Category: News

Alumnae Seek Pro-Bono Legal Support for Trans Bodies, Trans Selves Project

Amanda Rosenblum ’07 and Dr. Laura Erickson-Schroth, DMS ’09 are seeking help for their book project, entitled Trans Bodies, Trans Selves. Amanda and Laura were both actively involved in the queer community at Dartmouth: Amanda was on the committee that created the Gender Neutral Housing Program, and Laura was a leader in qMD, the queer group at Dartmouth Medical School.

Trans Bodies, Trans Selves is a resource guide for transgender people, consisting of chapters written by trans folks, covering topics that range from coming out, legal advice, medical care, parenting a trans kid, art and activism. At this point, authors (including Jenny Boylan, Pat Califia, Helen Boyd and Betty Crow, Jamison Green, Pauline Park) are writing their chapters, while Amanda and Laura are focusing on publishing and the website (the book will be edited by Laura), which they hope will become a place that serves as the center of a foundation (created from proceeds of the book and tour) and a living community for transgender people (all along the gender spectrum) after publication.

Amanda and Laura have been actively seeking a lawyer who can help them with publishing contracts, intellectual property questions (and/or contracts with the authors), and in gaining non-profit status or contracting with a fiscal sponsor.  Currently, all of the project leadership and contributors have been working on a volunteer basis and they have very little funds to obtain this kind of legal support. They hope to find someone who strongly believes in the value of this project as much as they do, and believes in the benefit it can have for trans folks around the world.

To find out more about Trans Bodies, Trans Selves, check out the project’s website at transbodies.com, or send them an e-mail at transbodies@gmail.com.

Also, you can read Laura’s New York Times blog here.