MIDWEST

The Chicago Transguy Alliance

This group is made up of FTMs, Transmen, Butch TGs, Genderqueers, people questioning, and our friends, family, and allies. Interested in making new friends and finding support come by, and meet us in the back by the pool table.

Where: Howard Brown Health Center
4025 N. Sheridan RD.
Ph#: 773-388-1369

FORGE

FORGE (For Ourselves: Reworking Gender Expression), a national education, advocacy and support umbrella organization supporting FTM+s (female-to-male transsexuals and transgenderists, and others who were assigned female at birth but who now have some level of masculine identification) and SOFFAs (Significant Others, Family, Friends and Allies), is announcing its next Midwest social support group meeting.

Our next meeting is on Saturday, May 3, 2003, from 7:00 to 10:00pm at Milwaukee's LGBT Community Center, located at 315 Court Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

FORGE meetings provide a friendly, facilitated setting for FTM+s/SOFFAs to network, share their personal experiences, become more informed, and gather resources.

Meeting agendas include:

* open rap session

* socializing time

* a moderated, single-topic discussion

May's topic is "Emergence and Disclosure". Issues covered at this meeting may include:

· "coming out" to self

· "coming out" to others

· the importance of disclosing (or not)

· necessary disclosure

· risks associated with being out or disclosing trans-status (relationship to a trans person)

· the process of blossoming and being true to one's Self

· "stealth" and "out" issues

· differences and similarities between FTMs/MTFs, partners, crossdressers, butches, family members, genderqueers, professionals, drag kings, allies, etc.

The topic schedule for the next FORGE meetings are...

June 7, 2003 Making Our Bodies Our Own
July 5, 2003 Spirituality
Aug. 2, 2003 The Heat Is On!
Sept. 6, 2003 Depression and Mental Health Issues
Oct. 4, 2003 Hormones
Nov. 1, 2003 Trans+/SOFFA Aging
Dec. 6, 2003 Holidays and Rituals

FORGE support group meetings are open to ALL people interested in FTM+/SOFFA issues. We support and honor the plethora of ways there are to be FTM+/masculine/butch/trans+ and the wide variety of people who fall under the broad category of SOFFA.

For more information about FORGE (meetings, basic information, resources), please contact FORGE, PO Box 1272, Milwaukee, WI 53201. Phone: 414-278-6031.

Reference URL: www.forge-forward.org/socialsupport/index.html

info@forge-forward.org.

Web: www.forge-forward.org.