There's a new group for trans folk 35 years old, and older. Publisher Dan sat down with organizer Abigail Baker to get the details.
What's the name of your group?
At the moment we're just using Trans 35+ Hangout, it tells you exactly what we're about. Perhaps at some point we'll come up with something clever!
Who are the people behind it?
The group started out with Sidney (she/her) and I (Abigail, also she/her) organising and hosting the meetups. We've recently added Bones (they/them) to our team. They were looking to start a similar group so it made a lot of sense to pool our resources.
Very often a group is created because of a perceived need. Is that the case here or did you just think this would be a good idea?
There's a growing gender diverse community in Halifax, with a lot of social events such as the Trans Tuesday at Rumours that both Sidney and I attend (and help host!) even though we are usually the oldest there. These tend to skew towards late teens to late 20s in terms of age, and while they are all lovely people, differences in culture and the social media platforms they engage with can leave some of the older folk feeling a bit left out and isolated. We've heard from many that they just don't fit into those younger spaces, and there is almost nothing for us older people.
The choice of age 35 and over is really interesting - can you talk about the interests for trans folk over 35 that are different from under?
I think it's mostly just differences in experience, culture, trends and even language. People over 35 tend to be at a different stage in their life, sometimes settled with families, deep into careers, and just have a different focus. Their transition journeys tend to be quite different, and often they want something else from the community, deeper connections and support.
Who can attend? trans folk 35 and older eh? Partners? Allies? Both trans femme and masc?
It's open to any gender diverse people over 35 -- trans women, trans men and non-binary folk. Supporting partners are more than welcome, but we're trying to keep this really focussed on the direct needs of the gender diverse community, to give us a space to connect and find friends.
Do you have a plan for when your regular meetings will be?
It's early days but we are aiming to hold them monthly, typically on a Sunday afternoon around the middle of the month. We skipped a couple during the summer months - life gets busy - but we're back at it now.
How did you choose the Pink Piano Café? What elements are available there that were attractive to you?
Mostly we're just picking queer-owned or queer supportive spaces in and around the HRM. Our intention is to keep it varied so that people get a chance to go to places perhaps they haven't been to before, and so that we can accommodate different needs of people throughout the year, such as sober spaces.
Your first event looks very much like a sit around and talk social. Is this the usual format or do you anticipate you'll add other kinds of events?
It's actually our third event! Our first meeting was at the Oxford Taproom, our second was a picnic at the Garrison Grounds during Halifax Pride week. We're definitely trying to keep things low-commitment though, maybe in the future we will have more formal events with activities.
For now though, while we try to build the community, social events are still the best way to get to know people and most people seem to like the opportunity to engage. Both Sidney, Bones and I are very sociable and we are always happy to chat to newcomers or those that are feeling shy. Look out for us with the green wristbands.
What would you like to talk about that I haven't asked?
Really just to encourage the older gender diverse community to come along, I've made a number of wonderful new friends, and I know they really appreciate the support and connection that finding community can bring.
How can someone get connected?
We've got a Facebook page we're starting to develop, here's the link, and we post all of the Halifax trans and queer groups there as well. And if you follow hfx.trans.events on Instagram you can find our events. We're working on an email address.
