Washington University in St. Louis will host the sixth annual Transgender Spectrum Conference November 8 & 9, 2019. Click here for more information.

2018 Conference: "Nothing About Us Without Us"

The University of Missouri-St. Louis hosted the fifth annual Transgender Spectrum Conference, Nov. 9-10, 2018. The conference brought together a broad community in the interest of advancing and celebrating the lives of transgender people in the St. Louis region and beyond.

The 2018 theme, “Nothing About Us Without Us,” speaks to the current moment in transgender advocacy. This slogan was popularized by the Disability Movement, which has long struggled to reject medicalization and social exclusion. It has since been adapted by transgender activists to challenge instances of exclusion, such as laws and policies that target transgender concerns determined by cisgender people, or portrayals of transgender characters by cisgender performers, among others. Our goal is to promote self-determination and diversity, and to elevate the experiences of the community.

Keynote Speaker- Janaya Khan

Known as ‘Future’ within the Black Lives Matter movement, Janaya Khan is a black, queer, gender-nonconforming activist (pronouns: they, them, theirs), staunch Afrofuturist and social-justice educator who presents an enlightening point of view on police brutality and systemic racism. Janaya’s eye-opening presentations are underpinned by a deep commitment to social transformation. With compelling narratives, Janaya illustrates how individual lives are affected by inequality and rouses audiences to actively seek justice for all.

2018 Conference Program Download PDF

Thank you to our Sponsors