The Center for Applied Transgender Studies is proud to host the next event in its 2023 Distinguished Lecture Series. Events in the series feature world-leading transgender scholars discussing their own original research with a broad audience of scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and interested laypersons. These events are virtual, free to attend, and open to the public.

This lecture will be given by alithia zamantakis, and will celebrate the launch of her new book Thinking Cis: Cisgender, Heterosexual Men, and Queer Women’s Roles in Anti-Trans Violence (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023). The event will also include a moderated discussion with CATS Senior Fellow Alex Hanna.

The fear many women have for their safety when out in public is heightened for trans women of color. Scholars have long examined what it means to be trans in a cisgender society, how trans people experience everyday life and violence, and how trans people make sense of and cope with that violence. However, it is necessary to turn to those most likely to perpetrate it: cisgender people. Through extensive interviews and focus groups with cis-heterosexual men and cis-lesbian, bisexual, and queer women, Thinking Cis examines how cis people make sense of gender, attractions to transgender women, and the murders of Black trans women. Thinking Cis analyzes how the social construction of cisness shapes how we think about race, gender, sexuality, and who we consider worthy of living. In doing so, it argues that it is not simply transphobia that gives rise to murders of trans women but fear and hatred for what it means to love and desire trans women.

The talk will take place from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM Central Standard Time.

To register for the lecture, visit: https://bit.ly/CATSDL6