section IV will be presenting Dr. Marge Charmoli with the Laura Brown Award to honor her incredible contributions to the field of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women’s psychology. We will also honor our inaugural Section IV Research Award winners: Kaitlin Portz and Dr. Katina Sawyer. Read more about our award winners on pages 21 to 23. 

For those who are not able to attend the Convention, I would still love to meet and hear from you. Please email me. Share your thoughts on how Section IV can be most helpful to you and in continuing to address the major challenges within our community. As always, I look forward to speaking with you!

Jennifer A. Vencill, PhD (jvencill@umn.edu).

EDITOR’S NOTE

For the past several weeks our editorial team has been very busy preparing this issue of PERSPECTIVES — working diligently to get it out to you before the APA Convention. We received an unprecedented number of submissions this summer, and were thrilled to see so many thoughtful contributions from members of our section on a range of topics (pages 4 through 15). This summer issue of PERSPECTIVES also features a message from our president (page 3), information about the Convention (pages 16 through 20), biographical pieces about recipients of Section IV 2016 awards (pages 22 through 24), and announcements about professional development opportunities of interest to our members (pages 2, and 21 through 25).

While we were busy at work, on June 12th, we received news of the Orlando shooting, which took the lives of so many members of our LGBTQ and Latino communities. We remember and honor them by listing their names on our cover (page 1) and reflecting on the impact this event has had on our communities (page 4). Also in the last week, as we worked to finalize this issue of PERSPECTIVES, we received news of more tragic deaths resulting from senseless violence in Louisiana, Minnesota, and Texas. We are deeply troubled by this recent wave of shootings, and sadly recognize that there is still much work to be done to eradicate racism and other “isms” from our society. How can psychologists make a difference? We invite you to write about these issues and help us move the dialogue forward. 

Cristina Magalhaes, PhD (cmagalhaes@alliant.edu).

WINTER 2016: FROM THE SECTION PRESIDENT

Happy New Year! 2015 has been an exceptionally busy year for Section IV and, as my first year as President comes to a close, I’d like to use this space to provide you with some updates on the many ways that Section IV has been fulfilling our mission to develop and advance feminist approaches to sexual and gender minority concerns. 

First, I am proud to say that Section IV provided some fantastic programming at our annual APA Convention in Toronto (see page 10 for details)! Highlights include establishing what will become an annual symposium on “Emerging Areas of Science, Practice, and Education with LGBTQ Women” and holding a roundtable discussion on career concerns for graduate students and early career professionals in psychology. We are already in the process of planning for the 2016 Convention in Denver and hope to see you all there!

Your officers have also been hard at work reviewing and discussing ways to improve the infrastructure of Section IV. This has involved a thorough review and assessment of our (quite-dated) Section bylaws. An important proposed change involves the ability to hold Section-wide votes electronically rather than via snail-mail. Any and all bylaws changes must, of course, be voted on and approved by Section membership and, as such, you will be hearing a lot more about this initiative throughout 2016 as we work to update and improve the Section.

Intimately related to the process of updating our bylaws is growing concern as to whether the name of our Section (Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns) adequately conveys and represents a feminist vision of inclusivity and diversity. As such, Section IV officers have also been listening closely to member feedback around potentially changing the name of Section IV to something more inclusive. As with bylaw changes, any Section name change would necessitate a membership vote and this is something that we also hope to address in 2016. I welcome and encourage your feedback on this issue, including your ideas for a Section IV name that would feel inclusive and welcoming to all.

Another way in which Section IV officers have been working to ensure our mission is the development of several research and travel awards. Once established, such awards will facilitate the implementation and presentation of cutting edge sexual and gender minority research among feminist psychologists.

Finally, a critical piece of growing Section IV is ensuring quality leadership and increasing leadership opportunities. Currently, Section IV is in particular need of both a Program Committee and Awards Committee Chair. If you have interest in such roles (or others), please get in touch and we can explore opportunities that fit your interests.

As always, Section IV is committed to increasing dialogue, research, education, and activism around the critical issues facing the LGBTQ community (both inside and outside the field of psychology). Please consider sharing with us your perspectives and publications for inclusion in this newsletter! I look forward to hearing from you. 

Jennifer A. Vencill, PhD (jvencill@umn.edu).

EDITOR’S NOTE

If you are a feminist psychologist or graduate student with a passion for serving LGBTQ communities, there are several reasons why you should consider becoming involved with Section IV of APA Division 35. I can think of at least five without making an effort—meeting other like-minded professionals, participating in meaningful projects with others with the goal of fulfilling the Section’s mission, developing leadership skills, helping shape the future of the Section, and giving back to the professional and LGBTQ communities that sustain and inspire your work.

