In the last two years we should all have learned elections have consequences! Lately those consequences have fallen hard on trans/non-binary people (and immigrants, Muslims, sexual assault survivors, and and and…) You, however, have one very powerful tool for helping shape your own and our collective future: your vote. Don’t surrender it!  Use it!  But…

They say the wheels of justice turn slowly, and often it feels as if that turn is nearly imperceptible. So how can we gauge whether our society and our communities are becoming more just? One way to measure this progress is through the Human Rights Campaign and the Equality Federation Institute’s Municipal Equality Index. The…

You’ve probably heard of the TIME’S UP legal defense fund. It was founded and promoted largely by women in Hollywood responding to pervasive sexual harassment and assault they and their colleagues had experienced. The TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund is specifically aimed at helping low-wage workers who experience workplace assault, harassment, abuse and related retaliation…

Dezjorn Gauthier has been busy. Since graduating from Marquette University in 2013 with a degree in Criminology Law Studies and Sociology, he began his physical transition in 2014, and became an award winning model, including being one of seventeen featured trans models in the well-known Barney’s New York campaign. He was featured in the documentary…

The human voice is infinite in variety and unique to each person. When we communicate through speech, for those of us who do, we use our voices to give us power and help express our feelings. Our voices can feel like they betray us sometimes, too, like when they reveal emotion we don’t want them…

FORGE is involved in two national efforts: PrideStudy (https://pridestudy.org/) is an LGBTQ-led, longitudinal study that is building a database and assisting researchers in using it (or sponsoring their own studies) to create more high-quality research on LGBTQ health. This is an extraordinarily sensitive and thoughtful project that includes a nationwide, very active advisory board (which…

1. Can you tell FORGE a little a bit about yourself, your background, and what you do as the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center\’s Transgender Resource Coordinator? I’ve been employed at the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center since November 2016 as the Transgender Resource Coordinator. The Center obtained funding in 2016 to devote a full-time staff member…

Milwaukee’s Fire & Police Commission voted unanimously last Friday afternoon to pass new, and improved guidelines for MPD interactions with folks from the transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex communities. The vote comes in the same month that the Trump administration rolled back Obama-era federal guidance, giving protections to transgender people in prisons.  Despite evidence that…

Want to attend PrideFest 2018?  Volunteering with FORGE for a short 3 hour shift will get you in for free, as well as supply you with a fantastic, uniquely designed T-shirt for this year’s event.  This year\’s T-shirt was designed by Jess Meddock. Fill out the form below to sign-up.   [Or go directly to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PrideFest2018]  (Learn more,…

Milwaukee PrideFest is an opportunity for the LGBTQ+ community and our allies to come together in celebration of our incredible diversity and the advances we have made. A big part of PrideFest is about commemorating living our most authentic lives and selves. While PrideFest has long maintained a commitment to the health and well-being of…