5:00 PM, 14 Nov 2018 - , G01, Kane Building, UCC

Gender Dysphoria in Ireland: Past, Present and Future

Wednesday 14 November, 5 pm, G01, Kane Building

Sara-Jane Cromwell

Gender Dysphoria in Ireland: Past, Present and Future

The first part of this presentation is a review of the book Wrong Body Wrong Life and its contribution to the discussion around Gender Dysphoria since it was first published in 2010. The presentation will address what is happening in Ireland since the introduction of the Gender Recognition Act 2015, and how it is affecting people who have applied to change their Birth Certificates to reflect their true gender identity. The presentation will also deal with the issue of healthcare, or, the lack of it for people with Gender Dysphoria. Also, it will ask whether gender dysphoria belong under the umbrella of LGBT in general, and Transgenderism in particular. Cogent answers will be provided which will challenge how we perceive and deal with gender dysphoria as a Congenital Neurobiological Condition in mainstream healthcare. The role of communication and its influence on our understanding of people with gender dysphoria and how this impacts areas such as inclusion will also be addressed, in order to make gender dysphoria more easily understood as unique in the spectrum of gender identity. It will be argued that effective communication can make a difference in achieving more positive outcomes for those making a disclosure of their true gender identity.

Sara-Jane Cromwell is an Author, Life coach and Motivational Speaker. Sara-Jane was diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria in 2003 at the age of 43 and made the courageous decision to publicly transition towards becoming the woman she is today. She has become a leading authority in Ireland on Gender Dysphoria and has been at the forefront of raising awareness about the issues surrounding gender identity. She is the author of a number of books on Gender Dysphoria, including her autobiography Becoming Myself (2008), and Wrong Body Wrong Life (2010). Sara-Jane was the initiator, co-founder and chairwoman of Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI), and the founder and former CEO of Gender Identity Disorder Ireland (GIDI). Amongst other achievements was assisting in drafting the Heads of Bills, which later became the Gender Recognition Act (2015).

Free - all welcome. Organised by Women's Studies, UCC

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