PROGRAMS
keynotes, lectures, workshops, conversations
|
All programs include a facilitated discussion. I also offer half- and full-day workshops, or mini-conferences tailored to the needs of YOUR group. Most programs are adaptable to various audiences, and people of all genders and sexual orientations are welcome to all of my programs. Email me to discuss possible programs.
|
LECTURE/CONVERSATION
Beyond Binaries: Identity and Sexuality
This program explores the landscape of sexual orientation, and how we "map" sexual orientation. People are complicated and, like snowflakes, no two people are exactly alike. Given that, how do we assign labels to our complicated and unique experiences? In this fun and interactive program we explore different experiences of identity; the complexity of attraction and more.
|
WORKSHOP
Expanding Our Circles
On our college campuses, many of us are in the process of re-imagining gender and sexual orientation. We're creating social spaces with very different understandings than that of the world around us. But we can't spend our entire lives inside these bubbles. We have to interact with the world around us. How do we share what we have learned with others? How do we expand our circles of safety?
(This is an advanced- level discussion for LGBTQ activists) |
 |
Watch Robyn's Keynote
at BECAUSE Conference,
Minneapolis, here >> |
LECTURE/CONVERSATION
Bisexuality, Feminism, Men & Me
How are same-sex relationships different from mixed-sex relationships? This provocative talk explores some of the intersections between the personal and the political, covering topics from body image to social sex role conditioning to heterosexual privilege. |
LECTURE/CONVERSATION
I Now Pronounce You... Equal
Regardless of your position on same-sex marriage, it is a complex issue, and it is very difficult to keep track of what is going on in the United States and around the world. Get your questions answered, and hear the personal story of someone from Massachusetts who legally married her wife on May 17, 2004. |
WORKSHOP
Challenging Biphobia: What You Can Do
Allies and bi folks – join us as we explore the effects of biphobia in our own lives. How can we unlearn negative messages and misinformation and be proactive and fabulous rather than defensive? How can non-bi folks be allies to bisexual people and others with non-binary identities? Join us for an interactive and thought-provoking workshop. Together we’ll answer these questions and turn our shared knowledge into tools and tactics for challenging biphobia. |
LECTURE/CONVERSATION
Bisexuality 101 and Beyond
What does it mean to identify as bisexual (or pansexual or fluid)? What are some of the challenges to recognizing and understanding this often overlooked segment of the LGBTQ community? However you identify, come to this lively and interactive program if you could use some tools for challenging ignorance and biphobia. |
LECTURE/CONVERSATION
Transgressing Binaries: Activism & Academia
This talk addresses some of the barriers that impede communication between the streets and the ivory tower, and suggests strategies for building coalitions. |
LECTURE/CONVERSATION
Bisexuality: A Transnational Perspective
Reading and discussing selected essays and passages from Robyn's anthology, Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World, we examine bisexuality in transnational and intersectional context. How does context affect experience? Which are shared experiences of bisexuality, and which are culturally specific? This is an interactive presentation, excellent for classrooms. Readings will be selected to fit the specific needs and interests of participants.
|
 |
WORKSHOP
How to Save the World AND Have a Good Time: Self-Care For Activists
Have you ever felt overwhelmed, unsupported, exhausted by your activism? Let's come together to brainstorm strategies for taking care of ourselves while changing the world.
|
KEYNOTE/LECTURE
My Family Values: Lessons from a Generation of GLBT Rights Activism
Robyn Ochs draws upon two decades of experience as a GLBT rights activist, candidly discussing the mistakes as well as successes of the gay/lesbian/bi/trans movement. Where are we now? Where should we be heading? |
WORKSHOP
Embracing An All-And Identity in an
Either/Or World
While any sexual orientation or gender identity comes with its own challenges, there are particular issues faced by people who identify as bisexual, pansexual, genderqueer, or who use other labels that defy an either/or interpretation of the world. Together we will examine these issues and devise strategies to create spaces that affirm complex, nonbinary identities. |
WORKSHOP
Working With Bisexual Clients
What are the unique mental health needs of young people who identify as bisexual? What does this label mean? How can mental health professionals and others who work with students best prepare themselves to meet these needs of those coming out as bisexual or embracing other labels of sexual fluidity.
Target audience: Mental health professionals and advanced students of counseling and/or psychology.
|
LECTURE/CONVERSATION
The Changing Landscape of Identity: Understanding and Supporting Students of All Gender Identities and Sexual Orientations
Our teens and twenties are times of exploration, discovery and growth. For non-heterosexual students, this is a time when presumptive labels and sexuality are called into question. Robyn will discuss her work with teens and young adults, and share some of her observations and the lessons she has learned.
Target audience: faculty and staff
|
KEYNOTE/LECTURE
Imagining Our Lives
We are living in a time of tremendous advances in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights. But this process of change is every uneven: in some places LGBT people have more civil rights than ever before; in others our progress is being rolled back. Both popular support and homophobia are on the upswing. Words of encouragement for these challenging times. |
 |
INFORMAL DISCUSSION FOR LBGT FACULTY & STAFF
LGBT Advocacy for Faculty & Staff
Robyn is a cofounder of Harvard University's LGBT Faculty and Staff Group. She would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you to discuss best practices related to LGBT faculty and staff on university campuses, and to strategize with you about the needs and possibilities on your campus. |
WORKSHOP
Choosing to Label: What's in a Name?
Bi, lesbian, gay, straight, queer, questioning, choose-not-to-label. How do you decide which label to use? What do labels do? What don’t they do? Is it possible to avoid labels? What is the difference between ascribed labels and chosen labels? How can we manage our identities in order to get the maximum benefit with the minimum cost? Let’s think creatively and proactively about identity. This is a participatory workshop, and all are welcome. |
WORKSHOP
For Residence Life Staff
Life in the Fishbowl
Residence life staff who are members of one or more minority groups face special challenges. How do we balance our minority identities with our residence life identities? Discussion will cover topics such as role modeling; living in a fishbowl; being tokenized; activism; and how our minority identities can assist us in our residence life positions. |
WORKSHOP
Loosening the Gender Girdle:
How Gender
Affects You
What makes a man a man? What makes a woman a woman? We will look at the ways in which we are limited by a binary understanding of gender, and explore how the politics of gender tie together the feminist, queer and transgendered movements. Come, and bring your gender with you. |
WORKSHOP
Challenging Heterosexism
What is heterosexism? What is homophobia? What are their effects upon each of us? How can we unlearn negative messages and misinformation and be effective allies to gay, lesbian, bi and transgender people? This interactive and thought-provoking workshop will help us to answer these questions, and then organize our shared knowledge into tools and tactics for change. (Note: this is a 2-hour workshop) |
... AND MORE
Lavender Graduation Keynotes, programs for the workplace, webinars, custom programs. Contact Robyn for more information.
|
|
