April 12, 2005
Contact: Pat Harris
(805) 542-0452, (805) 440-4426; pharris@calpoly.edu
Transsexual Performance Artist, Author, Activist to Speak at Cal Poly April 27
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Kate Bornstein, a transsexual performance artist,
author, playwright and social activist, will talk on “America’s
Bully Culture: Academia and the
Language of Sex and Wednesday, April 27, Gender" as part of
Cal Poly’s Provocative Perspectives breakfast series. She
will speak at 7:30 a.m. at Vista Grande Café at
Cal Poly.
For the past 12 years, Bornstein has been performing her solo act and what she calls “edutainment” pieces on college campuses throughout the country. A renowned playwright and self-described “queer artist/activist,” she has been appearing on stage and national television talk shows since the late 1980s.
Bornstein is the author of the groundbreaking books “Gender Outlaw” and “My Gender Workbook,” both of which are credited with broadening the field of women's and feminist studies to include the examination and questioning of “gender-as-binary.” Her current work includes a new solo show, “Kate Bornstein Is a Queer and Pleasant Danger.” She is also writing a memoir by the same title and a book titled “Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Teen Suicide.”
Cal Poly’s Provocative Perspectives series, now in its second
year, is designed to bring educators, authors, innovators and leaders
to campus to present ideas and stimulate discussion on a variety
of issues. The morning program includes a full breakfast and is
free. Reservations are required and are limited to the first 100.
To make a reservation, contact Liz Cofer at 756-0327 or lcofer@calpoly.edu.
Bornstein will also be presenting a discussion on “The Freedom
of Erotic Expression” at
6 p.m. April 27. The free presentation, in Bishops Lounge in the
University Union, explores Eros and desire and the right to freedom
of erotic expression in today’s society. Seating is limited.
Call 756-2600 for more information on this event.
The evening discussion is sponsored by the university’s Women’s
Programs and Women’s Studies Program, as part of Cal Poly’s
Remember Week, a program designed to raise awareness about sexual
assault and violence toward women.
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