Author Archives: MaleficentMouse

Talk To Your Children!

A person with different coloured eyes, head wrapped so only their eyes and nose show, with a a rainbow prism across half their face

Photo by Alex Perez on Unsplash

Following on from some recent discussions in outreach and education where I have urged people to talk to their children about gender and sexuality early, and to encourage friends to do the same, here’s a link from Parents magazine with advice about how to do that – specifically about how to explain about being nonbinary, but the tips and information in here are adaptable to any gender identity and can extend to explaining about the fact that some people have two mommies, or two daddies, or two parents, or just one, or three or more.

Kids understand so much more than people tend to give them credit for, and if you talk to your kids early and often about gender and sexuality, you could spare them years of fear and struggle as they try to work out if it is safe to come out to you, and years of not being themselves. From a purely selfish viewpoint, you can save yourself years of guilt at not seeing that your child was struggling and not realising and helping them sooner. Some children have even committed suicide because they were too afraid to come out to their parents, and their parents would have been accepting. Don’t put anyone through that. Talk to your children.

https://www.parents.com/kids/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-gender/

Urgent Update for the Transgender Institute’s Trans Women’s Support Group

Transgender Flag Eye Makeup

Photo by Kyle on Unsplash

In compliance with the current ‘Shelter-in-place’ orders, the Trans Women’s support group that normally meets at the Transgender Institute is going on-line. The next meeting on 4/7/20 at 6:00 PM will be hosted via Zoom and Discord. So you can join from a computer, or a phone and have a video conference option, or an audio only option.

Please reach out to Kate.redman@boltfiber.net for the login information or for any questions you have.

Kate said “If this works, we’ll keep doing this on our regular schedule and then have a big in-person party when this virus thing is all over.”

March 2020 Trans Talk and Community Calendar for March – April 2020

Photo by Jorik Kleen on Unsplash

Hello everyone! Welcome to March’s edition of Trans Talk!  We’re kicking off the show with the transgender news of the month as usual, and then we are going to be talking with three special guests by phone – first we will talk with Jules Brackins and Ari Copeland about Transgender Day of Visibility, and then Rachael Cady will be joining us, a freelance lighting and projection designer working in the Kansas City entertainment industry, designing for shows at many theatres.  We will be talking to her about her life and her art and the impact of the Coronavirus emergency

We do hope you will be able to join us this Saturday, March 28th at 1:00 pm on 90.1 KKFI, Kansas City Community Radio! You can also stream the program live on kkfi.org, or via various apps on your phone.

 

Monthly Community Calendar – by Fiona

Hello I’m Fiona Nowling with the Kansas City community calendar. As usual, all the calendar can be found on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TenthVoice/

Top of the list today is something with a short deadline – Whim Productions is soliciting scripts for short plays (1 – 5 minutes in length) for a project titled “Queering COVID”.  These will either be performed in person after the crisis, or online via a streaming platform.  The deadline is 3/31/2020 or whenever they reach 200 plays!  For more details, please go to https://www.facebook.com/WhimProductions

March 31st is the Transgender Day of Visibility as we’ve been discussing already on the show.  Due to the Coronavirus emergency, the face to face Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce event is tentatively rescheduled for June 24th.  But they are having an online resource fair all day on March 31st.  There will be skill building workshops, panel discussions and more!  You can get more information and register at the Facebook event https://www.facebook.com/events/167524900934851/ or direct at https://business.midamericalgbt.org/events/details/virtual-transgender-day-of-visibility-4367?calendarMonth=2020-03-01  & https://maglcc.chambermaster.com/eventregistration/register/4367

Every month, I lead the Kansas City SOFFA group for Significant Others, Friends, Family, and Allies of Transgender and nonbinary persons.  Due to the Coronavirus emergency we are looking into ways to have virtual meetings. For more information, you can visit transascity.org/SOFFA or always reach me by email at soffakc@yahoo.com

Every third Thursday, the Equal Trans Support Group meets at 5:00 PM.  They are having virtual meetings during the Coronavirus emergency, so please join their Facebook group to get more details if you are interested.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/EQUALTransSupport/ There is also a second group for friends of EQUAL at https://www.facebook.com/Friends-and-Allies-of-the-EQUAL-Trans-Support-Group-2043657289193085/

