When students, colleagues or community members have questions about the nuances of gender and sexuality, Julia Keleher likes to refer to the gender unicorn.
The graphic of a purple unicorn, found on the Trans Student Educational Resource website, breaks down gender-related components, such as gender identity, gender expression and physical and emotional attraction.
Keleher, director of the University of Idaho LGBTQA Office, said the unicorn can be used as a tool to help people see gender on a spectrum, rather than as a binary. This is one of the ideas Keleher said she will explore in her upcoming presentation, Transgender 101 Staff Training.
“It’s an introductory training targeted to faculty and staff, but we welcome students to take it, too,” Keleher said. “It provides a basic overview of transgender people and gender identity. A lot of the training is learning more about the participants’ gender identity and kind of understanding them for transgender people whose binary might be outside of what we’re used to.”
The LGBTQA Office pairs with the Office of Human Rights, Access and Inclusion to host the training for staff, faculty and students once every semester. Keleher said those interested in participating are encouraged to RSVP via email to lgbtoffice@uidaho.edu. This semester’s training will take place from 9-11 a.m. Thursday in the Horizon Room on the fourth floor of the Idaho Commons.
Keleher said the training will address the ways in which society thinks of gender in terms of a male-female binary and how gender and sexuality operate on more of a non-linear continuum.
“For me, I can say my sex is female, but I really have more of a masculine gender expression. But I still identify as a woman, so there are many different ways people can identify on that spectrum,” Keleher said.
The presentation will include a variety of interactive activities, including quizzes and assessments that prompt the audience to think about their own gender identity and expression. These activities help participants better understand the common terminology in transgender communities.
Keleher said understanding the nuances of gender and what it means to be transgender is relevant to educators and to individuals who may not think they interact with transgender people on a daily basis.
“Sometimes you may not think you interact, but you might. You never know who’s trans and who’s not trans,” Keleher said. “The value is it just provides you with more tools in your toolbox for faculty and staff who work with a variety of students.”
Although the presentation is aimed at faculty and staff, Keleher said such training is valuable for students who are interested in growing professionally.
“For students, it’s important to grow your professional development — it helps you work with other people in your life, in your community and in your future,” Keleher said. “It’s important to just have that basic knowledge and information about gender and start thinking about gender outside of our binary systems we have set up in our society.”
Corrin Bond can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @CorrBond