READING Julia Serano Excluded: Making Feminist + Queer Movements More Inclusive

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As a transwoman, bisexual and femme activist, Julia Serano (http://www.juliaserano.com/index.html) has spent much of the last ten years challenging various forms of exclusion within feminist and queer/LGBTQ movements.

In her 2nd book "Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive (http://www.amazon.com/Excluded-Making-Feminist-Movements-Inclusive/dp/1580055044)", she chronicles many of these instances of exclusion and argues that marginalizing others often stems from a handful of assumptions that are routinely made about gender and sexuality.

These false assumptions infect theories, activism, organizations, and communities—and worse, they enable people to vigorously protest certain forms of sexism while simultaneously ignoring and even perpetuating others. Serano advocates for a new approach to fighting sexism that avoids these pitfalls and offers new ways of thinking about gender, sexuality, and sexism that foster inclusivity rather than exclusivity.

You can read excerpts and reviews (http://www.juliaserano.com/excluded.html) about it here
About the Author
Julia Serano (http://www.juliaserano.com/index.html) is a highly regarded writer and thinker on the subjects of gender, feminism, and LGBTQ issues. She is best known for her 2007 book "Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity (http://www.amazon.com/Whipping-Girl-Transsexual-Scapegoating-Femininity/dp/1580051545/)", which garnered rave reviews—The Advocate placed it on their list of “Best Non-Fiction Transgender Books,” and readers of Ms. Magazine ranked it #16 on their list of the “100 Best Non-Fiction Books of All Time.”

Julia’s writings have also appeared in numerous anthologies; in feminist, queer, and progressive magazines and websites (including Bitch Magazine, Out, AlterNet.org, Ms. Magazine blog, and Feministing.com); and are regularly used as teaching materials in gender studies, queer studies, psychology, and human sexuality courses in colleges across North America.

Julia's background as a writer, performer, activist, and biologist (she has a PhD in biochemistry from Columbia University) makes her a unique voice on the subjects of gender and sexism. She has the rare gift of being able to present complex ideas from feminism and gender/queer theory, and to interweave them with her personal experiences as a bisexual trans woman, in a clear, compelling, and entertaining manner.