Friday, March 30, 2012

Happy first day of the conference!

We are so excited to meet and work with all of you this weekend!  A few pointers for today:

  • Remember traffic will be thick this afternoon and evening due to Texas Relay, try to plan in extra time, even if you are taking the bus.
  • We still have a few parking passes. If you need to/would like to park in the Brazos garage, please email us a feministactionproject@gmail.com.
  • Check-in is a drop-by affair between 3 and 4:30 at the School of Social Work where you can get your materials and say hello.  If you choose to meet us at the SAC instead for Dr. Balakrishnan's keynote, just check in on Saturday--the info table will be up and running all day.
  • For your evening plans: the icebreakers and power shuffle discussion will not run past 8:30 or 9pm. Let us know if you'd like some company going back toward the SSW or Brazos, since it will be at night.
Ready, set, ... !

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Presentation Description: The Stigma of Size

Modern Day Control Garments and the Restraint of the Fat Female Body
Saturday, 1:45-3pm, SSW 2.122

This panel explores the role of control garments in societal views of the fat body, through a series of multi-media projects. Large close-up photographs depict portions of a fat naked woman; the impressions of a too-tight girdle remain imprinted on her flesh. A related video performance shows the artist, dressing herself in endless layers of constricting body-slimmers, bodices, and corsets, her labored breathing forming the soundtrack. Once fully encased and no longer able to breathe, the artist disrobes, loosening strings, unhooking, expanding, until she is naked. This work highlights the price paid each day for social approval, and how many women twist and debase their bodies to conform to the expectations of others.

Come check it out!  You'll learn about the body and its relationship to fatness and sexuality.

Presenter and performer Erin Zerbe is a multimedia artist working in video, photography, performance, and new media. She teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Kinetic Imaging and Art Foundations Departments.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Call for Volunteers!


We need volunteers for this weekend's conference!

If you are interested in volunteering, we will ask you to agree to the statement below when you check in at the conference:
Feminist Action Project (FAP) supports the idea that as a community of thinkers and actors, we can and should challenge institutional forms of sexism, racism, ableism and classism (among other forms of oppression) in order to forge a more socially conscious and consciously active Texas. As a multi-interest feminist conference, FAP seeks to establish safe spaces for students and community embers organizing around issues of gender justice. We hold that feminism is but one constructive tool in this process and contributes to the ongoing work of liberation for all bodies.
Volunteers will help with miscellaneous tasks like passing out programs, help working the registration table, set up, and clean up. As a volunteer, we want to make sure we know you're coming!  Please register for the conference at: http://feministactionproject.blogspot.com/p/registration.html
We hope to see you this weekend!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Presentation Description: Hey! Calling people out (nicely) on their sh*t

When it comes to calling out people for oppressive speech, how do you speak out so people will listen?  This workshop will discuss strategies to challenge oppressive speech and actions with the larger goal in mind of making others aware of how they play into systems of oppression--and hopefully willing to change it.  If this workshop sounds useful to you, come check it out during session II (11:15-12:30) this Saturday March 31 at the conference!

Friday, March 23, 2012

Presentation Description: Are You Able?: Disability as Diversity

What is ableism?  How does it intersect with other forms of social oppression?  And what are the relationships between the disability rights movement and other types of activist movements?  These are just some of the questions that will be discussed in the Are You Able? presentation and workshop.  If you're interested, don't miss the presentation during the first session (9:45-11) of the conference!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Panel schedule

Check out the amazing presentations, workshops, and trainings lined up for the conference!

All of the panels will be held in the School of Social Work Building (SSW) at the University of Texas at Austin. This building is located at 1925 San Jacinto Boulevard, Austin, TX.

We look forward to seeing you there! Keep checking back for panel profile posts as the week goes on.


