Gender, Sex and Health heat up precedent-setting conference

A conference at Simon Fraser University, Harbour Centre campus, June 10 to 13, will be the first international, academic event to put gender, sexuality and health on the discussion table simultaneously. Sue Wilkinson, the Ruth Wynn Woodward endowed professor of Women’s Studies at SFU, has organized the International Interdisciplinary Conference on Gender, Sexuality and Health, an event expected to draw 200 participants.

Wilkinson believes there are key reasons why it has taken decades for such a conference to be organized when gender, sexuality and health have been hot topics for an equally long time. "Health research related to gender issues has historically focused on women’s and children’s health as it pertains to the heterosexual nuclear family. Consequently, single women, non-heterosexual people, and those in non-traditional relationships have been poorly served."

Wilkinson says this conference will, for the first time, highlight health concerns arising from the intersection of a number of social variables. Wilkinson notes health policies and programs typically neglect such concerns because societies and governments are still struggling to understand the correlation between gender, sexuality and health. "One of the objectives of the conference is to work towards an integrated agenda for gender and sexuality research, and policy across a wide range of health issues."

SFU sociologist and Canada Research Chair Cindy Patton and Gilles Marchildon, executive director, Egale Canada, are among the other keynote speakers. Egale Canada is a national advocacy group concerned with equality and human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. Patton will talk about how women living with AIDS or HIV are managing the side effects of new classes of potentially life-saving antiviral drugs. Marchildon will examine whether potential political victories for non-traditional couples, such as the legalization of same sex marriages, signal greater societal tolerance or the death of diversity.

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Websites:
Conference agenda: www.sfu.ca/conferences/iic/overview.htm
Women’s Studies: www.sfu.ca/womens-studies/ruth%20wynn%20woodward%20prof.htm