Julia Serano

Julia Michelle Serano (/səˈrænoʊ/; born 1967)[1] is an American

Julia Serano
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 in 2018
Serano, who was assigned male at birth, has stated that she first Born 1967 (age 56–57)
consciously recognized in herself a desire to be female during the
Nationality American
late 1970s, when she was 11 years old. A few years later, she
Education Philadelphia
began crossdressing. At first, she crossdressed secretively, but she
University
eventually started identifying herself openly as a "male
PhD in biochemistry
crossdresser." Serano attended her first support group for
and molecular
crossdressers in 1994 while she lived in Kansas.[2][3]
biophysics from
Soon afterward, Serano moved to the San Francisco Bay Area Columbia University
where she met her wife, Dani, in 1998. During this time, Serano (1995)
began identifying as not only a crossdresser but also transgender Employer UC Berkeley (2003–
and bisexual. In 2001, she began medically transitioning and 2012)
identifying as a transgender woman.[3] Known for Trans and bi
activism, coining the
terms
Career "subconscious sex"
and
Serano earned her PhD in "transmisogyny",
biochemistry and molecular criticism of
biophysics from Columbia Blanchard's
University.[4] She transsexualism
researched genetics, typology, writing,
developmental biology, and spoken word
evolutionary biology at the performance
University of California,
Notable work Whipping Girl,
Julia Serano speaks at the GLBT Berkeley for 17 years.[5][6] Excluded,
History Museum in San Francisco for
Outspoken
the launch of the second edition of Serano is the author of
Whipping Girl. Whipping Girl: A Website www.juliaserano
Transsexual Woman on .com (http://www.juli
Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity. Her second book, aserano.com/)
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][16]

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.[22]

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
Either/Or. Switch Hitter Press. 2002. OCLC 58926464 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/589264
64).
Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity. Seal
Press. 2007. ISBN 9781580051545. OCLC 81252738 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/812527
38).
 Serano, Julia (2013). Excluded: Making Feminist and
Queer Movements More Inclusive. Basic Books.
ISBN 978-1580055048.
Outspoken: A Decade of Transgender Activism and Trans
Feminism. Switch Hitter Press. November 2, 2016.
ISBN 978-0996881005.
99 Erics: A Kat Cataclysm Faux Novel. Switch Hitter
Press. 2020. ISBN 978-0996881043.
Sexed Up: How Society Sexualises Us, and How We
Serano reads from her book
Can Fight Back. Basic Books. May 17, 2022.
Outspoken in 2017
ISBN 9781541674806.[28]

Anthologies
Friedman, Jaclyn; Valenti, Jessica, eds. (2008). "Why nice guys finish last". Yes Means Yes:
Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape. Berkeley, Calif.: Seal Press.
pp. 227–240 (https://archive.org/details/yesmeansyes00frie/page/227).
ISBN 9781580052573. OCLC 227574524 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/227574524).
Diamond, Morty, ed. (2011). "Cherry Picking" (https://archive.org/details/transloveradical00di
am). Trans/Love: Radical Sex, Love & Relationships Beyond the Gender Binary. San
Francisco: Manic D Press. ISBN 9781933149561. OCLC 709681495 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/709681495).

