Transcending Boundaries Conference
Encyclopedia
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
conference
Academic conference
An academic conference or symposium is a conference for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.-Overview:Conferences are usually composed of various...
for bisexual/fluid/pansexual
Bisexual community
Bisexual community is a term used to describe members of the LGBT community who identify as bisexual, pansexual, "fluid", and queer-identified, as well as their allies...
, transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
/genderqueer
Genderqueer
Genderqueer is a catch-all term for gender identities other than man and woman, thus outside of the gender binary and heteronormativity...
, intersex
Intersex
Intersex, in humans and other animals, is the presence of intermediate or atypical combinations of physical features that usually distinguish female from male...
and polyamorous people and their friends, families and allies.
History
The Transcending Boundaries conference grew out of a project of BiNet USABiNet USA
BiNet USA is a national bisexual/pansexual civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. It was founded to formalize communication between U.S...
, a national bisexual organization. Throughout the 1990s, BiNet USA
BiNet USA
BiNet USA is a national bisexual/pansexual civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. It was founded to formalize communication between U.S...
helped bisexual activists around the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
organize on a local level. They sponsored regional conferences, including one in the Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
/New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
/New York tri-state
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
Region.
Those in attendance at the 2000 Tri-State Conference voted to continue the conference independently from BiNet USA
BiNet USA
BiNet USA is a national bisexual/pansexual civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. It was founded to formalize communication between U.S...
and to hold the next year's conference in New Haven, Connecticut.
The organizing committee expanded the scope of the conference in two ways: widening the geographical reach to include the entire Northeast
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
, and including transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
and intersex
Intersex
Intersex, in humans and other animals, is the presence of intermediate or atypical combinations of physical features that usually distinguish female from male...
issues as well as bisexual/pansexual ones in the conference theme. The new name "Transcending Boundaries" reflected this expanded scope, as well as the fact that bisexuals, transgender persons, and intersex persons do not fit into the simple categories of gay/straight, man/woman, and male/female.
Transcending Boundaries, Inc. was founded in 2001 to organize based on this expanded vision: a Northeast regional conference for bisexual, transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
, and intersex
Intersex
Intersex, in humans and other animals, is the presence of intermediate or atypical combinations of physical features that usually distinguish female from male...
people. In 2009, this focus was expanded to include the polyamorous community as well. Transcending Boundaries has held five successful conferences between 2001 and 2006, teaming up with the Americas Conference on Bisexuality in 2005 and PFLAG Northeast in 2006. After a brief absence, Transcending Boundaries returned to a yearly conference model in 2009.
Structure
The conference is held by Transcending Boundaries, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationNonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, incorporated in 2001 in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
The initial board members/co-founders were Lisa Jacobs (President), Alice Leibowitz (Treasurer), and Vincent Cangiano (Secretary), all of Connecticut. Emily Metcalfe was added as Vice President in 2006.
Past events
| Number | Year | Date | City | State | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2001 | October | New Haven | Connecticut | 200 | co-sponsored by the Yale LGBT Cooperative |
| 2nd | 2002 | October | New Britain | Connecticut | 125 | co-sponsored by CCSU Pride |
| 3rd | 2003 | October | Amherst | Massachusetts | 175 | co-sponsored by the UMass Pride Alliance |
| 4th | 2005 | November | East Hartford | Connecticut | 150 | held in conjunction with the America's Conference on Bisexuality; Keynote Speaker: Magdalen Hsu-Li |
| 5th | 2006 | October | Worcester | Massachusetts | 500 | held in conjunction with Northeast Regional PFLAG Conference |
| 6th | 2009 | November | Worcester | Massachusetts | 200 | Keynote Speaker: Tristan Taormino |
| 7th | 2010 | November | Worcester | Massachusetts | 265 | Keynote Speaker: Lee Harrington |
| 8th | 2011 | November | Springfield | Massachusetts | 315 | Keynote Speaker: Kate Bornstein |
See also
- Bisexual/Fluid/Pansexual Community
- Transgender people in the LGBT Community
- GenderqueerGenderqueerGenderqueer is a catch-all term for gender identities other than man and woman, thus outside of the gender binary and heteronormativity...
- PolyamoryPolyamoryPolyamory is the practice, desire, or acceptance of having more than one intimate relationship at a time with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved....
- BiNet USABiNet USABiNet USA is a national bisexual/pansexual civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. It was founded to formalize communication between U.S...
- Bisexual Resource CenterBisexual Resource CenterBisexual Resource Center is a 501 non-profit educational organization that has served the bisexual community since 1985. Originally known as the East Coast Bisexual Network, the BRC is headquartered in Boston MA and provides education about bisexual and progressive issues and support for bisexual...