Anthony Arrien (he/him)
Trans & Non Binary Identities 101 for Self Advocacy & LGBTQ+ Allies
.
This workshop will briefly look at the history Gender Non Conformity in Ancient Societies, some basic terminology, and will cover the underlying concepts in understanding gender identity, gender expression, physical sex and sexual orientation. The importance of pronouns, neo pronouns and other language will be discussed along with best practices for TGNCNB and LGBTQ+ equity and inclusion.
The growing non binary prevalence with be highlighted and the causes of minority stress and self harm will be examined. After a brief look at the bullying data from schools over the last 4 years, we will arm you and our allies with details of recent positive New York State legislation for TGNCNB people, including the June 12, 2023 update to NYS Education Department Guidelines, derived from those state laws, which now strongly protects NY students along with DASA. This positive NY State legislation will be contrasted with the national negative legislative trends for LGBTQ+ people and how that manages to affect us all, wherever we live.
After a look at self harm statistics by ethnicity we will take a look at the concept of Intersectionality and how it relates to hate crime. We will also explain the emergence of the term Neuroqueer so that we may properly advocate for our neurodiverse siblings in the LGBTQ+ community.
We will talk about various forms of support systems at The LOFT and elsewhere. Questions are encouraged during the workshop, to engage the audience in the topics.
Anthony Arrien is an "out" transgender man who provides LGBTQ+ Cultural Competency training and professional development presentations for The LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Center. As a volunteer he has facilitated the adult transgender peer support group at The LOFT since 2016. Over the years he has given workshops on LGBTQ+ and TGNCNB topics at major conferences such as The LOFT's Hudson Valley Trans Forum, The Philadelphia Transgender Wellness Conference, TransLives: The Intersection of Health and Law at UCONN in Connecticut, PrideWorks Youth Conference at Pace University, 'First Event' transgender conference in Boston, as well as presentations and panel discussion for local library programs, colleges, hospitals, mental health organizations and various support organizations that serve LGBTQ+ youth and/or adults.
Anthony served on the Board of Directors of The LOFT during the period between July 2019 and early October 2023. He has also served as a board member of GLSEN Lower Hudson Valley since 2019 and, as their Professional Development Co Chair, has done trainings and panel discussions for students, administrators, advisors and teachers in K-12 schools in Westchester and Putnam Counties. He was certified by GLSEN in late 2022 as a Legendary class facilitator.
On the public policy front, Anthony has done numerous legislative visits for LGBTQ+ advocacy in New York State for laws such as GENDA (The Gender Expression Non Discrimination Act), the Gender Recognition Act, the prohibition of conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youth in NY, the elimination of the so-called "Panic Defense" previously used to provide lesser sentences for the murder of LGBTQ+ individuals and many other pieces of legislation. He recently retired from his career in Community Media, running local government and educational channels for a town in Putnam County, but he is still a public policy warrior supporting legislation to preserve Community Media and hyper local Public, Educational and Government programming in New York State as Chairman of the Alliance for Community Media of New York.
Anthony holds a BA in Physics and Astronomy from University of Arizona and studied film directing at Columbia University Graduate School of the Arts MFA program. Before his Community Media job he worked for decades as a freelancer in the NYC Film and Video industry as an IATSE gaffer and electrician on movies, national commercials, music videos, industrials and episodic television. After that he started his own production company to do independent filmmaking on subjects in astronomy, the humanities and social justice.
In his spare time Anthony is a plein air landscape painter who works in oils on linen board. He is a member of the Lower Hudson Valley Plein Air Painters, and also likes to travel to the Southwest to paint desert landscapes. For physical recreation he enjoys roller and ice skating and is known to pack his skates for trips to visit new rinks.