There are several ways you can get involved and most do not require a high level of engagement (see page 15 for details). One that takes little time is helping us disseminate information about the Section and recruit new members. Would you be willing to talk to your colleagues about the work we do and forward them a copy of Perspectives?

This issue includes a presidential report on 2015 APA convention activities, and a column (also by our president) about all the good work officers have been doing behind the scenes to plan for this year’s convention, support the professional development of our members, and fulfill our mission (pages 1, 7 and 10).  It also includes information about the newly formed graduate students committee, short columns and book reviews by several contributors, information about the upcoming AWP conference in Pittsburgh, and other announcements. We hope you and your colleagues will find this issue informative and engaging.

Cristina Magalhaes, PhD (cmagalhaes@alliant.edu).

SUMMER 2015: FROM THE SECTION PRESIDENT

In my last column, I discussed both successes and remaining challenges for the LGBTQ community. As I sat down to write for our summer edition, arguably the biggest piece of news has been the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges ruling in favor of marriage equality. Another major success! Congratulations to all the newlyweds, as well as to those couples whose marriages will now be legally recognized across our great country.

Amid celebration and joyful tears about the Supreme Court decision, I again found myself considering the many challenges still facing our community. Despite this significant victory, oppression and inequality remain widespread. LGBTQ people continue to face significant discrimination in the areas of healthcare, employment, access to safe housing, and adoption/parenting rights. Widespread gender- and racially-based violence persists. Transwomen, particularly transwomen of color, continue to die in an epidemic of violence made all the worse by media coverage which misgenders and misnames them. Much, much work remains.

Feminist psychologists are in a unique position to address these ongoing challenges and I encourage you to get involved in Division 35, and within Section IV. We are committed to increasing dialogue, research, education, and activism around the critical issues facing the LGBTQ community (both inside and outside the field of psychology). Please consider sharing with us your perspectives and publications for inclusion in this newsletter! With the annual APA Convention right around the corner, I would also like to personally invite you to several of our upcoming Section IV events:

« 12:00PM - 1:00PM, Friday, August 7^th - Join me and your amazing Section IV officers for our annual business meeting and social hour, which will be held in the SPW/AWP Hospitality Suite. All are welcome!  

« 4:00PM – 5:00 PM, Friday, August 7^th – Section IV presents its annual symposium, with this year’s speakers focused on Emerging Areas of Science, Practice, and Education with LGBTQ Women. Held in the Convention Center, Room 205D.

« 11:00AM – 11:50AM, Saturday, August 8^th – Please join yours truly and Section IV’s Graduate Student Committee Chair, Mary Guerrant, for a roundtable discussion on Career Issues for LGBTQ Graduate Students and Early Career Professionals. Held in the Convention Center, Constitution Hall 105.

Last but certainly not least, please join us at 4:30PM on Saturday, August 8^th for the Division 35 Awards Ceremony, followed by our Division Social. Section IV will be presenting Dr. Sue Morrow with the Laura Brown Award to honor her incredible contributions to the field of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women’s psychology (which you can read more about on Page 16).

For those that are not able to attend Convention, I would still love to meet and hear from you. Please email me. Share your thoughts on how Section IV can be most helpful to you and in continuing to address the major challenges within our community. Please share your ideas for involvement and activism, as well as stories of feminist success and victories-yet-to-come. I look forward to hearing from you!

Jennifer A. Vencill, PhD (jvencill@umn.edu).

EDITOR’S NOTE

Perspectives is having its first anniversary this summer and we have much to celebrate. Our first issue had only 4 pages and a handful of contributors. The current issue (our third!) has more than tripled in size. It is 17 pages long and is brimming with submissions from more than a dozen contributors, including many graduate students, who responded enthusiastically to our call for short articles and announcements. I am excited to share with you all their voices! You will find these articles and announcements under two headings: Member’s Perspectives; and Member’s Publications. 

In addition to more articles and publication announcements, this issue of Perspectives includes two brand new pages—the editorial team’s page, with the Editor’s Note, Meet the Team, and Call for Submissions columns; and the Laura Brown Award page, with information about the award and a column about this year’s well-deserving recipient—Dr. Sue Morrow.

