Rewriting Gender

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Please register for this workshop via short mail to alexandra.graupner@uni-ak.ac.at Trans people are required to submit a ‘Trans-CV’, amongst other documents, to access gender-affirming surgery in Germany. This practice is deeply discriminatory. The CV is supposed to provide proof of being trans from early childhood – like playing with ponies instead of cars, or preferring baggy jeans over ballet skirts. State-appointed assessors look for stereotypical and rigid ideas of gender, as if clothing, hobbies, or preferences were strictly binary. But reality is more complex. Most people’s lives, cis or trans, don’t fit into such narrow categories. In this workshop, we will explore these stereotypes and how they shape our lives. Together, we’ll write our own ‘CVs’ relating to gendered expectations. Cis participants will write a CV for the gender they don’t identify with, while trans participants choose which perspective they’d like to take. The goal is to spark conversation about how gender norms limit everyone, and to highlight the fluidity of gender in each of us. No prior knowledge or tools needed About the facilitator: Jona (he/they) is a visual artist and workshop facilitator with a background in architecture. Jona is queer, white, able-bodied, and transmasculine. Jona Wolf studied architecture at Studio Greg Lynn and Studio Wolf D. Prix and graduated in 2015. Jona is Alumni in Residence at AIL in September and October. During their residency at AIL, Jona will create a series of works exploring how cultural body norms and beauty standards reinforce the gender binary. The project aims to empower the gender fluidity of trans people while also raising awareness of how gender norms affect and restrict everyone in society. Throughout their residency, current Alumni in Residence Jona Wolf is making the studio space as accessible as possible. They will activate it by screening films by other trans artists and hosting a workshop and performance. This event is part of this series.

Lecturer