Society of Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists
2004 Annual Report
submitted to the AAA by Co-Chairs Christa Craven & Rudolf Gaudio in January 2005
During 2004, the Society of Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists (SOLGA) sponsored events at the AAA annual meetings in Atlanta, co-sponsored events during the original time of the meetings in San Francisco, co-sponsored the Society of North American Anthropology Conference in the Spring, held our annual student paper and book prize competitions, published two issues of the SOLGAN, maintained SOLGA's website (www.solga.org), continued the SOLGA Mentor File, maintained a SOLGA listserv, published regular columns in Anthropology News, initiated a AAA response to a Virginia Law which severely restricts the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) individuals, and maintained a continued presence in positions of leadership within the AAA. Membership has remained stable with a slight increase from 217 (January 2004) to 238, of which 93 are students (as of October 2004). SOLGA remains in sound financial standing; as of October 2004, SOLGA's Revenues to Date were $8,659 and expenses were $440. Like many Sections, due to the cancellation of our Business and Board meetings and other Annual Meeting events, our actual expenses for 2004 will be well under what we had projected. Through members' continued proactive work throughout the AAA, SOLGA remains a vital and active Section.
Section 1: Accomplishments During 2004
Elections and Officers
SOLGA is co-chaired by two persons of differing gender identities. Tom Boellstorff (UC-Irvine) completed his 2-year term in November 2004, and Rudolf Gaudio (SUNY-Purchase) was elected by the membership to succeed him from 2005-2006; Christa Craven (U Mary Washington) was appointed by the SOLGA Board as Co-Chair in October 2004 to replace Christine Pettett (Yale U), who had to step down due to unforeseen circumstances. Christa Craven's term will end at the 2005 Annual Business Meeting. Beginning in 2005, we will be separating our Secretary and Treasurer positions and have appointed a full 11-member Board.
Names and Email Address of Officers During 2004:
Tom Boellstorff, Co-Chair, tboellst@uci.edu
Christa Craven, Co-Chair and Program Co-Editor, ccraven@umw.edu
Todd White, Secretary/Treasurer, Website Manager & SOLGAN Editor, ctw@usc.edu
David Houston, Anthropology News Editor, dlrh@uvm.edu
Rudi Gaudio, Benedict Prize Chair and Co-Chair Elect, rudolf.gaudio@purchase.edu
Ellen Lewin, Payne Prize Chair, ellen-lewin@uiowa.edu
Deborah Elliston, Previous Co-Chair, elliston@binghamton.edu
Jeff Maskovsky, Program Co-Editor, jmaskovsky@qu.edu
Ken Rowe, Student Board Member, anthrocubsf@aol.com
Names and Email Addresses of New Officers for 2005:
Thamora Fishel, Secretary, tfishel@csulb.edu
Frank Proschan, Benedict Prize Chair, proschanf@folklife.si.org
Sarah Hill, Program Co-Editor, sarah.hill@wmich.edu
Diana Pash, Student Board Member, dpash@ucla.edu
Program in Atlanta & San Francisco
SOLGA Program Co-Editors Christa Craven (U Mary Washington) and Jeff Maskovsky (Queens College/CUNY) put together the program for the 2004 Annual Meetings in San Francisco. Unfortunately, all but one poster session and one special event had to be cancelled after the conference was moved to Atlanta during December. The following sessions were held in Atlanta: Queering Performance & Practice (Poster Session, organizers: Program Co-Editors) and Teaching Sex and Sexuality in the Class Room (Special Event, organizer: Michael Hernandez).
Three additional sessions were held in San Francisco at the Native American AIDS Project during the time of the original meetings: Where are the Native American Two Spirit People, Pre- and Post-AIDS?: A Tribute to Bea Medicine (organizers: Sandra Faiman-Silva and Randy Burns), Researching Native American Two Spirit People: A Tribute to Sue-Ellen Jacobs (organizers: Sandra Faiman-Silva and Randy Burns), Honoring Sue-Ellen Jacobs & Bea Medicine: Dance, Poetry, Music (organizers: Sandra Faiman-Silva and Randy Burns). These events were cosponsored by SOLGA, Gay American Indians of San Francisco, and the Native American Cultural Center of San Francisco. The GLBT Historical Society also held a personal tour of their archives & museum for SOLGA members during the time of the original meetings.
