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25^th November:
From gender dysphoria to gender euphoria
One day workshop with Esben Esther & Elsa Almaas

In every country and culture there are individuals whose lives and experiences do not fit neatly into either the category of 'man' or the category of 'woman'. Without a language to describe their experiences, the life journey of many of these people can be hazardous and it often requires great ingenuity on their part to create and sustain lives of beauty and joy. At the same time, infants are constantly being born around the world with what western medicine refers to as 'ambiguous genitalia'. In response to this situation, the common custom in many countries is to perform surgery - usually to turn the babies into girls. But this practice is now being questioned along with so much else... In recent years a movement of trans and bi-gendered people has been questioning and challenging all that has been taken-for-granted about understandings of gender. This movement promises to forever change how we understand what it means to be a 'woman', what it means to be a 'man', indeed what it means to be a 'human being'. 

Esben Esther is an openly bi-gendered doctor and sexologist who lives and works in Norway. Elsa Almaas is a highly respected Norwegian psychologist and sexologist. Esben Esther and Elsa Almaas are also life partners. Their workshops and keynote addresses have been some of the highlights of our previous international conferences. Through conveying elements of Esben Esther's and Elsa's own experience and also by sharing stories of their  work with families of children who display unusually gendered behaviour in childhood, this workshop promises to be both a powerfully moving and challenging learning experience.  

This thoughtful and inspiring one day workshop will explore:  

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