Organizers
of
the
2007
Southern
Comfort
Conference
for
transgender
men,
women
and
their
families
are
preparing
to
greet
record
crowds
with
a
distinct
—
if
unofficial
—
conference motto:
It’s
time
to
bring
transgender
issues
and
individuals
out
of
the
closet.
Lifestyle
and
health
topics,
as
well
as
plenty
of
time
to
socialize,
will
continue
to
take
up
much
of
the
conference
schedule.
But
attendees
will
be
hard
pressed
to
miss
programming
geared
to
turn
their
attention
to
activism,
politics
and
working
with
advocacy
organizations.
With
nearly
1,000
attendees
expected
to
register
for
the
six-day
conference,
political
and
business
stakeholders
like
the
Human
Rights
Campaign,
the
National
Gay
&
Lesbian
Chamber
of
Commerce
and
Georgia
Equality
will
lobby
conference
guests
in
an
effort
to
harness
transgender
support
and
numbers
for
their
causes.
The
efforts
of
gay
political
organizations,
some
of
which
previously
shunned
transgender
issues
as
distracting
obstacles,
are
welcomed
by
Southern
Comfort
organizers,
who
say
the
stage
is
set
for
increased
awareness
of
transgender
issues,
and
people,
in
the
larger
society.
“It’s
just
time,”
explained
Cat
Turner,
chairperson
of
the
2007
conference.
“Thirty
years
ago
it
was
time
for
gay
and
lesbian
rights
to
move
to
the
forefront.
Now
it’s
our
time.”
The
conference
—
with
a
budget
of
about
$120,000
and
likely
attendance
of
1,000
people
who
pay
between
$100
and
$325
for
registration
—
is
big
business
itself.
In
2006,
the
first
round
of
Southern
Comfort
Conference
corporate
sponsors
came
calling,
including
Raytheon,
a
munitions
manufacturer.
This
year,
giants
like
Microsoft,
American
Airlines,
Turner
Broadcasting
System
are
on
board
as
paid
sponsors
or
participants
in
the
First
Annual
Transgender
Career
Expo.
Bringing
in
corporate
partners
to
the
conference
was
“not
as
difficult
as
you
might
think,”
said
Kristin
Reichman,
a
Southern
Comfort
board
member
and
organizer
for
the
career
expo.
Southern
Comfort
board
members
utilized
HRC’s
Corporate
Equality
Index
to
determine
trans-friendly
companies
to
invite
to
participate
in
the
conference
and
the
expo.
“We
sent
out
invitations
that
said,
essentially,
‘It’s
time
to
put
your
money
where
your
mouth
is
and
join
us,’”
Reichman
said
of
the
correspondence
with
about
200
presumably
trans
inclusive
companies.
The
21
companies
who
are
listed
as
career
expo
participants
include
a
span
of
technology,
service
industry,
business
support
and
accounting,
and
non-profit
organizations.
While
recruitment
is
not
a
requirement
for
business
participation
in
the
expo,
organizers
sought
companies
with
track
records
of
dedicated
education,
training
and
inclusion
of
transgender
employment
issues.
“The
reality
is,
it’s
very
easy
to
simply
apply
the
letter
‘t’
to
the
LGBT
alphabet
soup
of
inclusion
without
it
meaning
anything,”
Reichman
said.
‘Not
Just
mtf’
Confab
Conference
attendees
will
have
the
opportunity
to
hear
from
national
gay
advocacy
and
business
group
leaders
like
HRC
President
Joe
Solmonese
and
National
Gay
&
Lesbian
Chamber
of
Commerce
President
Justin
Nelson.
Turner
attributes
at
least
part
of
the
attendance
swell
to
efforts
by
conference
organizers
to
attract
attendees
from
diverse
backgrounds.
In
recent
years,
significant
additions
have
been
made
to
include
programming
for
transgender
men.
And
programs
are
up
for
people
of
color,
Turner
said.
“It’s
certainly
not
a
conference
for
white,
middle-aged
cross-dressers.
And
it’s
not
just
an
MTF
[male
to
female]
conference
either,”
she
said.
She
also
credits
the
popularity
of
the
2001
documentary
“Southern
Comfort,”
which
chronicled
the
last
year
of
Robert
Eads,
a
female-to-male
transsexual
who
died
of
ovarian
cancer
after
many
doctors
refused
to
treat
him.
Eads’
Southern
Comfort
Conference
attendance
was
documented
in
the
film.
“People
still
ask
me
about
that
all
the
time.
They
want
to
know
if
we’re
the
same
conference
they
saw
in
the
movie,”
Turner
said.
And
as
much
as
the
film
brought
exposure
to
the
conference,
Turner
and
Reichman
said
they
hope
the
conference
will
cause
its
attendees
to
show
themselves
more
often.
“I
think
we’ll
see
the
community
start
coming
out
more.
I
think
that,
if
anything,
it’s
time
for
us
to
quit
being
afraid
to
go
out
in
public,”
Turner
said.
