            
  
   
 |
Julia Serano is an Oakland, California-based writer, spoken word performer, trans activist, and biologist. Julia is the author of Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity (Seal Press, 2007), a collection of personal essays that reveal how misogyny frames popular assumptions about femininity and shapes many of the myths and misconceptions people have about transsexual women. Her other writings have appeared in anthologies (including BITCHfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine and Word Warriors: 30 Leaders in the Women’s Spoken Word Movement) and in feminist, queer, pop culture and literary magazines and websites such as Bitch, AlterNet.org, Out, Feministing.com, Clamor, Kitchen Sink, make/shift, other, LiP and Transgender Tapestry. In recent years, Julia has gained noteriety in transgender, queer, and feminist circles for her unique insights into gender. She has been invited to speak about transgender and trans women’s issues at numerous univerisites, at queer, women’s studies, psychology and philosophy-themed conferences, and her writings have been used as teaching materials in college-level gender studies courses across the United States. Julia the spoken word artist: Julia is a poetry slam champion; during the years of 2003 and 2004 she qualified for the finals and/or semi-finals in Berkeley, San Francisco and San Jose. She has since gone on to perform spoken word features at universities and high profile events such as the National Queer Arts Festival (in 2004, 2005 and 2007), The San Francisco Pride Main Stage, Dyke March and Trans March stages, Ladyfest, outCRY!, Femme 2006 and in the 2004 UC Berkeley production of The Vagina Monologues. Julia the event curator: In 2003, Julia began to organize and host GenderEnders, a performance series that featured the work of transgender, intersex and genderqueer artists and allies. Over a three-year period, GenderEnders presented twenty shows, including themed events (such as the first ever Tranny Lovers Show, featuring the writings of trans people’s partners) and five different benefits (together raising several thousand dollars) for Camp Trans, a non-profit organization that works for the inclusion of trans women in lesbian and women-only spaces. Julia also received a Creating Queer Community grant from the Queer Cultural Center to curate "The Penis Issue: Trans and Intersex Women Speak Their Minds", a ground-breaking spoken word event that took place as part of the 2007 National Queer Arts Festival. Julia the musician: As a musician, Julia is the lyricist-guitarist-vocalist for the noisy pop trio Bitesize, who have released two critically acclaimed CDs, toured up and down the West Coast and received college radio airplay nationwide. More about the band can be found at Bitesize website Julia the scientist: By day, Julia is a biologist. She has a Ph.D in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics from Columbia University and is currently a researcher at UC Berkeley in the field of Evolutionary and Developmental Biology. Honors, Awards, and Stagemates
--Transsomatechnics: Theories and Practices of Transgender Embodiment conference (Vancouver; May 2008): paper presented on A Bio-Experiential Model of Transsexuality. --California State University at Sacramento (April 2008): talk entitled Transsexual and Trans Feminine Perspectives on Sexism. --University of California at Berkeley (April 2008): performance poetry presentation. . --New Leaf (San Francisco, CA; April, CA): presentation on Understanding Sexism and Transphobia Toward Trans Women.. --California College of the Arts (Oakland, CA; April 2008): guest speaker in Anthropology of the Body. --University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (April 2008): talk entitled Transsexual and Trans Feminine Perspectives on Sexism. --UCLA (Los Angeles; December 2007): performance poetry presentation. --University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee (November 2007): talk entitled I’ll See It When I Believe It: On Experience, Perception and Gender Entitlement. --United Council’s Women’s Leadership Conference (University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh; November 2007): keynote speech entitled Transpositions. --California State University East Bay (Hayward, CA; September 2007): guest speaker in Humans and Sex. -- San Francisco State University (San Francisco, CA; September 2007): guest speaker in Women Studies Lecture Series. --TRANSforming Gender 2007: Conference on Transgender Activism (University of Colorado at Boulder; October 2007): workshop presented on Transsexual and Trans Feminine Perspectives on Sexism. -- American Philosophical Association Conference (San Francisco, CA; April 2007): panel member on Intersection between Transgender and Feminist. -- The Association For Women in Psychology Conference (San Francisco, CA; March 2007): paper presented on The Psychiatric Sexualization of Male-to-Female Transgenderism. -- Femme 2006 conference (San Francisco, CA; August 2006): spoken word presentation. -- 3rd Annual Trans March (San Francisco, CA; June 2006): guest speaker. -- National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) Conference (Oakland, CA; June 2006): panel member on the topic of Transfeminisms: Transgender, Genderqueer, and Gender-Defiant Approaches to Feminism. -- San Francisco State University (san Francisco, CA; October 2005): guest speaker in Social Aspects of Sexuality. -- 2nd Annual Trans March (San Francisco, CA; June 2005): guest speaker. -- UCLA: outCRY! 2005 (Los Angeles, CA; May 2005): performance poetry presentation. -- San Jose State University. Transgender Awareness Week (San Jose, CA; May 2005): performance poetry presentation. -- California College of the Arts (Oakland, CA; March 2005): "Unraveling Gender" - a workshop and performance poetry presentation on gender. -- Notre Dame High School (Belmont, CA; February 2005): guest speaker on transgender issues and experiences. --University of California at Berkeley (Berkeley, CA; February, 2005): guest speaker for the Anatomy, Sex, and Gender section of Female Sexuality. --4th annual Genderblast Conference (San Francisco, CA; November, 2004) panel member on the topic of MTF Transitioning. --University of California at Berkeley (September, 2004): guest speaker for the Anatomy, Sex, and Gender section of Female Sexuality. --LadyFest Bay Area (San Francisco, CA; August, 2004): panel member on the topic of Trans-Activism. --1st Annual Tranny March (San Francisco, CA; June 2004): guest speaker. --APCA (Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities) Conference (Atlanta, GA; Spring 2004): "Unravelling Gender" a workshop and performance poetry presentation on gender. --New Word Series (San Francisco, CA; Fall, 2003): panel member on the topic of Diversity in Slam Poetry. --San Francisco State University (Spring 2003): workshop on Slam Poetry/Spoken Word. --Diablo Valley Community College (Spring 2003): "Unravelling Gender" a workshop and performance poetry presentation on gender. arts, organizing, and activism: --Recipient of a Creating Queer Community grant from the Queer Cultural Center (San Francisco, CA), 2007. --Board Member for Femina Potens, a woman and transgendered-centered art gallery and performance space (2004 - 2005). --Outreach Coordinator for Camp Trans, the annual protest of the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival trans woman-exclusion policy (2003-2004). --Organizer and emcee of GenderEnders, a SF Bay Area trans/intersex/genderqueer-focused performance series and open mic (November, 2003 - September 2006). --An organizer of San Francisco's First Annual Trans/Intersex/Genderqueer and Buddies Community Picnic (May, 2003). other items of interest: a complete bibliography of Julia's published writings bio for Julia's band Bitesize a complete discography of the band Bitesize Julia the biologist SwitchHitter.net, julia's coming out website. |
julia serano ©2002-2008