Workshopping Gender

Presented April 2013 at Studio 34 in Philadelphia, and April 2016 for Outward Bound in Baltimore.

Back in 2013, Philadelphia Theatre of the Oppressed gathered a couple dozen people together for an evening all about gender facilitated by Qui Alexander. We mapped gender with charts, diagrams, and by moving ourselves around the room, and Qui led group exercises that aimed to:

• define differences between sex, sexuality, gender identity and gender expression.
• talk about different gender expressions, both inside and outside of the gender binary.
• learn about trans and genderqueer identity and how to be an ally to gender-variant people.
• think critically about our own genders and assumptions we have around others' genders.

One tool that helped people understand these concepts was the Genderbread Person.  Many iterations of Genderbread People have populated the web. This version is the simplest and a good introduction to distinguishing a few terms:

In 2016 T.O. Philly led a similar workshop for the staff of Outward Bound in Baltimore.

About the facilitator:

Qui Alexander is a queer Black Latino facilitator, trainer, consultant, organizer and yoga teacher who describes himself as a laugh-loving, shape-shifting and nerdy ball of fire.  Qui began LGBTQ advocacy work during his undergraduate years at Bryn Mawr College and continues to do that work in Philly with the Attic Youth Center and nationally with the Brown Boi Project.  Somewhere along the way, Qui accidentally got into yoga, wellness and social justice.  He has since committed himself to volunteering at his local community acupuncture clinic and teaching yoga to queer, trans and POC communities.  Qui combines all of these experiences to hold space for folks in different capacities, striving to affirm identities and open people up to the deeper places learning can take them while inspiring others to embrace change in all parts of their lives.