SSW 2.116

SSW 2.122

SSW 2.118

SSW 2.132
A
9:45-11
Are You Able? Disability as DiversityAnti-Racist Feminist WorkshopMaslow's Hierarchy of Needs as an Activist's Prioritizing Tool: An LGTBQ case study(rest & rejuvination room)
B
11:15-12:30
Hey!  Calling people out (nicely) on their sh*tConfronting Oppression through Political ActionWOC Feminist Punk MovementConsent in Healthy Relationships: Understanding, broadening, and examining the definition and imporance of consent
C
1:45-3
Radical Self-Care: Confronting Race, Gender, and Disability Intersections in the AcademyThe Stigma of Size: Modern Day Control Garments, and the Restraint of
the Fat Female Body
Building an Integenerational Queer Movement(rest & rejuvination room)
D
3:15-4:30
The Joy of Queer SexEmpowering the Campus Community to Help Students who are Thinking About SuicideAnimals and Intersections: Speciesism, Oppression, and What You Can Do About It(rest & rejuvination room)

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Schedule announced

Check out the conference schedule! Later this week we will announce the details of each panel, presentation, or workshop and where they fit into the schedule of breakout sessions. You'll see that each session is 1 hour and 15 minutes long, with a 15 minute break in between. This will give everyone time to have a good discussion and then decompress and breathe between each activity:


Friday, March 30

3:00pm Registration/check-in open at SSW
4:30 Go over to SAC together
5:00 Keynote: Dr. Balakrishnan in SAC Ballroom
6:00 Reception with CWGS
7:30-? Opening plenary and power shuffle



    _________________________________

    Saturday, March 31

    8:30am Check-in/breakfast at SSW
    9:00 Opening plenary/guidelines
    9:45-11:00 Session I
    11:15-12:30pm Session II
    12:30-1:30 Lunch
    1:45-3:00 Session III
    3:15-4:30 Session IV
    4:45-5:30 Closing plenary
    5:30-6:30 Dinner
    7:00Performance evening begins
    8:00Sharon Bridgforth performance

    Thursday, March 15, 2012

    Gloria Steinem documentary screening & panel

    Join us and the Center for Women's and Gender Studies for a screening of the recent Gloria Steinem documentary:


    Thursday, March 22
    6:30-8:30pm
    TS Painter Hall 4.42


    What do you think of Gloria Steinem as a feminist icon?  Do you agree with how she has been made emblematic of feminism?  How do you feel about the politics of the 'second wave' compared to current feminisms and your own perspective?  


    Come discuss these issues and the documentary with our panel of distinguished professors, moderated by Sue Heinzelman, English professor and the director of CWGS:

    • Gloria Gonzalez-Lopez, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology
    • Joy James, Visiting Professor, Department of African and African Diaspora Studies
    • Zipporah Wiseman, Professor, School of Law
    As activists for gender justice, what can we say about Gloria Steinem and her legacy?  Come to the screening and let your voice be heard!

    Wednesday, March 7, 2012

    Registration is open!

    The time has come: registration has begun for the big event, and space is limited!

    Please sign up to attend by using the permanent link to "Registration" in the left frame under Pages, or follow the link below to the form and PayPal button:

    http://feministactionproject.blogspot.com/p/registration.html

    The registration fee affords you the following pleasures:
    • Participation in both days of the conference
    • A light reception on Friday, March 30 and snacks and meals on Saturday the 31st
    • The stylings of Dr. Radhika Balakrishnan of Rutgers University and many other distinguished speakers and panelists
    • Admission to Saturday's performance evening featuring local artists and our keynote, the distinguished jazz aesthetic poet Sharon Bridgforth
    This is a self-supporting feminist event, but we don't want financial hardship to prevent anyone from attending. The suggested registration fee is $15 and our sliding scale begins at $5-- if $5 is what you can manage, we completely understand are are glad you'll be able to join us. If you are able to pay the $15 (or more), it will help others attend who would otherwise not be able to, which will in turn make the event and our community stronger.

    We can't wait to get everything started! As always, please contact us with any questions, and we'll keep this space updated with schedules and panel descriptions and the conference nears.

    Tuesday, March 6, 2012

    Gloria Steinem Documetary Event

    [black and white photograph of Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes with their right fists held up]

    The Feminist Action Project is proud to co-sponsor the screening of the Gloria Steinem documentary on UT campus.  Please join us for an evening dedicated to one of the driving forces behind the modern feminist movement.

    Thursday March 22, 2012
    T.S. Painter Hall 4.42
    The University of Texas at Austin
    6:30 PM
    Free and open to the public

    Click here for campus detail map.