Join us for a conversation about family, belonging, and gender with Casey Parks. A longtime reporter for the Oregonian, Parks now covers gender and family issues for the Washington Post, where she has written about abortion access, Texas’ investigation of parents of trans kids, and the long tail of the US military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. In her 2022 book, Diary of a Misfit, Parks relates her own story of coming out in a rural Louisiana town in 2002 and her efforts to uncover the story of Roy Hudgins, a small-town singer who, like Parks, didn’t conform to the expectations of his community. This conversation—the first in our 2023–2024 Consider This series about fear and belonging—will explore how attitudes about gender affect where people seem to fit in. We'll also discuss where these attitudes come from and how they might change.

You can join this event either in person or online.

The event will take place in-person at the Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta St., in Portland. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m, and the event will begin at 7:00 p.m. The program will end at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and are available on the Alberta Rose Theatre's website.

A limited number of free tickets are also available for this event. To request free tickets, please use this form.

The conversation will also be broadcast live, for free, on YouTube.

About the Venue

• Mobility access: The Alberta Rose Theatre is a wheelchair-accessible venue. Anyone who uses a wheelchair or other mobility device can reserve an accessible seat at the venue by emailing house@albertarosetheatre.com in advance of the event. Accessible bathrooms are to the right of the theater entrance. 
• Parking: Free parking is available in the neighborhood around the theater. Parking spaces often fill up quickly. There is one disabled person parking space less than one block away on NE 30th Ave., in front of Emmanuel Church of God in Christ United, but the space does not have a curb cut or ramp. The closest disabled person parking space with curb cuts is four blocks west, at the southwest corner of Northeast 26th Avenue and Northeast Alberta Street. A map of disabled person parking spaces is available from the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
• Public transit: The TriMet Line 72 bus stops in front of the theater. Lines 70 and 17 have stops within four blocks of the venue.
• Food and drink: Beverages and limited food are available for purchase and may be consumed anywhere in the theater during the event. Outside food and beverages are not permitted.
• Lighting: The venue has appropriate overhead lighting before and after the conversation. During the conversation, lights are dimmed with staged lighting facing the stage. Lights in the lobby/bar remain on during the program. The auditorium does not have floor lighting in the aisles.
• Sound: There will be music at a moderate volume before and after the event.
• Read more about the Alberta Rose Theatre.

If you need accommodations to participate in this event, please contact Ben Waterhouse at b.waterhouse@oregonhumanities.org by October 2.

Consider This is made possible thanks to the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Oregon Cultural Trust, Susan Hammer Fund of Oregon Community Foundation