JoCo Q-Space is a youth group for LGBTQ youth. They are doing some online activities during this, so for more information, go to https://www.facebook.com/jocoqspace/

Gender Spectrum is also doing online groups for teens and pre-teens – you can find more information on them at https://www.genderspectrum.org/groups/

Passages, the LGBTQIA youth group in Kansas City, Missiouri, has suspended their meetings but they can still be reached for resources via their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/kcpassages/

There is an MTF support group at the Kansas City Center for Inclusion on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 6pm – they are suspended but the center is looking into online options during the emergency. There is an FTM support group elsewhere, both for adults and for youth, so if you are interested & want to find out options during the coronavirus emergency, please text or call Gus at 816-785-8686.

The Kansas City PFLAG chapter, which is Parents, Families, Friends, and Allies of LGBT people has a Facebook page where you can get more details on current activities – https://www.facebook.com/PFLAGKC

I’m Fiona Nowling and that’s the community calendar for the upcoming month.

If you have any events that you think should be added to the calendar, please message us on the Tenth Voice Facebook page, which is where this calendar will be magically appearing at 2pm!

Special Episode of KKFI’s Every Woman

Third Eye Sadie’s School Logo with rainbow iris in Eye of Horus

Hello everyone!  I don’t usually talk to you about our other show that we produce on KKFI, Every Woman, but this week’s episode is rather unusual.  We are interviewing Kacey Carlson, who manages Third Eye Sadie’s in Lawrence about the role of gender in Wicca.

We’ve interviewed several women from various religions – Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, and even humanist/atheist (no religion) before about how their religion treats women and how that affected their perceptions of themselves and their role in the world and their religion, but this conversation moved so far beyond that, into how the natural world and the Wiccan path is beyond the gender binary, both in approach and liturgy and training.  Join us on Saturday March 14th at 3pm Central Time for a fascinating discussion on 90.1 FM KKFI, Kansas City Community Radio!  You can also stream the program live on kkfi.org, or via various apps on your phone.

 

February 2020 Trans Talk and Community Calendar for February – March 2020

Hello everyone! Welcome to February’s edition of Trans Talk!  We’re kicking off the show with the transgender news of the month as usual, and then we are going to be talking with two special guests in our studio – first we will talk with Rachael Cady, a freelance lighting and projection designer working in the Kansas City entertainment industry, designing for shows at many theatres.  We will be talking to her about her life and her art and any new shows she’s working on.

After that enlightening subject (sorry, I couldn’t help myself), we will be talking with Mazzy Mann, KC performance artist, musician, curator, co-founder of UN/TUCK Queer /Trans Collective and band leader of the ten piece group HANNAH.  She is coming on the air to discuss her newest release under alias MX.MRS- IDK Who I Am, as well as other local transfemme artist’s releases to keep on your radar.

We do hope you will be able to join us this Saturday, February 22 at 1:00 pm on 90.1 KKFI, Kansas City Community Radio! You can also stream the program live on kkfi.org, or via various apps on your phone.

Photo by Jorik Kleen on Unsplash

Monthly Community Calendar – by Fiona

Hello I’m Fiona Nowling with the Kansas City community calendar. As usual, all the calendar can be found on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TenthVoice/

An early heads up for March.  March 31st is the Transgender Day of Visibility and the Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce is having an event for it.  The Transgender Resource Fair will run from 4:00 to 7:30 pm and a reception from 5:30 to 7:30 pm, with speakers starting at 6:15 pm.  For more information, go to https://business.midamericalgbt.org/events/calendar/2020-03-31 and click on the event on the calendar, or go to their Facebook event, https://www.facebook.com/events/1077852252548498/ I will be tabling at the event, so you can see me there!

