I was invited to give a Nerd Nite talk and speak about the subject I nerd out about the most: gender. And I got to talk about a lot of the dimensions of my work that I usually don’t – stuff that usually stays behind the scenes.
This talk, titled “Gender, From Boxes to ‘-Ness’, a Journey of Understanding”, walks through about a decade of my public-facing efforts to better understand gender.
I talk about the evolution of my different versions of the Genderbread Person, from the individual spectrum model in my first take on the idea, to the “-Ness” model that has become the most popular contribution I’ve made to the conversation in versions 2, 3, 4, and beyond.
I also talk about some of the things that aren’t included in my Genderbread recipes. The pitfalls and blind spots inherent in the model. And the sacrifices we make for simplicity versus perfection.
If you’ve ever had questions about my versions of Genderbread, some of them might be addressed in this talk.
There are also mentions of my toilet doodle becoming the all gender restroom sign, and my experience participating in National Geographic’s “Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric."
I had never talked about these things on stage before, so I was grateful for the opportunity and had a blast. It’s very much not my usual cup of tea.
Check it out and let me know what you think in the replies below!
