Synergy in Atlanta Oct01

Synergy in Atlanta

Late September saw three important conferences convening in Atlanta: The 21st annual Southern Comfort Conference , the 29th annual conference of the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association, and the 22nd International Symposium of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.

Southern Comfort’s theme was “Come of Age.” The theme of the WPATH symposium was “Transgender Beyond Disorder: Identity, Community, and Health.”

All three conventions were sizeable, with Southern Comfort arguably being the largest. At lunch on Friday the 23rd, I overheard SCC Conference Chair Alexis Dee tell another participant she expected attendance to top 1000, breaking previous records.

On Sunday the 25th SCC and WPATH hosted a joint symposium on transgender health issues. Earlier in the week leaders of WPATH and GLMA participated with Atlanta activists in a community town hall meeting at the Southern Comfort Conference. The town hall was moderated by Faughn Adams of Emory University and Anneliese Singh of Georgia Safe Schools Coalition.