LAPS NEWS
Adrien Lawyer, Co-Director of the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico, will offer his presentations, Transgender 101: A Cultural Humility Training and Transgender 201, on Thursday, Feb. 20 in the Los Alamos High School Speech Theater. LAPS staff, parents, youth, and community members are encouraged and welcome to attend.
Both Transgender 101 and 201 will be presented on the same day with a break for refreshments and conversation between the two. Transgender 101 is scheduled from 4:00-6:00 p.m. and 201 will be from 6:30-8:00 p.m. The LAHS Speech Theater is located next door to the Auxiliary Gym.
Transgender 101 is an introduction to transgender people, their lives and challenges. The presentation covers basic terms, definitions and concepts, as well as how to begin to be a good ally to transgender and gender nonconforming individuals. Transgender people are generally not known and understood by others, and Lawyer’s training is meant to address this lack of information and experience. Lawyer has extensive experience training professionals in schools, law enforcement, businesses and the national labs.
Transgender 201 will include a very brief review of assigned sex, gender and sexual orientation followed by a deeper dive into nonbinary people, intersectionality and how to be a good ally. To wrap up, Lawyer will discuss cases in which people choose to detransition, what it means and why people make that choice.
This presentation will be Lawyer’s fifth visit to LAPS, and feedback from his previous trainings has been overwhelmingly positive. Both students and staff have found the information useful as it gave them a clearer understanding of the terminology and struggles surrounding transgender people. One staff member said, “I feel that my compassion toward transgender people increased and I can be an ally toward and for them.”
This presentation is hosted by the LAPS Healthy Schools Initiative with the goals of increasing awareness and decreasing the likelihood of bullying and discrimination against our transgender students, staff, and community members.
The Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico provides support, community, and connection to transgender, gender nonconforming, nonbinary, and gender variant people and their families through advocacy, education, and direct services. More information can be found at their website: https://www.tgrcnm.org/