Pride Center

Presenters/Programs:

Monday, March 19 
4 pm
Hall of Nations, Centennial Hall
Dr. Wei Wei 
Negotiating Lesbian and Gay Parenthood in China: Individual Agency,
Economic Privilege, and Reproductive Justice
Queer families raising children represents a recent development of increasing LGBT visibility in urban China. This presentation will examine how Chinese lesbian and gay couples pursue and achieve parenthood in a new social context. Acknowledging the lack of social recognition and institutional supports in participants’ negotiation of queer parenthood, this research focuses on the formation of queer families in relation to state governance in China and argues that the potential of these families to challenge the heteronormative structure has been largely compromised.
Dr. Wei Wei is a Professor of Sociology at East China Normal University in Shanghai.  

Wednesday, April 4
7:30 pm
Auditorium, Graff Main Hall 
Vanessa McNeal

Director and Producer of the film "The Voiceless"

Vanessa McNeal, is tenacious and thought-provoking national speaker, film producer, and business owner.  She speaks nationally on how to confront adversity with grace using her personal story as a vehicle to inspire and empower others. 

In 2017, Vanessa founded her production company McNeal Media with the goal of creating social change through the art of storytelling. She is the director and producer of the internationally recognized documentary, “The Voiceless”. The film features the stories of male survivors of sexual violence. She won "Best Director" for the documentary at the Newark International Film Festival. At Indiefest she received Women Filmmaker Award of Recognition. She is currently Directing "Gridshock", a documentary investigating the flourishing sex trafficking industry in Iowa. 

Ally Training