We find ourselves living in another year of ever-intensifying anti-LGBTQIA2+ violence. But, as Audre Lorde said to the 1989 graduates of Oberlin College, “... I do have hope. To face the realities of our lives is not a reason for despair—despair is a tool of your enemies. Facing the realities of our lives gives us motivation for action. For you are not powerless.”

Highlighting some of this powerful resistance, this event builds on the Spark series, "Living an LGBTQIA2+ Life: Enacting Health Justice for a Flourishing Future." The panel will discuss some of the many ways that LGBTQIA2+ people:

leverage the strengths of their identities and communities to center their mental health and wellbeing;
thrive within their interpersonal relationships and family lives; and,
experience immense joy, pleasure and delight.

We hope this event will spark something in you, some curiosity to start new conversations with those around you about how to better support and resource LGBTQIA2+ people during this time of global trauma from war, climate disasters, food apartheid, a pandemic, and anti-Black, anti-LGBTQIA+, and xenophobic legislation. Ultimately, we hope you leave ready to work with us to chart a path toward a new, flourishing future.

Start now by registering to attend this event, and then continue the conversation through June with The Sexploration Project team as they convene community members, advocates, providers, and scholars for a series of follow-up roundtable discussions.

Confirmed Speakers:
- David B. Green Jr., Assistant Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at California State University, Los Angeles
- Shannon D. Snapp, Associate Professor of Psychology at California State University, Monterey Bay
- Sean Kramer, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art
- Michelle D Vaughan, Licensed Psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychology at Wright State University
- Catherine Schaefer, Graduate Student at the National Center for Gender Spectrum Health at the University of Minnesota

- The Sexploration Project team (moderators), Andrés Cordero, Jr., B. Ethan Coston, Deandra Escañuela, and Natalie Malone (tentative)