Content Warning: while I will not be describing any actual instances of sexual violence or child sexual abuse, these issues (and false accusations thereof) will be discussed throughout this piece.
I have been involved in transgender communities since 1994. And those communities had already existed for decades before I appeared on the scene, as any trans-themed history book can attest too. And we’ve been using public restrooms during that whole time, without causing any harm to others. But then suddenly in 2015 — one year after TIME Magazine famously proclaimed the “transgender tipping point” — a slew of so-called “bathroom…
My 2007 book Whipping Girl is probably best known for two things: It popularized “cis” terminology (which I did not coin) and introduced the concept of “transmisogyny” (which I did coin, albeit with a hyphen: “trans-misogyny”). In the intervening years, many people have taken up this language, often using these words in ways that I hadn’t anticipated. Which is perfectly fine, as language is always evolving, and I am not the “gatekeeper” for these words. However, there are times when others have criticized me for usages of these terms that I’ve never forwarded myself!
Sometimes in my writings on transgender issues, I will mention the “Dregerian narrative.” This article is a brief “explainer” for those who don’t know what this refers to.
Basically, the Dregerian narrative goes something like this: There is a cabal of transgender activists who are irrational, overly sensitive, out of control, and on a mission to censor any and all science that they do not like!
This narrative was first popularized by Alice Dreger’s depiction of the backlash against J. Michael Bailey’s 2003 book The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism that appeared in her…
A few days ago (on Christmas, in fact), The Telegraph ran a piece with the provocative title: “Lesbians facing ‘extinction’ as transgenderism becomes pervasive, campaigners warn.” The premise — which has been increasingly touted by anti-trans groups over the last few years — is that nowadays, young kids who are “really lesbian” are instead coming out as transgender and transitioning to male, thereby decimating the lesbian population.
This assertion bears resemblance to another claim favored by these same groups, namely, that when children and teens are allowed to socially transition, it’s actually a form of “gay conversion therapy.” According to…
The following is an excerpt from my debut novel, 99 Erics: a Kat Cataclysm faux novel — a silly, surreal, sex-positive tale about a bisexual female absurdist short fiction writer who dates ninety-nine different people named Eric for literature’s sake. By day, Kat pens listicles for a BuzzFeed-like tech company called CliqueClick. In this chapter, she shares her thoughts (and mine) about writing tips . . .
Back in “the good ol’ days” — which, by most accounts, were actually quite horrific for large swaths of the population — there were just a few basic holidays: the big religious ones…
The virtual book tour is over now. But all the readings have been archived on YouTube & Facebook, so you can watch them there! (see below for specific links)…
For those who don’t know me, I’m an author who has written several nonfiction books (Whipping Girl, Excluded, and Outspoken) on the subjects of gender, sexuality, and social justice activism. My debut novel, 99 Erics: a Kat Cataclysm faux novel, is a humorous tale of an ethically non-monogamous bisexual female absurdist short fiction writer who sets out to write a book called “99 Erics,” about her experiences dating ninety-nine different people…
The following is an excerpt from my debut novel, 99 Erics: a Kat Cataclysm faux novel — a silly, surreal, sex-positive tale about a bisexual female absurdist short fiction writer who dates ninety-nine different people named Eric for literature’s sake. What follows is the second half of Chapter 3: “Lady Parts,” wherein Kat goes out on a “date” with a gay male friend of hers who just so happens to be named Eric . . .
After seating ourselves at the bar, Eric glanced around the fairly crowded room and remarked: I thought this was a queer bar?
Me: It…
The following is an excerpt from my debut novel, 99 Erics: a Kat Cataclysm faux novel — a silly, surreal, sex-positive story about a bisexual female absurdist short fiction writer who dates ninety-nine different people named Eric for literature’s sake. What follows is the opening passage of Chapter 22: “Banana Slug of a Different Color.”
It was the worst possible time to be out on a date with Eric #41. Because earlier that day, I overheard someone at work mention that they went to college at UC Santa Cruz, and that their school mascot was the banana slug. And I…
The following is an excerpt from my debut novel, 99 Erics: a Kat Cataclysm faux novel — a silly, surreal, sex-positive story about a bisexual female absurdist short fiction writer who dates ninety-nine different people named Eric for literature’s sake. What follows is the first half of Chapter 16: “Posers,” wherein Kat tries to explain what being queer is like, in her estimation. A video of me reading the entire chapter can be found here).
These days, it’s really difficult to talk about being queer. Because there’s this popular presumption that society is now totally a-okay with same-sex relationships, which…
The following is an excerpt from my first full-length foray into fiction: 99 Erics: a Kat Cataclysm faux novel. The book is a humorous account of a bisexual female absurdist short fiction writer who dates ninety-nine different people named Eric for literature’s sake. This chapter takes place just after Kat recounts the period of her life when she identified as lesbian, before eventually coming out as bisexual (a video of me reading that preceding chapter can be found here).
So then you go back to the world of dating men. Which superficially sounds way easier than dating women, if for…
Julia Serano
writes about gender, sexuality, social justice, & science. author of Whipping Girl, Excluded, Outspoken, & the unusually queer novel 99 Erics. juliaserano.com