Every month, I lead the Kansas City SOFFA group for Significant Others, Friends, Family, and Allies of Transgender and nonbinary persons.  We meet on the first and third Wednesday of the month. In March, we’re meeting on the 4th in the conference room & on the 18th in Study Room 108.  That’s at Leawood Pioneer Library, 6.30 – 8pm. For driving directions and other SOFFA information, you can visit transascity.org/SOFFA or email soffakc@yahoo.com

UMKC’s Trans Social group is back in session – it is for trans and nonbinary student and recent students.  For more details, you can reach out to the UMKC LGBTQIA office in the Student Union building.

Every third Thursday, the Equal Trans Support Group meets at 5:00 PM at the Kansas City Center for Inclusion, a couple of doors down from our studio at 3911 Main Street, Kansas City Missouri.  The Center has lots of other events too, which can be found on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/InclusiveKC/

JoCo Q-Space is a youth group for LGBTQ youth. They meet every Thursday from 5:30pm to 8:30pm at Saint Andrew Christian Church 13890 W 127th St, Olathe, KS 66062. For more information, go to https://www.facebook.com/jocoqspace/.

Passages, the LGBTQIA youth group in Kansas City, Missiouri, has started back up and is every Wednesday from 6 – 9 pm at 205 West 65th Street, Kansas City, Missouri, 64113.  You can find details at https://www.facebook.com/kcpassages/

There is an MTF support group at the Kansas City Center for Inclusion on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 6pm. There is an FTM support group elsewhere, both for adults and for youth, so if you are interested, please text or call Gus at 816-785-8686.

The Kansas City PFLAG chapter, which is Parents, Families, Friends, and Allies of LGBT people will meet on the 2nd Sunday of the month at 3pm, at the Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, and the 4th Sunday of the month at 3pm, at the Kansas City Center for Inclusion.

I’m Fiona Nowling and that’s the community calendar for the upcoming month.

If you have any events that you think should be added to the calendar, please message us on the Tenth Voice Facebook page, which is where this calendar will be magically appearing at 2pm!

Transgender Day of Remembrance 2019 & SOFFA

This Wednesday is Transgender Day of Remembrance. Because of this, we are providing special resources at SOFFA. I shall be going to the TDOR event and will be at the church for 6pm. There is a walk/march around the park starting at approximately 6pm from the church, and then returning to the church. Speeches will start at approximately 7pm, and there will be a safe space and other activities in the church also.
 
Shawna will be at the library in case anyone wants to attend the regular meeting. If no one comes to the library, she will come down and join us at TDOR.
More information about the event can be found at

June 2019 Trans Talk and Community Calendar for June-July 2019

Hello I’m Fiona Nowling with the Kansas City community calendar. As usual, all the calendar can be found on the Tenth Voice Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TenthVoice/

The first event on the calendar is the regular episode of Trans Talk, an episode of the Tenth Voice, on 90.1fm KKFI, streaming online at kkfi.org and via various apps on your phones!  Today, June 22nd, from 1-2 pm central time, we’ll be talking to Faith about the upcoming Trans Pride March, to Una about her experiences in an Asia this month, and we’ll have our usual news rant (hi Una!) and finish up with the community calendar (which is right here in a sneak preview!).

On June 22, as you just heard from Faith, there will be the first ever Kansas City Trans Pride March. This is a family-friendly and accessible event that will begin by gathering at Valentine Rd and Broadway in KCMO between 3:30 to 4:30, and you should park in the north west corner parking lot. The meet up will commence at Hamburger Mary’s Patio, and the march will begin at 4:30. The organizers are looking for volunteers and helping hands, and you can find out more about the Trans Pride March and volunteer should you choose to, by going to kctranspridemarch on Facebook, or by searching for kc trans pride march on transascity.org.

There will also be another new pride this year.  Northland Pride will take place on June 30th 3-6pm in Linden Square.  You can find more information at https://northlandpridekc.weebly.com or their facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/northlandpridekc/   They are currently accepting applications for vendors, sponsors, artists and other resources, so if you want to get involved, you can message them on their facebook page or email them at northlandpridekc@gmail.com

That same day, there will be the Johnson County Pride Picnic, at Sar Ko Par Trails Park from 11am to 2pm.  This is hosted by five local organizations, including Equality Kansas of Metro Kansas City, and JoCo QSpace.  Details about it can be found by going to https://www.facebook.com/pg/EQKSKC/ and their events page, or direct to  https://www.facebook.com/events/516020002267007/   We do have a few things to celebrate in Johnson County for Pride this year, and some glaring omissions from some of the larger cities, such as Olathe and Overland Park.

