Fantasia Fair
Fantasia Fair or FanFair[1] is a major[2] week-long conference for transgender people and cross-dressers, held every October in Provincetown, Massachusetts, a small Portuguese fishing village and largely gay and lesbian tourist village on the very tip of Cape Cod. This annual event is significant because it is the longest-running transgender conference and because it allows transgender people space to experiment with gender-role presentations in a safe and affirming community. In November, 1980 the event was featured in an article by D. Keith Mano in Playboy magazine.[3]
At its inception in 1975,[4] Fantasia Fair was ten days long and considered an event for heterosexual cross-dressers. Most of the programs focused on personal presentation, and the registration fee, which included housing, was quite expensive. By the 1990s, however, the nature of the attendees was more diverse, including both male-vectored and female-vectored transsexuals as well as cross-dressers, transgenderists, and genderqueer people of every sexual orientation.
The number of attendees is small compared to other transgender conferences, which, in combination with the informal and friendly nature of Provincetown, gives Fantasia Fair an intimate air which is much-valued by attendees.
Fantasia Fair's parent organization is Real-Life Experiences, Inc., a nonprofit corporation which makes annual awards to transgender pioneers at a banquet held during the Fair.
See also
References
- ↑ Ekins, Richard; King, Dave (2006). The transgender phenomenon. SAGE. p. 17.
- ↑ Ramet, Sabrina P. (1996). Gender reversals and gender cultures: anthropological and historical perspectives. Psychology Press. p. 41.
- ↑ Mano, D. Keith (November 1980). "It's no fun being a girl". Playboy 27: 167.
- ↑ Krahulik, Karen Christel (2007). Provincetown: From Pilgrim Landing to Gay Resort. NYU Press. p. 179.
Notes
- Allen, Allana (2006). "My First Time". In Rothenberg, Paula S. Race, class, and gender in the United States: an integrated study. Macmillan. pp. 491–496.
- Faiman-Silva, Sandra L. (2004). The courage to connect: sexuality, citizenship, and community in Provincetown. University of Illinois Press.
- Gellerman, Bruce; Sherman, Erik (2008). "Gender Bender". Massachusetts Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff. Globe Pequot. p. 115.
- Seligson, Susan (2007). Stacked: a 32DDD reports from the front. Bloomsbury. pp. 206–223.
External links
- Official website
- Provincetown — Tourism Office of Provincetown