Julia Serano Explained

Julia Serano
Nationality:American
Education:Philadelphia University
PhD in biochemistry and molecular biophysics from Columbia University (1995)
Employer:UC Berkeley (2003–2012)
Known For:Trans and bi activism, coining the terms "subconscious sex" and "transmisogyny", criticism of Blanchard's transsexualism typology, writing, spoken word performance
Notable Works:Whipping Girl, Excluded, Outspoken

Julia Michelle Serano (; born 1967)[1] is an American writer, musician, spoken-word performer, transgender and bisexual activist, and biologist. She is known for her transfeminist books, such as Whipping Girl (2007), Excluded (2013), and Outspoken (2016). She is also a public speaker who has given many talks at universities and conferences. Her writing is frequently featured in queer, feminist, and popular culture magazines.

Life

Serano, who was assigned male at birth, has stated that she first consciously recognized in herself a desire to be female during the late 1970s, when she was 11 years old. A few years later, she began crossdressing. At first, she crossdressed secretively, but she eventually started identifying herself openly as a "male crossdresser." Serano attended her first support group for crossdressers in 1994 while she lived in Kansas.[2]

Soon afterward, Serano moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where she met her wife, Dani, in 1998. During this time, Serano began identifying as not only a crossdresser but also transgender and bisexual. In 2001, she began medically transitioning and identifying as a transgender woman.[3]

Career

Serano earned her PhD in biochemistry and molecular biophysics from Columbia University.[4] She researched genetics, developmental biology, and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Berkeley for 17 years.[5] [6]

Serano is the author of Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity. Her second book, Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive, was published on September 10, 2013, by Seal Press.[7] It was named the 16th best nonfiction book of all time by readers of Ms. Magazine.[8] Her third book, Outspoken: A Decade of Transgender Activism and Trans Feminism, she published herself under Switch Hitter Press,[9] which she founded along with Switch Hitter Records.[10] Outspoken is a 2017 Lambda Literary Award finalist.[11] Her 2020 book, 99 Erics: a Kat Cataclysm faux novel, also published by Switch Hitter, won the Publishing Triangle's 2021 Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction[12] and was an Independent Publisher Book Awards 2021 silver medalist in LGBT+ Fiction.[13]

Her work has appeared in queer, feminist, and pop culture magazines, including Bitch, Clamor, Kitchen Sink, LiP, make/shift, and Transgender Tapestry. Excerpts of her work have appeared in The Believer and The San Francisco Chronicle and on NPR.[14]

Serano has spoken about transgender and trans women's issues at numerous universities, often at queer, feminist, psychology, and philosophy-themed conferences.[15] [16] [17] [18] In 2023, she gave the keynote address at the Moving Trans History Forward conference at the University of Victoria.[19] Her writings have also been used in teaching materials in gender studies courses across the United States.[20] [21]

Serano is a slam poet and has given spoken-word performances at universities as well as at events such as the National Queer Arts Festival, San Francisco Pride Dyke March and Trans March stages, Ladyfest, outCRY!, Femme 2006 and in The Vagina Monologues.[22] She was a guitarist and vocalist for the band Bitesize from 1997 through the early 2000s and has also recorded solo music.[23]

Serano organizes and hosts GenderEnders, a performance series that features the work of transgender, intersex, and genderqueer artists and allies that has produced 20 shows. She received a grant to curate "The Penis Issue: Trans and Intersex Women Speak Their Minds," a spoken-word event, as part of the 2007 National Queer Arts Festival.

She writes social justice articles on the website Medium about topics like transgender identity, LGBTQ+ visibility, and identity politics.[24] [25]

Personal life

She lives in Oakland, California.[26] [27]

Works

Books

Anthologies

Notes and References

  1. Nadia Abushanab Higgins, Feminism: Reinventing the F-Word, Twenty-First Century Books, 2016, p. 99.
  2. Serano, Julia. "Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity," Seal Press, 2007.
  3. Web site: Welcome to switch hitter dot net!. Serano. Julia. Juliaserano.com. 2 November 2013.
  4. Her doctoral dissertation is titled: Messenger RNA localization in the Drosophila oocyte
  5. Web site: Julia Serano – Transforming Care Conference. Transforming Care Conference. 11 March 2018. May 23, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190523213256/http://transformingcareconference.com/speaker/julia-serano/. dead.
  6. Web site: A Transforming Field. McCook. Alison. May 1, 2010. The Scientist. March 11, 2018.
  7. Book: Serano, Julia. Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive. October 2013. Basic Books . 978-1580055048.
  8. Web site: Ms. Readers' 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of All Time: The Top 10 and the Complete List! - Ms. Magazine . October 10, 2011 .
  9. Book: Serano, Julia. Outspoken: A Decade of Transgender Activism and Trans Feminism. 978-0996881005. 2016. Switch Hitter Press .
  10. Web site: SWITCHHITTER.NET. switchhitter.net. 26 May 2017.
  11. Web site: 29th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced. March 14, 2017. Lambda Literary. March 16, 2017.
  12. Web site: Here are the Winners of the 2021 Publishing Triangle Awards . . May 12, 2021. June 10, 2021 .
  13. Web site: 2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards Results . Independent Publisher . June 10, 2021 .
  14. Web site: Serano, Julia. Litquake. https://web.archive.org/web/20071121123743/http://www.litquake.org/authors/serano-julia/ . November 21, 2007. 21 February 2008.
  15. Web site: A Social Justice Advocate's Perspective on Call Out Culture, Identity Politics, and Political Correctness – Julia Serano. University of Maine. https://web.archive.org/web/20180311221432/https://umaine.edu/womensgenderandsexualitystudies/event/call-culture-identity-politics-political-correctness-presentation-julia-serano/. March 11, 2018. March 11, 2018.
  16. News: Trans Activist and Writer Julia Serano to Speak at Webster University. Mrzljak. Romana. February 24, 2016. The Vital Voice. March 11, 2018. May 9, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190509024551/http://thevitalvoice.com/trans-activist-and-writer-julia-serano-to-speak-at-webster-university/. dead.
  17. News: Queer Trans Conference engages with safety, policing. Zhang. Henry. February 27, 2014. The Phoenix. March 11, 2018.
  18. News: Literary: Julia Serano. Gargano. Jason. November 5, 2013. CityBeat Cincinnati. March 11, 2018.
  19. Web site: 2023-03-22 . Moving Trans History Forward 2023 - University of Victoria . 2024-05-14 . UVic.ca . en.
  20. News: Women's History Month residency to feature trans activist and biologist. Olsen. Sarah. March 19, 2015. Wright State Newsroom. March 11, 2018.
  21. News: OUT100: Trans Writer Julia Serano. November 11, 2014. OUT Magazine. March 11, 2018.
  22. Web site: Julia Serano Renaissance Woman!. 20 February 2008.
  23. Web site: Serano . Julia . Bitesize! -hammering the final nail into indie rock's coffin- . Bitesize! . 26 August 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120420155947/http://www.bitesize.net/about.html . April 20, 2012 . dead.
  24. Web site: Julia Serano - Medium . . January 24, 2020.
  25. Web site: The debate about transgender children and "detransitioning" is really about transphobia . Lopez . German . 2016-08-09 . Vox . en . 2020-01-24.
  26. Web site: Pride Month: A Conversation with Julia Serano – June 24, 2020 .
  27. News: Julia Serano, Transfeminist Thinker, Talks Trans-Misogyny . The New York Times . June 22, 2017 . Carstensen . Jeanne .
  28. News: Bianco . Marcie . Author Julia Serano Separates Sex From Stigma in Sexed Up . July 22, 2022 . . July 13, 2022.

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