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. Serano, Julia. "Welcome to switch hitter dot net!" (http://www.juliaserano.com/switchhitter/).
Juliaserano.com. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
4. Her doctoral dissertation is titled: Messenger RNA localization in the Drosophila oocyte
5. "Julia Serano – Transforming Care Conference" (https://web.archive.org/web/201905232132
56/http://transformingcareconference.com/speaker/julia-serano/). Transforming Care
Conference. Archived from the original (http://transformingcareconference.com/speaker/julia-
serano/) on May 23, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
6. McCook, Alison (May 1, 2010). "A Transforming Field" (https://www.the-scientist.com/?article
s.view/articleNo/28963/title/A-Transforming-Field/). The Scientist. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
7. Serano, Julia (October 2013). Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More
Inclusive. Basic Books. ISBN 978-1580055048.
8. "Ms. Readers' 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of All Time: The Top 10 and the Complete List! -
Ms. Magazine" (https://msmagazine.com/2011/10/10/ms-readers-100-best-non-fiction-books-
of-all-time-the-top-10-and-the-complete-list/). October 10, 2011.
9. Serano, Julia (2016). Outspoken: A Decade of Transgender Activism and Trans Feminism.
Switch Hitter Press. ISBN 978-0996881005.
10. "SWITCHHITTER.NET" (http://www.switchhitter.net/). switchhitter.net. Retrieved May 26,
2017.
11. "29th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced" (http://www.lambdaliterary.org/fea
tures/news/03/14/29th-annual-lambda-literary-award-finalists-announced/). Lambda Literary.
March 14, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
12. "Here are the Winners of the 2021 Publishing Triangle Awards" (https://publishingtriangle.or
g/2021/05/winners-2021-awards/). Publishing Triangle. May 12, 2021. Retrieved June 10,
2021.
13. "2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards Results" (https://independentpublisher.com/articl
e.php?page=2478). Independent Publisher. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
14. "Serano, Julia" (https://web.archive.org/web/20071121123743/http://www.litquake.org/author
s/serano-julia/). Litquake. Archived from the original (http://www.litquake.org/authors/serano-j
ulia/) on November 21, 2007. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
15. "A Social Justice Advocate's Perspective on Call Out Culture, Identity Politics, and Political
Correctness – Julia Serano" (https://web.archive.org/web/20180311221432/https://umaine.e
du/womensgenderandsexualitystudies/event/call-culture-identity-politics-political-correctnes
s-presentation-julia-serano/). University of Maine. Archived from the original (https://umaine.e
du/womensgenderandsexualitystudies/event/call-culture-identity-politics-political-correctnes
s-presentation-julia-serano/) on March 11, 2018. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
16. Mrzljak, Romana (February 24, 2016). "Trans Activist and Writer Julia Serano to Speak at
Webster University" (https://web.archive.org/web/20190509024551/http://thevitalvoice.com/tr
ans-activist-and-writer-julia-serano-to-speak-at-webster-university/). The Vital Voice.
Archived from the original (http://thevitalvoice.com/trans-activist-and-writer-julia-serano-to-sp
eak-at-webster-university/) on May 9, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
17. Zhang, Henry (February 27, 2014). "Queer Trans Conference engages with safety, policing"
(http://swarthmorephoenix.com/2014/02/27/queer-trans-conference/). The Phoenix.
Retrieved March 11, 2018.
18. Gargano, Jason (November 5, 2013). "Literary: Julia Serano" (https://www.citybeat.com/hom
e/article/13006276/literary-julia-serano). CityBeat Cincinnati. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
19. "Moving Trans History Forward 2023 - University of Victoria" (https://www.uvic.ca/news/topic
s/2023+moving-trans-history-forward-conference+news). UVic.ca. March 22, 2023.
Retrieved May 14, 2024.
20. Olsen, Sarah (March 19, 2015). "Women's History Month residency to feature trans activist
and biologist" (https://webapp2.wright.edu/web1/newsroom/2015/03/19/womens-history-mon
th-residency-to-feature-trans-activist-and-biologist/). Wright State Newsroom. Retrieved
March 11, 2018.
21. "OUT100: Trans Writer Julia Serano" (https://www.out.com/out-exclusives/out100-2014/201
4/11/11/out100-trans-writer-julia-serano). OUT Magazine. November 11, 2014. Retrieved
March 11, 2018.
22. "Julia Serano Renaissance Woman!" (http://www.juliaserano.com/about.html). Retrieved
February 20, 2008.
23. Serano, Julia. "Bitesize! -hammering the final nail into indie rock's coffin-" (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20120420155947/http://www.bitesize.net/about.html). Bitesize!. Archived from the
original (http://www.bitesize.net/about.html) on April 20, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
24. "Julia Serano - Medium" (https://medium.com/@juliaserano). Medium. Retrieved January 24,
2020.
25. Lopez, German (August 9, 2016). "The debate about transgender children and
"detransitioning" is really about transphobia" (https://www.vox.com/2016/8/9/12404246/trans
gender-children-detransitioning-transphobia). Vox. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
26. "Pride Month: A Conversation with Julia Serano – June 24, 2020" (https://diversity.lbl.gov/20
20/06/16/pride-month-a-conversation-with-julia-serano/).
27. Carstensen, Jeanne (June 22, 2017). "Julia Serano, Transfeminist Thinker, Talks Trans-
Misogyny" (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/22/us/lgbt-julia-serano-transfeminist-trans-mis
ogyny.html). The New York Times.
28. Bianco, Marcie (July 13, 2022). "Author Julia Serano Separates Sex From Stigma in Sexed
Up" (https://www.advocate.com/exclusives/2022/7/13/author-julia-serano-separates-sex-stig
ma-sexed). The Advocate. Retrieved July 22, 2022.

External links
Official website (http://www.juliaserano.com/)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julia_Serano&oldid=1223852135"