About The GenderQueer Coalition of Cincinnati
Mission Statement
The GenderQueer Coalition is dedicated to the facilitation and actualization of transgender, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, and gender identity-centered advocacy, activism, community-building, education, and wellness in the greater the Midwest region of the United States.
History
In May 2006 a small group of activists in Cincinnati, Ohio came together to discuss the formation of a gender-focused, advocacy group based at the University of Cincinnati. JAC Stringer led the effort to create a space for support, education, and radical activism surrounding transgender issues. The following October the group was granted student organization status under the name GenderBloc. GenderBloc’s goal is to develop a grassroots activist campaign against discrimination and oppression of genderqueer identities through educational programs focused on transgender and genderqueer identities.
In September 2008, Stringer founded The GenderQueer Coalition, a non-profit organization focusing on advocacy, community-building, education, and wellness surrounding transgender and genderqueer identities in the greater Cincinnati area. Through the GenderQueer Coalition, Stringer planned to increase visibility and strength of the Cincinnati gender variant community as well as to found a non-profit, queer-focused health clinic that utilized informed consent. In addition to his goals for the Cincinnati area, Stringer also began work on a state-wide queer activist network and the creation of a needs assessment research project focused on the transgender and genderqueer populations called the Ohio Gender-Identity-Variance Research Project. Since then the GenderQueer Coalition has expanded it's reach to include all Midwestern states.
In its formation, the GenderQueer Coalition has drawn support and advice from a variety of sources from fellow queer organizations including TransOhio, Equality Ohio, GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight, Education Network), and PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) to gender theorists/activists such as Dean Spage and Kate Bornstein.
Action Plan
The GenderQueer Coalition is dedicated to the facilitation and actualization of gender identity-centered advocacy, community-building, education, and wellness, focusing primarily on transgender and genderqueer populations in the greater Cincinnati area and throughout the state of Ohio and the Midwest.
- Identify gender-identity variant safe spaces in Midwest communities
- Establish a physical safe space in the city of Cincinnati specifically for gender variant populations
- Increase gender variant education and awareness in non-transgender communities through community events and distribution of educational material
- Develop a comprehensive transgender and genderqueer-focused educational program for schools and workplaces
- Develop and publish comprehensive educational materials for gender identity-variant education
- Create an online data base of gender identity-variant supportive physicians and professionals in the Midwest
- Identify and survey gender-variant populations first across the state of Ohio and then other Midwestern states
- Establish a non-profit queer-focused health clinic that practices under the informed consent model