Drawing on early sexological texts, Afro-modernist literature, slave narratives, journalism and film to argue how slavery and racialized gender provided a foundation for mutable gender, C. Riley Snorton — associate professor of Africana Studies at Cornell University — presented a lecture on his new book “Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity” Monday afternoon at the University of Michigan’s Lane Hall.
Snorton’s first book, “Nobody Is Supposed to Know: Black Sexuality on the Down Low,” explored the emergence of the practice of Black men having sex with Black men and women, yet not identifying as gay, queer or transgender, and general effects on Black sexuality. “Black on Both Sides” is Snorton’s second book, and was discussed at length at the event organized by the University’s Department of English and supported by the Institute for Research on Women and Gender as well as the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies.
Read the article in The Michigan Daily.
