Transgender activist Kate Bornstein delivered a poetry reading that focused on a personal struggle for sexual identity at the Graduate School of Education last night.
The talk, entitled "Y2Kate--Gender Virus 2000," focused on the speaker's past experiences in the transition from birth as a boy to a self-proclaimed gender change to a female identity, and later to rejection of both "labels" to assert an identity that defies pronouns.
Bornstein commenced the reading with a piece that was originally written for The New York Times, called "Who Are You?"
Although it was edited to print as "Her Son/Daughter," she delivered the piece in its original form, including such details as her former work in phone sex and a less auspicious career as a "reluctant evangelist" for the Church of Scientology.
The first reading dealt with the funeral of her mother, where other attendees looked askance at Bornstein, asking, "Mildred had a daughter?"
Although her new self-defined gender role as a woman met suspicion in her native Orthodox Jewish community, Bornstein reconciled with her ailing mother, who had acknowledged her son-turned-daughter as a "lesbian" in a very closely-knit circle of friends.
But the speaker said she does not accept societal labels.
Bornstein, a former Yale student and "hippie boy" of the 1960s, said she rejects traditional conceptions of gender and other conventions, equating them to the rigidity of a "leather-bound dictionary."
Read more in News
What's the scariest thing that's ever happened to you?Recommended Articles
-
Danilewitz I11-InformedIn his March 3 editorial, Justin Danilewitz shows himself to be well-meaning but ill-informed. His flip opening comment about "male,
-
Council Debates Transgender DiscriminationThe Undergraduate Council debated topics ranging from student fitness to student self-identity last night. In a heated discussion, the Council
-
Council Suggests HAA Sell Gamins Extra Game SeatsStudent Council members will meet with H.A.A officials this week to suggest that several sections of Stadium seats be sold
-
Panelists Discuss Value of Trans ArtTransgender art provides an important framework to reflect on gender and identity, panelists said at an event dis- cussing and showcasing transgender and genderqueer arts on Wednesday.
-
Jennifer Bornstein’s “Two Videos” Presents An Artistic EvolutionJennifer Bornstein's “Two Videos” is a synergistic piece of art that uses seemingly distinct videos to express Bornstein’s artistry and development.