You Should Go: Raise The Roof While Raising Funds For The Transgender Law Center in Boston

This Saturday, March 2nd, spring is in the air, the moon is in Scorpio, and a bunch of charitably-minded, dance-ily-spirited, Boston-area folks will be in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, at the infamous Midway, for the Fancy Pants Dance Party & Fundraiser. You’re one of them, I bet! You’re texting your queer phone tree. You’re daydreaming about ironing your fanciest pants. You may also want to iron your money, because your cover ($7 before 10 PM; $9 after) will benefit the Transgender Law Center. Which means that instead of getting scrunched into a tip jar, your Saturday night party dollars will go to a group that:

“works to change law, policy, and attitudes so that all people can live safely, authentically, and free from discrimination regardless of their gender identity or expression”

and

“envisions a future where gender self-determination and authentic expression are seen as basic rights and matters of common human dignity.”

EVERYONE NEEDS A LITTLE TLC

EVERYONE NEEDS A LITTLE TLC

Seriously, the Transgender Law Center is important. They connect transgender people and their families with legal professionals and resources, hold public workshops to educate communities about trans* issues, and win legislative victories. Many good things have happened because of them: for example, trans* people in California can now amend their birth certificates no matter where they live, and TSA managers at Los Angeles International Airport have to undergo sensitivity training. Basically, dollars that go there are heroes.

Plus, it’s at the MIDWAY. As anyone who’s ever braved Queeraoke knows, a Midway event guarantees the following:

– pickleback shots
– really close dancing
– someone holding the bathroom door shut for you and becoming your Instant Best Friend
– taking a break from all the dancing to try out your historical gaydar on the wall of black-and-white photos
– “cheap, strong drinks and cheap, strong ladies”
– memories*

THE MIDWAY {VIA BOSTON GLOBE}

THE MIDWAY {VIA BOSTON GLOBE}

But that’s just for weeknights, and this is a Saturday; fittingly, they’ve kicked it up a notch. There’ll be a raffle for toys (the sexy kind), courtesy of Good Vibrations; a photo booth, to commemorate your dazzling smile. “Motown, 90’s, Top 40, Dance, 80’s, One Hit Wonders,” and whatever else you want to hear, especially if you pre-request it on the Facebook page. And surprise guests! So come on down. JP’s not THAT far away.

*memories actually not guaranteed.

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Cara

Cara is a former contributing editor for Autostraddle and a current staff writer at Atlas Obscura. She lives in Somerville with her girlfriend, their roommate, and a cat who can flush the toilet, and is generally thinking about gender, sustainable biodiversity, and/or rock & roll music. You can follow her on twitter @cjgiaimo if you want.

Cara has written 113 articles for us.

7 Comments

  1. I really enjoyed my one visit to Boston. I’d be all over this, if it were not literally on the other side of the continent from me!

  2. I have seen many places wanting to raise funds to help us but when you really need them they don’t get invovled with that type of problem. All of our problems are problems needing help not just select ones you choose for whatever reason.

  4. TLC is a good org (although it’s really more about policy than helping the many hundreds of individual cases of trans-related discrimination). But if you’re in the Boston/New England area, I highly recommend GLAD (not to be mistaken for GLAAD, the media watchdog) Even though they don’t have trans in their name, they’ve advocated for trans people in a wide variety of cases and gotten some amazing results.

    http://www.glad.org/

  5. JP might as well be a frigging UNICORN RIDE AWAY I STRONGLY DISLIKE YOU ORANGE LINE.*

    *this comment may be the culmination of frustrations entirely unrelated to this post for which I apologize

  6. Coming from a time when we had zero rights to today we have come a long way. The thing I see and have experienced is when you really need a lawyer or advice from a lawyer that deals with Trans issues you seem to be on your own. So the parties go on while many are left to suffer and survive on their own. Being railroaded because we have no rights in certain states or situations. Being denied rights to use the women’s restroom at a Lesbian bar at a time when I was working for a company and women there knowing I was Trans had no problem with me using the women’s restroom there. I wrote 4 or 5 places and receive zero response in 2006. One thing it showed me was there was discrimination right in the LGBTQ community. Now after saying this I would give what I could even though I only get enough to survive on through my social security if it helped in the ways I talk of. It may be that not everyone within the Transgender community need their names changed or gender markers changed or letters from psyhologist for corrective surgeries. I’ve waited 50 plus years to get to this point in time so I guess 50 more years isn’t too bad. Enjoy your party.

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