The idea of a newsletter to help keep members engaged and well informed of section happenings was born during Julie Konik’s presidency in 2013. She sent an email to section members looking for a volunteer to get things started and I said I’d be willing to help. It’s never easy getting new projects off the ground but it’s a privilege and a lot of fun. For one, there is always space for exercising creativity, and plenty of opportunities to meet interesting people along the way. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the section in this capacity and look forward to working with you to make the next issue even more interest-grabbing and useful to our section members.

Cristina Magalhaes, PhD (cmagalhaes@alliant.edu).

WINTER 2015: FROM THE SECTION PRESIDENT

As 2014 comes to a close and we begin a new year, I find myself reflecting on how much has been accomplished and the social justice work that we have left to do. 2014 has been a banner year for queer equality and feminism in the United States.  A few highlights come to mind: As of this writing, same-sex couples in 35 states (plus Washington, D.C. and St. Louis, MO) have won the freedom to legally marry. Earlier this year, the #YesAllWomen campaign reached almost 2 million tweets in four days, as women across the country highlighted everyday instances of gender-based violence and harassment. In May, Laverne Cox became the first transgender person to appear on the cover of TIME magazine, bringing some much needed attention to trans issues in our country.  Celebrities, CEOs, and athletes continue to come out with pride (Looking at you, Ellen Page!) and, in the process, inspire our LGBTQ youth and remind us all that many things have gotten better. 

Despite the successes, however, oppression and inequality remain widespread.  In 15 states, litigation around same-sex marriage is forthcoming with difficult battles on the horizon.  Widespread gender-based violence continues, with a global estimate that 1 in 3 women will be beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. The profoundly negative health implications of such violence are further compounded among marginalized groups, such as queer women and women with disabilities.  Transwomen, particularly transwomen of color, continue to die in an epidemic of violence made all the worse by media coverage which misgenders and misnames the deceased.  LGBTQ people continue to face significant discrimination in the areas of healthcare, access to housing, adoption rights, and employment.

 

As the new President of Division 35, Section 4, my hope is that 2015 brings increased dialogue, research, and activism around these critical issues. I encourage you to get involved with the Division and within Section 4.  Email me.  Share your thoughts on how the Section can best address these concerns. Share your stories of feminist success and victories-yet-to-come. Share your ideas for involvement and activism. Let 2015 be the year we work together as a community to address the intersections of poverty, racism, transphobia, heterosexism, bi-negativity, ableism, and homophobia in our social justice efforts.  We have much to be proud of, but there is much yet to be done!

Jennifer A. Vencill, PhD (jvencill@umn.edu).

SUMMER 2014: FROM THE SECTION PRESIDENT

Same-sex marriage is an issue that is both professionally and personally relevant to many of us. With the Windsor v. United States decision, the Supreme Court struck down parts of the federal Defense of Marriage Act and confirmed the right for states to recognize or prohibit same-sex unions. Right now, 21 states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriage, while 28 states prohibit it in their constitutions. Furthermore, some states (Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Utah) are in limbo as they have issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples, which have now been put on hold until judicial challenges are resolved.

This patchwork system of recognition or denial of same-sex marriage has led to turbulence (to put it mildly!) for many same-sex couples. In my relationship with my partner, our Canadian marriage was recognized by our state of Wisconsin for one week. Scores of same-sex marriages were conducted in our state during this time. However, with the implementation of a judicial stay on the ruling allowing same-sex marriage in Wisconsin, marriage rights were immediately stripped for hundreds of same-sex couples. My partner and I joked that we were legally spouses on a recent trip to Minnesota, which recognizes same-sex marriages. However, when we crossed the border back into Wisconsin, we became legal strangers.

With many religious institutions performing same-sex unions, why is it important for same-sex marriages to have legal recognition by both state and federal governments? These reasons may be painfully obvious; most likely we can all recite the fact that over 1000 benefits are conferred with federally-recognized marriage. However, there are a myriad of other benefits of marriage that are not codified by law. For example, the work of psychologists Ellen Riggle, Sharon Rostosky, and Sharon Horne has documented that legally recognized same-sex couples experienced less psychological stress (e.g., internalized homophobia, depression) and greater well-being (e.g., meaning in life) than those whose partnership lacked legal standing. Thank you for reading this issue of Perspectives. I am excited about the work that our Section members have done and all we have yet to accomplish. Our research, teaching, and clinical work have us poised on the battlefield to fight for marriage rights. I am proud to be a member of Division 35, where psychologists are fighting to provide not only marriage equality, but social justice for all.

Julie A. Konik, PhD (Julie.Konik@uwc.edu).