Other SOLGA sessions, which were originally accepted but had to be cancelled, were: INVITED SESSION: Sex, Science and Scripture: Exploring the Discourses Framing LGBT Issues in American Christianity (organizers: Constance Sullivan-Blum and Nadine Rosechild-Sullivan), INVITED SESSION: Marry, Marry, Quite Contrary: Pasts, Presents and Futures of Alliance, Here and There (organizers: Lucinda Ramberg & Christopher Roebuck), Queering Asia (organizers: Kok Kee Tan & John Cho), Sex, Street, Screen: Mediating Sex in the National Metropolis (organizers: Rachel Joo), SPECIAL EVENT: Politics and Same-Sex Marriage: A Conversation with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (organizer: James Quesada). Additionally, a SOLGA-inspired session that was awarded AAA Presidential Status for the 2004 Annual Meetings in San Francisco had to be cancelled: What's All the Fuss About Same-Sex Marriage?: Myths, Realities, and Controversies About Family and Marriage in America (organizers: Christa Craven and Jeff Maskovsky).
Co-Sponsorship of 2004 SANA Conference
SOLGA co-sponsored the Spring meetings of the Society for the Anthropology of North America conference in Atlanta, GA. A SANA/SOLGA plenary session (organized by Jeff Maskovsky) honored long-time SOLGA member Roger Lancaster and highlighted his most recent book, The Trouble With Nature: Sex in Science and Popular Culture (2003, University of California Press). Another veteran SOLGA member, Bill Leap (American U), organized a session addressing the complex issues around marriage, family, social justice, and GLBTQ communities in the United States.
Prize Competitions
SOLGA sponsors two annual prize competitions:
The Ruth Benedict Prize is awarded annually in two categories-a single author volume and an edited volume-outstanding anthropological scholarship on a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered topic. This year's Benedict Prize Committee was Rudi Gaudio (Chair, SUNY-Purchase), Susan U. Philips (U Arizona), and Karen Nakamura (Macalester C). The 2004 Benedict Prize for a Single Author Volume was awarded to Megan Sinnott (UC San Francisco) for Toms and Dees: Transgender Identity and Female Same-Sex Relationships in Thailand (University of Hawai'i Press, 2004). The 2004 Benedict Prize for an Edited Volume was awarded to Ellen Lewin (U Iowa) and William L. Leap (American U) for Out in Theory: The Emergence of Lesbian and Gay Anthropology (University of Illinois Press, 2002).
A Kenneth Payne Student Paper Prize is a cash grant awarded for a student paper of exceptional merit. This year's Payne Prize Committee was Ellen Lewin (Chair, U Iowa), Martin Manalansan (U Illinois) and Cymene Howe (SF State). The 2004 Payne Prize was awarded to two students: Anthony Petro (U Chicago) for his essay "The Methodist Church, Progressive Politics, and God's Loved Subjects: Gay and Lesbian Activism in a Chicago Methodist Church" and Marcia Ochoa (Stanford U), for her essay "Perverse Citizenship: Divas, Marginality, and Participation in 'Loca-lization.'"
SOLGAN
Under the direction of C. Todd White (U Southern California), SOLGA's newsletter, SOLGAN, was published twice in 2004. The SOLGAN is an important line of communication among SOLGA members, which has included articles on members' participation at related conferences, recent publications by members, and book reviews.
SOLG@online
Also under the direction of C. Todd White (U Southern California), SOLGA maintained our website at www.solga.org. Currently, SOLG@online hosts the SOLGA Mentoring File (see below) and provides information on SOLGA's history, its bylaws, current officers, the minutes of past business meetings, past and present prize winners, links to websites of interest, and other information and resources useful to SOLGA's current and prospective members.
SOLGA Mentor File
SOLGA maintains a Mentoring File that aims to provide a LGBTQ scholarly mentoring network for undergraduate and graduate students. In 2004, Diana Pash (UCLA) managed the Mentoring File, which is available on our website at http://homepage.mac.com/ctgrant/solga/Mentors/mentormain.html.
SOLGA Listserv
Our section listserv (SOLGA-L@american.edu) is maintained by Michelle Carnes (American U). Members and other allies may join the lively conversation by going to http://homepage.mac.com/ctgrant/solga/listserv.html.
AN Column
Under David Houston's (U Vermont) editorship, SOLGA published our section column regularly in Anthropology News during 2004. SOLGA's AN column has provided a key source of information about issues of interest to scholars studying sexuality and gender throughout the discipline. A variety of SOLGA members has written columns on topics such as: being queer in the service economy, marginalization, marriage, a reflection on our audience, and the importance of accessible scholarship.
