Trans Awareness Training

9 Aug 2018

Providing support for Trans colleagues in UCC

UCC recently ran Trans Awareness Training provided by the Transgender Equality Network Ireland or TENI for short.

TENI is a non-profit organisation supporting the Trans community in Ireland, working  in four main areas (healthcare, employment, education and legislation), and providing support, advocacy and education services.

The workshop in UCC aimed at creating an increase in awareness, understanding and inclusion of Trans issues that may be experienced in UCC (or indeed anywhere in Irish society).  It was an informative and enjoyable few hours, with good interaction and discussion within the group.  It was extremely helpful to hear Trans voices as part of the training, as this in particular helped make real the issues faced by people who wish to express themselves differently to the socially-defined gender norms.

There are many different (and not necessarily overlapping) aspects to Trans – from cross-dressing to intersex to full surgical transition and everywhere inbetween.  Trans in essence means anyone who is not conforming to how Society expects someone of their biological gender (or sex assigned them at birth) to present themselves or behave, for example a man wearing a dress.  This ‘othering’ by Society can be very distressful for the individuals concerned and their loved ones.

If you want to show support for the Trans community, you can do so as simply as adding a ‘pronouns’ section to your email signature (e.g. Pronouns: She/Her), which will probably go unnoticed by the vast majority but will stand out to any member of the Trans community.

For more information on how to support your Trans colleagues, check out TENI’s website at www.teni.ie

 Anne-Marie Curtin, EDI Unit, UCC