The Butch Voices Conference will be held in Oakland from August 20 to 23 of this year. Butch Voices is a grassroots organization dedicated to all self-identified butches, studs, aggressives, transmasculine folks, and our allies. We can be found online at www.butchvoices.com.

It is extremely important to us that as many voices as possible be represented, and that the question of butch/trans (liminal spaces, border wars, points of allegiance, the putative continuum, etc.) be explicitly addressed.

This conference is an opportunity for us to speak, both to one another and to our allies. To talk about why we identify in the ways we do; about how we can tell our stories when the words available to us simply don't fit; about masculinity and maleness, femininity and femaleness, areas of overlap, and areas in which we are none of the above; about sex and embodiment; about community and about placelessness; about homelessness and about the search for home.

Submissions of all kinds are welcome, though we especially welcome those that grapple with difficult questions:

• Desire and relationships
• Various “border wars” (and what we can do about them)
• Drag, passing, and failing to pass
• Misogyny
• Penis envy (or our lack thereof)
• Community-building
• Race
• Class
• Trans-generational dialogue
• Culture, faith, and nation.

We particularly encourage proposals by and for people of color, working-class people, and people with disabilities. We hope to draw participants from across disciplinary, social, and formal boundaries. Relevant proposals from non-butch, stud, or aggressive presenters and allies are also welcome.

Contributions may include, but are not limited to:

• Workshops
• Performances
• Presentations
• Skill shares
• Photography/ visual art
• Video

To apply to be a presenter, please submit a completed session proposal form to us at EMAIL ADDRESS. Submission deadline is JUNE 1, 2009.

To learn more about us and our mission, and to contact us with any questions, comments or concerns, please find us at www.butchvoices.com. Proposals can be sent to programming@butchvoices.com