An early heads up for an event for August too – on August 21st, from 2pm to 7pm, the Kansas City Center for Inclusion is hosting an LGBTQ Job Fair at the University of Kansas Medical Center at 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, Kansas City, Kansas.  Details can be found by going to their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/InclusiveKC/ and then to their events page, or directly at https://www.facebook.com/events/441570989730438/ It’s worth visiting their events page anyway, they have all sorts of events going on every month.

Every month, I lead the Kansas City SOFFA group for Significant Others, Friends, Family, and Allies of Transgender and nonbinary persons. We meet on the first and third Wednesday of the month. In July, we’re only meeting once, on the 17th, because the library is shutting early on the 3rd.  That’s just the 17th, in Study Room 116 at Leawood Pioneer Library, 6.30 – 8pm. For driving directions and other SOFFA information, you can visit transascity.org/SOFFA or email soffakc@yahoo.com

Every third Thursday, the Equal Trans Support Group meets at 5:00 PM. They also have a friends plus allies meeting on the second Monday of the month, at 6pm, and both are at the Kansas City Center for Inclusion, a couple of doors down from our studio at 3909 Main Street, Kansas City Missouri.  The Center has lots of other events too, which can be found on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/InclusiveKC/

JoCo Q-Space is a youth group for LGBTQ youth. They meet every Thursday from 5:30pm to 8:30pm at Saint Andrew Christian Church 13890 W 127th St, Olathe, KS 66062. For more information, go to https://www.facebook.com/jocoqspace/.

They are the Kansas equivalent of Passages, Kansas City Missouri’s long-running LGBTQ youth group, which meets at the Kansas City Anti-Violence Project’s Q-mmunity Space, 4050 Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 135, Kansas City, MO, 64111, every Wednesday at 5.30pm – 9pm.

There is an MTF support group at the Kansas City Center for Inclusion on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 6pm. There is an FTM support group elsewhere, both for adults and for youth, so if you are interested, please text or call Gus at 816-785-8686.

On the third Saturday of the month, Authentically Me meets from 1-3pm at The Kansas City Center for Inclusion. This is a social group for gender diverse children in KC and their families, aimed at children 12 and under.

The Kansas City PFLAG chapter, which is Parents, Families, Friends, and Allies of LGBT people will meet on the 2nd Sunday of the month at 3pm, at the Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, and the 4th Sunday of the month at 3pm, at the Kansas City Center for Inclusion.

I’m Fiona Nowling and that’s the community calendar for the upcoming month.

If you have any events that you think should be added to the calendar, please message us on the Tenth Voice Facebook page, or email us through TransasCity!

Trans Community Calendar for May-June 2019

This is the community calendar that I present on the Trans Talk episode of the Tenth Voice on KKFI every month.  If it reads a little oddly, that is why!

Hello I’m Fiona Nowling with the Kansas City community calendar. As usual, all the calendar can be found on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TenthVoice/

 

This Sunday – that’s tomorrow – the Transgender Institute will be having an open house, where all in the community are invited. There will be food, drinks (including wine), live music, and a great time to meet many other folks from the local transgender community. The event will be tomorrow on Sunday, from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm at their new location, 420 W 42st, Suite 11 (in the basement), in the same building as Ca Va in Westport.

 

On June 22 there will be the first ever Kansas City Trans Pride March. This is a family-friendly and accessible event that will begin by gathering at Valentine Rd and Broadway in KCMO between 3:30 to 4:30, and you should park in the north west corner parking lot. The meet up will commence at Hamburger Mary’s Patio, and the march will begin at 4:30. The organizers are looking for volunteers and helping hands, and you can find out more about the Trans Pride March and volunteer should you choose to, by going to kctranspridemarch on Facebook, or by searching for kc trans pride march on transascity.org.

