Julia Serano
Encyclopedia
Julia Serano is a transsexual American
writer
, spoken-word performer, trans
activist, and biologist. Serano currently lives in Oakland
, California
and is the author of Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity. 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
.
Based on her insights into gender, Serano has been invited to speak about transgender and trans women’s issues at numerous universities, often at queer-, feminist-, psychology-, and philosophy-themed conferences. Her writings have also been used in teaching materials in gender studies
courses across the United States.
, San Francisco Pride
Dyke March
and Trans March
stages, Ladyfest
, outCRY!, Femme 2006 and in The Vagina Monologues
. Serano is also the lyricist-guitarist-vocalist for the pop
trio Bitesize.
Serano, a transsexual bisexual feminist, organizes and hosts GenderEnders, a performance series that features the work of transgender
, intersex
, and genderqueer
artists and allies. It has produced 20 shows. Serano 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
.
Dr. Serano is also a biologist
who works as a researcher at UC Berkeley in the field of evolutionary and developmental biology. She received her doctorate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics from Columbia University
. Among her discoveries is K10 transport/localisation element (TLS)
in Drosophila
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, spoken-word performer, trans
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
activist, and biologist. Serano currently lives in Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and is the author of Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity. Her work has appeared in queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
, feminist, and pop-culture magazines, including Bitch
Bitch (magazine)
bitch, whose tagline is feminist response to pop culture, is an independent, quarterly magazine published in Portland, Oregon with more than 50,000 readers. bitch magazine is one branch of the reader-supported non-profit organization bitch media...
, Clamor
Clamor (magazine)
Clamor was a bi-monthly magazine published in Toledo, Ohio. The focus of the magazine was alternative culture , often from a politically left-wing perspective....
, Kitchen Sink, LiP, make/shift, and Transgender Tapestry. Excerpts of her work have appeared in The Believer and The San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, and on NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
.
Based on her insights into gender, Serano has been invited to speak about transgender and trans women’s issues at numerous universities, often at queer-, feminist-, psychology-, and philosophy-themed conferences. Her writings have also been used in teaching materials in gender studies
Gender studies
Gender studies is a field of interdisciplinary study which analyses race, ethnicity, sexuality and location.Gender study has many different forms. One view exposed by the philosopher Simone de Beauvoir said: "One is not born a woman, one becomes one"...
courses across the United States.
Other endeavors
Serano is a poetry slam champion and has given spoken-word performances at universities as well as at events such as the National Queer Arts FestivalNational Queer Arts Festival
National Queer Arts Festival is an annual queer festival in San Francisco, established in 1998 to coincide with Pride Month.Other organisations which have assisted over the years include the Harvey Milk Institute, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Art and the Center for African and African...
, San Francisco Pride
Gay pride
LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...
Dyke March
Dyke March
Dyke March is a mostly lesbian-led and inclusive gathering and protest march much like the original gay pride parades and marches. They usually occur the Friday or Saturday before LGBT pride parades and larger metropolitan areas have related events both before and after the event to further...
and Trans March
Trans March
Trans March is an annual gathering and protest march in San Francisco, California that takes place on the Friday night of Pride weekend, the last weekend of June. It is a mostly transgender/transsexual/intersex-led and inclusive event in the same spirit of the original gay pride parades and dyke...
stages, Ladyfest
Ladyfest
Ladyfest is a community-based, not-for-profit global music and arts festival for female artists that features bands, musical groups, performance artists, authors, spoken word and visual artists, films, lectures, art exhibitions and workshops; it is organized by volunteers. The first ever Ladyfest...
, outCRY!, Femme 2006 and in The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler which ran at the Off Broadway Westside Theatre after a limited run at AFRICA in 1996. Ensler originally starred in the production which was produced by David Stone, Nina Essman, Dan Markley, The Araca Group, Willa Shalit, Mike Skipper...
. Serano is also the lyricist-guitarist-vocalist for the pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
trio Bitesize.
Serano, a transsexual bisexual feminist, organizes and hosts GenderEnders, a performance series that features the work of transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
, intersex
Intersex
Intersex, in humans and other animals, is the presence of intermediate or atypical combinations of physical features that usually distinguish female from male...
, and genderqueer
Genderqueer
Genderqueer is a catch-all term for gender identities other than man and woman, thus outside of the gender binary and heteronormativity...
artists and allies. It has produced 20 shows. Serano 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
National Queer Arts Festival
National Queer Arts Festival is an annual queer festival in San Francisco, established in 1998 to coincide with Pride Month.Other organisations which have assisted over the years include the Harvey Milk Institute, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Art and the Center for African and African...
.
Dr. Serano is also a biologist
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
who works as a researcher at UC Berkeley in the field of evolutionary and developmental biology. She received her doctorate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. Among her discoveries is K10 transport/localisation element (TLS)
K10 transport/localisation element (TLS)
The K10 transport/localisation element is an 44 nucleotide K10 TLS regulatory element from Drosophila melanogaster. K10 TLS is responsible for the transport and anterior localisation of K10 mRNA and acts to establish dorsoventral polarity in the oocyte ....
in Drosophila
Drosophila
Drosophila is a genus of small flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "fruit flies" or more appropriately pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit...
.