Initiating AAA Response to Virginia Law Against LGBT Rights
In response to a AAA staff request, SOLGA asked the AAA to condemn a new law in Virginia, which has become known as the "Marriage Affirmation Act" (HB 751), in their capacity as an employer in Virginia. Virginia's new law prohibits any contract or "arrangement" between persons of the same-sex, including contracts concerning child custody, hospital visitation rights, health, property and life insurance benefits, taxes, inheritance, and property rights. The ramifications of this law are of concern to employees of AAA, as well as anthropologists working at businesses, colleges, and universities throughout Virginia. SOLGA worked with AAA President Liz Brumfiel and Equality Virginia, a local organization working to preserve LGBT rights (www.equalityvirginia.org), to mobilize the following response:
* President Liz Brumfiel sent letters to leaders of the Virginia General Assembly expressing AAA's concern about the new law and encouraged efforts to overturn it.
* President Liz Brumfiel also sent a letter on behalf of AAA to support efforts by Equality Virginia to pass a law which would allow all Virginia businesses to offer domestic partner healthcare insurance and other benefits (the new law makes these arrangements invalid for most small to mid-size businesses and anti-gay groups are threatening to legally challenge businesses that continue to offer domestic partner benefits). This effort is also supported by many other Virginia businesses and organizations, including the American Psychiatric Association, Capital One Bank, Hewlett-Packard, and the CATO Institute.
* AAA agreed to communicate to staff members the Association's concern for their rights and encourage employees to alert the Association to any adverse consequences they may suffer as a result of the law.
SOLGA will continue to monitor the situation for LGBT anthropologists and AAA staff in Virginia and alert AAA of any changes to the law or additional opportunities to take action as an employer in Virginia.
SOLGA Leadership within the AAA
SOLGA and its members continue to address issues of professional concern to LGBTQ anthropologists as members of the AAA, with several active SOLGA members serving the Association in AAA-wide offices. In 2004, William Beeman (Brown U) served as a member of the Executive Board; Scott Morgensen (Macalester C) and Karen Nakamura (Macalester C) served as SOLGA Liaisons to the Committee on Ethics; Karen Nakamura (Macalester C) also served on the Long-Range Planning Committee; Florence Babb (U Iowa) served on Committee on Minority Issues in Anthropology; Doug Feldman (SUNY Brockport) completed a 3-year term on the Nominating Committee; Frank Proschan (Smithsonian) continued his service on the AnthroSource Working Group; and David Valentine (U Minnesota) completed a 2-year term on the Committee for Human Rights. In addition, SOLGA officers and members are active in leadership positions in other Sections: Evelyn Blackwood (Purdue U) served on the Executive Board of the Association for Feminist Anthropology; Doug Feldman (SUNY Brockport) served as Treasurer for the National Association of Practicing Anthropologists and was elected to serve on the Board of the Society for Medical Anthropology; Christa Craven (U Mary Washington) completed a 3-year term on the Council on Anthropology and Reproduction Edited Collection Prize Committee; Florence Babb (U Iowa) was elected to serve as President of the Association for Feminist Anthropology; and Jeff Maskovsky (Queens College/CUNY) was elected to become the President of the Society for the Anthropology of North America and the AAA Nominating Committee.
Section 2: Future Plans & Activities
During 2005, SOLGA will continue to organize sessions for the AAA Annual Meetings, conduct its annual student paper and book prize competitions, publish the SOLGAN, maintain its website and list serve, encourage use of the SOLGA Mentor File, publish columns in the Anthropology News, and alert the AAA to any changes in Virginia laws that will affect AAA staff and GLBT anthropologists. SOLGA will also be working with AnthroSource to be certain that it has a complete run of back issues of the SOLGAN and its predecessor, the Newsletter of the Anthropology Research Group on Homosexuality, for digital conversion and on-line access. Through these and other activities, SOLGA will remain a vital and lively section, committed to:
* facilitating communications among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and other queer anthropologists and between queer anthropologists and queer scholars in other fields;
* encouraging and supporting anthropological research on sexuality (including homosexuality, heterosexuality, bisexuality, transsexuality, and more) and gender in all subfields of the discipline;
* developing materials for teaching about sexuality and gender topics; and
* serving the interests of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and queer anthropologists within the AAA.
Section 3: Recommendations to the Long-Range Planning Committee and AAA EB
In Support of the Canterbury Statement
In November 2004, SOLGA signed the Canterbury Statement (http://www.petitiononline.com/sf112004/petition.html). We encourage the AAA EB to implement the recommendations therein.
|
