COUNTY NEWS RELEASE
Join Mesa Public Library and author Allan Hunter on Thursday, Oct. 7 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. for a thought-provoking virtual exploration of identities that exist beyond some of the more clearly defined facets of the LGBTQ spectrum. Mr. Hunter will share excerpts from his book Genderqueer: A Story from a Different Closet, a coming-out and coming-of-age tale of a gender-nonconforming male. The reading will be followed by a discussion and Q & A session.
In this non-fiction account, Mr. Hunter shares what it is like to grow up identifying as both a girl and a heterosexual male (or what he terms a male girl), who cannot accurately be described as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. He also helps us understand what it is like to be following the trajectory of gay and trans rights activism to create space in the public conversation for more gender identities to emerge out of the umbrella term queer. Mr. Hunter seeks to provide a relatable example for young adults who, like him, have struggled to understand themselves within the context of cultural norms and precedents, and have lacked adequate examples to draw from. “I wrote the book that I so desperately needed when I was 19 and 20,” Hunter says.
Allan Hunter lived in Los Alamos from 1973 to 1984 before moving to New York where he became a gender activist. His undergraduate education is in Women’s Studies, and he holds graduate degrees in both Sociology and Social Work. He is an active writer and blogger seeking to establish connections through shared human experience, with the goal of creating a collective voice in order to increase social awareness around gender issues. His new book That Guy in Our Women’s Studies Class will be released in 2022. This event is free and open to the public and will be conducted online via Zoom. To obtain your meeting link and access to the program, please register through the Event Calendar on the Mesa Public Library website. For questions or help with registration, please call (505) 662-8257.