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 7th - 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 7th –
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 8th – 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 8th
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.
