November Sex Salon: Exploring and Making Trans Worlds

A panel discussion, made up of trans* graduate students from across U of T, who are thinking, working and exploring the limits and possibilities of trans studies. Sex Salon has gathered a group of students whose focus on trans embodiments, subjectivities, experiences and cultural functioning’s are varied but remain connected. Come and hear the incredible and imaginative work that each panelist has underway, followed by a moderated discussion on how these trans scholars relate to the field of trans studies and how their work contributes to a growing field and the imagining and creation of different futures for trans communities.

Join the Sex Salon on November 30th at 4:00pm in University College (15 King’s College Circle), Room 240. Please register in advance.

Speaker Bios:

Sam Sanchinel (they/them)

Sam Sanchinel (they/them) is a PhD student in the Women and Gender Studies program. Under the supervision of Dina Georgis, and in following their Nepantlera, trans, “borderlands” personhood, Sam’s dissertation will focus on a pairing of transgender studies with continental philosophy of religion, to aim at providing an ethical understanding of gender.

Angie Fazekas (they/them)

Angie Fazekas is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream at the Women and Gender Studies Institute at the University of Toronto. Their research focus is queer adolescent online engagement and behavior, social media, sex education, and popular culture. In their doctoral dissertation, they consider how teenage fans interact with fanfiction as a mechanism for exploring their sexuality, identity, and desires. Their publications include a co-authored chapter in Final Girls, Feminism, and Popular Culture and a chapter in Fandom, Now in Color.

Valley Weadick

Valley Weadick is a musician, performer, illustrator and PhD student in Women and Gender Studies at the University of Toronto. Her SSHRC-funded research explores the use of paranormal phenomena (ghosts, aliens, spirits, astral projection and alternate dimensions) as an expression of being “trapped in the wrong world.”

Elio Colavito (they/them)

Elio Colavito (they/them) is a PhD candidate in the Department of History with a collaborative specialization in Sexual Diversity Studies. Their dissertation project examines the resource, care, and culture-sharing networks created by trans men from 1970 to 2005. Elio is an oral historian and research assistant at the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory, where they host the Traversing Temporalities interview series.

Camille Rogers (they/them)

As a performer, Camille Rogers (they/them) has been praised for their “tremendous stage presence” and “real flair for comedy” (Operaramblings). Camille has also been recognized for their work as Co-Artistic Director of Toronto’s queer opera collective OperaQ, and has been invited to speak at related events hosted by Against the Grain Theatre, Amplified Opera, the University of Toronto, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, and VIVA! Youth Singers of Toronto. With OperaQ, Camille has produced three full-length opera productions: Dido and Belinda (2019), Handel’s Drag Messiah (2021), and Medusa’s Children (2022), and is in the process of developing a one-act musical for young audiences exploring non-binary gender identity.

Camille currently studies at the University of Toronto, pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts with a Collaborative Specialization in Sexual Diversity Studies. Their research, supported by the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship and the Queer Trans Research Lab Dissertation Completion Award, investigates the life of queer and gender-non-conforming 17th-century French opera singer Julie d’Aubigny (1670-1707). Camille’s studies will culminate in the premiere of a narrative cantata portraying notable adventures from d’Aubigny’s life.

Location Details:

Sex Salon is now returning to in-person events. The location of this event is room UC240 located at University College (15 King’s College Circle). The building and surrounding area is under construction. We will have volunteers at the main entrance point to assist participants to find the event location. The main entrance point is on the left side of Hart House Circle if you are walking north from King’s College circle. There is currently construction in this area and access is limited.

Accessibility:

• While there is no mandatory mask requirement we highly encourage participants to wear a mask
• Sex Salon is committed to providing ASL at every event. Unfortunately we were unable to secure ASL for this event. We apologize for this and are committed to improving this.
• Please let us know of any access needs at sds.sexsalon@gmail.com