Public Activism: Ways to Advocate in Support of Trans Youth

Public Activism: Ways to Advocate in Support of Trans Youth

Track: Lead by Example
Workshop Block 5: Sunday, October 27 – 9:45 AM – 11:15 AM
Room: Julia Lee AB

All parents of trans youth advocate for our children. Some will only ever advocate privately with the local school or the pediatrician’s office. If you choose to become more vocal to take a stand against anti-trans legislative initiatives or tell your story in the media, you need strategies for your messaging and for your protection. In this workshop, we will cover different types of advocacy from writing blogs, giving interviews to reporters, lobbying efforts through letters and phone calls, giving testimony in front of legislators, and how to deal with any backlash you receive from being public.

Presenter Bio

Debi Jackson, Gender Inc. and Trans-Parenting.com

Debi Jackson lives with her husband and two children in Kansas City, MO. She became an advocate for transgender rights in 2014 when her speech about her daughter’s transition at the age of 4 went viral. The self-described “conservative Southern Baptist Republican from Alabama” now speaks on behalf of transgender children and their families around the world. She has been interviewed by media across the US, the UK, France, Greece, Russia, Ukraine, South Africa, Colombia and Brazil. She has developed relationships with many LGBTQ organizations, including PFLAG, NCTE, NCLR, HRC, the ACLU, and Trevor Project, learning all she can about issues the trans community faces in order to be the best possible advocate.

Return to We Are the Change: The 2019 PFLAG National Convention.