 

There will also be another new pride this year.  Northland Pride will take place on June 30th 3-6pm in Linden Square.  You can find more information at https://northlandpridekc.weebly.com or their facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/northlandpridekc/   They are currently accepting applications for vendors, sponsors, artists and other resources, so if you want to get involved, you can message them on their facebook page or email them at northlandpridekc@gmail.com

And of course, there’s the regular Kansas City PrideFest from May 31st – June 2nd at Berkley Riverfront Park and more details can be found at https://www.kcpridefest.org/   Choral Spectrum, whom we featured on our show last month, will be performing from 5.45 – 6pm on Saturday. We wish Anthony and the rest of the chorus all the best for their performance!

Every month, I lead the Kansas City SOFFA group for Significant Others, Friends, Family, and Allies of Transgender and nonbinary persons. We meet on the first and third Wednesday of the month. In June, that’s the 5th & the 19th in the Conference Room at Leawood Pioneer Library, 6.30 – 8pm. For driving directions and other SOFFA information, you can visit transascity.org/SOFFA or email soffakc@yahoo.com

 

Every third Thursday, the Equal Trans Support Group meets at 5:00 PM. They also have a friends plus allies meeting on the second Monday of the month, at 6pm, and both are at the Kansas City Center for Inclusion, a couple of doors down from our studio at 3909 Main Street, Kansas City Missouri.  The Center has lots of other events too, which can be found on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/InclusiveKC/

 

JoCo Q-Space is a youth group for LGBTQ youth. They meet every Thursday from 5:30pm to 8:30pm at Saint Andrew Christian Church 13890 W 127th St, Olathe, KS 66062. For more information, go to https://www.facebook.com/jocoqspace/.

 

They are the Kansas equivalent of Passages, Kansas City Missouri’s long-running LGBTQ youth group, which meets at the Kansas City Anti-Violence Project’s Q-mmunity Space, 4050 Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 135, Kansas City, MO, 64111, every Wednesday at 5.30pm – 9pm.

 

There is an MTF support group at the Kansas City Center for Inclusion on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 6pm. There is an FTM support group elsewhere, both for adults and for youth, so if you are interested, please text or call Gus at 816-785-8686.

 

On the third Saturday of the month, Authentically Me meets from 1-3pm at The Kansas City Center for Inclusion. This is a social group for gender diverse children in KC and their families, aimed at children 12 and under.

 

The Kansas City PFLAG chapter, which is Parents, Families, Friends, and Allies of LGBT people will meet on the 2nd Sunday of the month at 3pm, at the Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, and the 4th Sunday of the month at 3pm, at the Kansas City Center for Inclusion.

 

I’m Fiona Nowling and that’s the community calendar for the upcoming month.

December 2018 Trans Talk on KKFI


This month on Trans Talk we are going to speak first with Samantha Ruggles, a prior guest on the show who spoke at both the Kansas City Demonstration for Transgender Rights and the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Samantha has recently been promoted to being the Executive Director at the Kansas City Center for Inclusion, and she will talk about what sort of activism and community support plans they have coming up in 2019. Then we will talk to Robin Nazarean, who is one of the organizers of the Transgender Day of Remembrance and a member of the punk rock group Evil Pillows. Robin is going to talk a bit about her life and what her goals and ambitions are for activism and music for the future.

We will have a take on the transgender news of the month and then finish up the show with the community calendar update.  We’re also going to have the first of a new regular monthly spot – Anthony will review a book each month that may interest our trans & non-binary audience.  I do hope you will be able to join us this Saturday, December 22nd at 1:00 pm on 90.1 KKFI, Kansas City Community Radio! You can also stream the program live on kkfi.org, or via various apps on your phone.

KCRep Hosts Free Future Perfect Project Workshop – Oct 21 2018

I received an email with information on an exciting opportunity for LGBTQ+ youth and their allies.  I’m quoting the whole of the email below to give everyone the full information they need to register.

