Beans Velocci
American Philosophical Society
Wednesday, June 16, 2021 6:00 pm EDT
Online Event
Registration required. Register here.
Over the last two centuries, scientists have written about vast multitudes of creatures that exceed the bounds of binary sex and heteronormative sexuality: bees with three sexes, butterflies with a "male" pattern on one wing and a "female" pattern on the other, seemingly sexless oysters that still somehow reproduce, cows of ambiguous sexual characteristics, fungi of varying degrees of apparently sexy vegetative luxuriance, and many, many others. Why didn't this research break open possibilities for queer human life? How might it still? This tour of archival finds in the world of animal sex research explores the pitfalls and promises of looking to nature, science, and the past in service of queer presents and futures.
About the speaker
Beans Velocci (they/them) is finishing up their PhD in History at Yale, and looking forward to joining the faculty in History and Sociology of Science at Penn this fall. Their work focuses on sex classification and its many (mis)uses. When not deciphering old handwriting, Beans can often be found eating ice cream, learning how to use clipless bike pedals without falling over, and spending too much time on the internet.
About Science on Tap
Science on Tap is a monthly "gathering" in Philadelphia that features public discussion on engaging science topics, but we’re also more than that. Made up of a consortium of six Philadelphia institutions, we care about bringing science out of the labs and the hallowed halls of academia and sharing it with the public.