Bridging the gap between art and activism

Media.www.MichiganDaily.com – By Whitney Pow, Daily Fine Arts Editor

What do you think of when you think of gender? Female and male? Skirts and slacks? Uggs and Axe? Common conception draws a solid line between the “feminine” and the “masculine.” But what happens when you don’t fit into either category?

The poem “Cocky” by writer, poetry slam champion, trans activist and trans woman Julia Serano, puts it best: “When a man is defined as … not female / And a woman is defined as … not male / I am the loose thread / That unravels the gender of everyone around me.”

Serano will read her spoken word poetry at the Aut Bar at 8 p.m. and will give a talk tomorrow called “Transsexual and Trans Feminine Perspectives on Sexism” in Lane Hall at 3 p.m.