Kansas City Repertory Theatre is proud to host
The Future Perfect Project Workshop
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Noon to 5 pm
In Rehearsal Hall —  Room 119
Olson Performing Arts Center
Located on the UMKC campus
This is a free creative workshop for high school and early college-aged youth.
The workshop team is led by the writer of the film Trevor which won an Academy Award and inspired the founding of the nationally renowned Trevor Project.
To learn more about this terrific opportunity, please visit https://www.thefutureperfectproject.com/
Please RSVP to the contacts below.
 
For many queer youth, finding a safe space is an ordeal.   Even in today’s seemingly progressive world, LGBTQ+ youth are often dismissed, bullied, and cornered into making a life for themselves on the sidelines.  As a young person, you can see into the future.  You can see a world more in-line with the values of your generation, which is perhaps too difficult for older generations to perceive right away.  Thus, we have a gap.   Through autobiographical live performance, and more specifically live music, we are able to express that vision back to our community wholeheartedly and begin to close that gap.  We believe that queer & alternative youth hold the creative keys to closing that gap, and we invite you all to join us in a storytelling & songwriting workshop to learn more ways of expressing your vision out to your community.
The workshop provides young people with prompts and ideas to further your reflection on LGBTQ+ life and on topics you want to address head-on. You will be offered the tools to transform your reflections into creative expression, and ultimately into a collaborative songwriting exercise. The workshop succeeds in creating pathways for self-discovery, not only for each of you, but also within the larger world in which you function.
Join us and  share, support and create.  Share your voices with each other and beyond.
No need to be a performer, although – if you are, that’s great! All input is valued and writing is as powerful as the songs we will create.  Your thoughts and experiences are what will propel us into the heart of the workshop.
Please RSVP KCRep by emailing Melinda at mccrarym@kcrep.org  or Lydia at fuqual@kcrep.org   and we will save a spot for you.

 

Ten Days of Trans Demands – Workplace – Kansas City

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow Tuesday 9th October at 6 pm will be the Kansas City event for the Ten Days of Trans Demands.  It will be at Kansas City United Church of Christ, 205 W 65th St, Kansas City, Missouri 64113, and there will be many speakers on being an ally and an advocate in the workplace.  For more details, see the Facebook event – https://www.facebook.com/events/250229949013821/

Sustenance for the Soul – Concert on June 16th 2018!

Transfinity KC Chorus will be holding their Spring/Summer concert this coming Saturday, June 16th, 7pm, at Kansas City United Church of Christ (65th & Brookside).

There will be lots of food, wine, and singing, and a new addition to the repertoire – poetry readings by local transgender and gender non-conforming poets.

You do not need tickets in advance, but you can make a donation at the door if you choose, to support the work of TKC.

 

January 2018 Trans Talk on KKFI

Transgender, alternate gender, and non-binary gender studies is an incredibly broad and diverse field of study, which sometimes can be overwhelming even to someone who is honestly interested in the subject. And while it can be tempting to lump together anyone who is not cisgender binary as being “transgender,” that broad umbrella term can also hide the incredible depth and breadth that exists within a specific culture. This can be especially troubling when we are trying to learn from an ancient culture which has been subjugated and nearly destroyed by a conquering culture of invaders – such as the Native American two-spirit people.

We are very happy today to have two representatives of Native American two-spirit culture with us in the studio today, Bry Smiley and Reggie Black Elk, who will give us some enlightenment on their people and their culture, and who will talk about a premier event they are holding at the Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, called the Two-Spirit Pow-Wow.

Join us at 1pm Central today on 90.1FM KKFI, streaming on kkfi.org, or via various apps on your phones.

August 2017 Trans Talk on KKFI

Hello everyone! On Trans Talk this month we’re going to be talking with a return guest in our studio – Dr. Hiten Soni, a psychiatrist who strongly supports the transgender community, about the rise in stress in LGBT people after Trump’s election.

We will have Una’s News Rant, a round up of some of the LGBT news this week, and we will finish up the show with the community calendar update. I do hope you will be able to join me this Saturday, August 26th at 1:00 pm on 90.1 KKFI, Kansas City Community Radio! You can also stream the program live on kkfi.org, or via various apps on your phone.