Our Queer Bodies- a discussion

Location:University of Alberta, Telus Centre, rm 150
Time:5:00PM Thursday, November 19th

A lively panel discussion about body image of queer identified persons. The panelists were Brian Francis, Cindy Baker, and Kristy Harcourt.
Kristy Harcourt was the facilitator for the panel. She asked the following questions that challenged the audience:
1.How do you come to terms with your body?
2.How does gender and sexuality show up in your life, and in your work?
3.Who do you market yourself?
4.When you came to yourself a queer person was it freeing or was it limiting?
I pondering these questions and listened to the responses of the panelists and the audience.
I realize that my body frustrates me because of the statements of those outside of myself and the stereotypes that people have of a woman. I do not always like the fact that I get people thinking I am a man in woman's clothes.
My gender shows up to some as a question of what gender I am. At work most of those accept me as a woman and nothing more.
I present myself to everyone that I see hoping that I am seen as a woman by men who are men.
I came out in two ways. Once as a person who loves men and then as one who had the wrong body parts that needed changing.

The evening was held in a lecture theatre at the UofA's Telus Centre for Professional Training. There was about a 100 people in the audience.