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BIO:
Joelle Ruby Ryan is a Ph.D. Candidate in American
Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. Previously, she earned Master of Arts degrees in
English Literature and Women’s Studies. Her master’s work focused on images of transgender people in film, television and
literature. Her current research interest are GLBT Studies, feminism, queer theory, ethnic studies, film and media studies,
fat studies and sex work. Her dissertation is tentatively entitled: “Reel Gender: The Politics of Trans Representations in
Film and Television.” Her goal is to examine the ways that trans images function politically, and how they have shifted historically.
What affect do these images have on furthering acceptance of gender diversity in society and on countering cultural transphobia?
Joelle
has taught university-level classes in English Composition, Women's Studies, American Studies, and Ethnic Studies. In 2003,
she designed and taught the first course on trans issues at the University of New Hampshire.
In addition to her academic
work, Joelle is an activist and involved in artistic production. She is the founder of New Hampshire Transgender Resources
for Education and Empowerment (NH TREE), a grass-roots trans group in NH dedicated to social support, education and political
advocacy. She is the co-producer (with Peter Welch) of two autobiographical videos: 1995’s A Transgender Path and 2003’s
TransAmazon: A Gender Queer Journey, which screened at film festivals in the US, Australia and the UK. In 2005, Joelle released
a book of poems entitled Gender Quake. Gender Quake is a book of revolutionary poems that explores what it means to be a
transgender individual in America.
In 2005, Joelle helped to organize Transgender Awareness Days at Bowling Green
State University and formed the group Transcendence, which became a registered student group at BGSU in January 2006.
Joelle
has spoken and key-noted at numerous national and regional conferences, community organizations, social service agencies and
university and community college campuses.
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