Transgender Action Online

CaelaNotKayla

Administrator

From: Republic of Cascadia

Registered: 2023-03-09

Posts: 117

A Trip to the 2023 Keystone Conference - March 22-26, 2023

https://www.keystone-conference.org

The Keystone Conference is a weeklong conference for transgender individuals in the capitol of the state of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg.  The sponsoring organization is Trans Central PA.  Over 700 girls (and guys) come together to learn, connect, and celebrate with other transgender individuals.  As at Esprit, for many of the girls this was their only time of the year out and about.  Each day had well over 30 different seminars covering everything from presentation, advocacy, relationship challenges (including sessions focused for Significant Others), and professional continuing education. Lunch is provided as part of the conference, along with a Gala dinner the final night. 

Last year, my bestie attended Keystone and had a very affirming and rewarding experience- and convinced me to fly out to Harrisburg for this year’s conference.   

Our first day was pretty much a travel day- we both took red-eye flights with a connection into Harrisburg International Airport- with a short and easy Uber ride to the conference location (the Hilton Harrisburg).  While I had previously traveled ambiguously femme, this was the first time I traveled fully, unquestionably en femme! I didn’t have any issues at all- just a quick pat on the back and on my way- TSA didn’t seem to care about breast forms, wigs, or… ahem… extra parts where they shouldn’t be!  We unpacked when we got to the hotel, and for the rest of the week our room had the general appearance of a sorority house when the house mom is out on vacation, and the race to keep up began!

After checking in we went to our first dinner, and I met several girls who would become companions for the rest of the week. It was offsite at your own expense, but the conference arranged for coach transportation from the hotel for every option that they had.  Our choice our first night was a local institution across the river from Harrisburg (Dockside Willie’s). Jet Lag caught up to us so we went back to the room for what would be our only early night all week! 

Each day had the opportunity to attend up to four hour-long seminars that often ran long with the breadth of the presenter’s knowledge. Often there were two classes going on at the same time that we wanted to attend, so my bestie and I would each attend one and share what we heard!  My first day I attended “How to Pose for the Camera” & “Hacks, Tricks and Trade Secrets: Advice from your Big Sisters” before lunch, followed by “Anxiety- The Elephant in Your Room” & “Am I Being Selfish”.   Our second night we went to a neighboring hotel- where our group reservation had been lost! The restaurant called in staff last second and sat our party of thirty-plus!  After a lovely meal we headed up to The Pink Party put on by the girls with My Feminine Heart for a bit before heading out to a local bar for Karaoke, where my bestie and I each got to sing before the civilians (“Rebel Yell” by Billy Idol was my song)

Each session had a half hour afterwards for moving between rooms, visiting the vendor fair (including the Hershey Company’s table of chocolate!) or the clothing swap.  I found several pairs of comfortable heels, and two lovely dresses.

The next day I attended “Find Your Voice!” & “The Maleficent Seven: How to handle the Clobber Passages” before lunch. The second class was taught by Mother Grace, an Apostolic Catholic Priest who happens to be transgender herself!! At lunch they had a talk by Aydian Dowling, a trans man who was the first transgender person to grace the cover of Men’s Health.  In the afternoon I attended “Master the Art of Communication and Social Cues”.   Dinner was a trip out to the Hollywood Casino and Race Track, and yes I made my usual donation at the Blackjack table. After we returned a group of us ended up at a local LGBTQ bar across the street from the state capitol building for the “Transtastic!” event.

The last day I got myself going early for the “You Can Become an LGBTQ+ Advocate” and “Killer Heels- The Crash Course” classes before lunch and attended my last session afterwards “Forged in Fire: LGBTQ+ Leadership Development”, which was taught by a trans woman who is an active duty Lieutenant Colonel in the US Space Force.  I skipped the fourth session to go back to my room, change and get myself done up for two photo sessions before the Gala!

The week culminated in the Keystone Gala, where the keynote speaker was Kai Shappley, a 12-year-old trans girl who had fought anti-trans bills in the state of Texas since she was 5 years old!   She was very inspirational, one of the most well-spoken trans advocates that I’ve ever heard, and a beacon of hope for the future generations!  After a quick dress and shoe change dancing was in order, first on the floor at the Gala, then at a local LGBTQ nightclub!  A dapper young man (perfectly coiffed beard, white dress shirt, and black vest) treated several of us like the princesses we are!  After getting back to the hotel I talked into the early hours with a new friend seeking advice (she had gone out in a dress for the first time the night before and had the strength of trust in herself to join us at the nightclub!) I shared my transition story, my challenges and my wins and hopefully gave her strength for her own journey!

And then it was over.  We packed up and had brunch with Mother Grace and another of our new friends before travelling back home!

I think I personally met and chatted with over 90 girls throughout the conference- and I’m texting or Facebook friends with many of them.  My bestie introduced me to many of the returning attendees she had met at Keystone 2022, but I also made the effort to say hello to any girl I saw standing off by herself. 

I took away from Keystone a strong sense of wanting to help the greater community.  Part of that was helping to launch a resource website for transgender people, but I also learned how we can all be leaders for our collective community whether we’re doing large things or talking to a single person- and that we have options whether we are out or not.  I’m working with some of my new Keystone sisters to setup regular Zoom meetups to keep those relationships and connections going.

We are already starting to plan a trip out to Harrisburg for Keystone 2024, and we both would love to have more of our sisters along for what was one of the most affirming weeks of my life.

Hugs!!

Caela

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