ESSAYS:
“The Most Important Letter of Our Life”: Published in The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing About Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Other Identities, Random House/Knopf May, 2006.
PAPERS:
“Lies, Damn Lies and The Daily Prophet: A Look at Journalism and Ethics in the Harry Potter Series”: Like many fictional sleazy reporters, scandal-monger Rita Skeeter bears as much resemblance to her ethical real-life counterparts as her stories do to the truth. Still, her role in the Harry Potter series provides important clues about the status of journalism in wizarding Britain . This paper will look at how politics, paparazzi-style sensationalism, and a few grains of truth combine to make wizarding journalism a problematic entity. Be prepared for a no-holds-barred look at J.K. Rowling’s critique of reporting and what happens when the fourth estate falls down on the job in Harry’s world and ours. No Quick-Quotes Quills allowed.
Presented at Lumos: A Harry Potter Symposium July 27-30, 2006 Las Vegas, Nevada
“Of Dementors, Dark Lords, and Depression: A Study of Mental Illness in Harry Potter (with Kimberly DeCina)”: Depression, anxiety, and personality disorders: these mental illnesses affect Muggles of every race, class, and nationality. But what of wizards and witches? This paper examines the portrayal of mental illness in the Harry Potter novels in characters such as Harry Potter, Severus Snape, and the Dark Lord Voldemort. It will look at the wizarding world’s apparent lack of understanding or concern about such illnesses and the social and political consequences of this ignorance, as well as demonstrate how J.K. Rowling’s books can be used to encourage discussion about mental illness in education and public discourse.
Presented at Lumos: A Harry Potter Symposium July 27-30, Las Vegas, Nevada
“Ready For The Action Now, Dangerboy?: A look at the Gender, Politics and Sexuality of Peter Chung’s Aeon Flux”: This paper will examine Peter Chung’s revolutionary 1990s animated series Aeon Flux and the inventive ways it addresses gender identity, heterosexuality and so-called male and female “complementariness” as a response to action films, BDSM culture and the male gaze.
Presented at Wiscon 30, May 26-30 Madison, Wisconsin.
REVIEWS:
My bylined book reviews regularly appear in The Pedestal Magazine and Membra Disjecta.
My articles have appeared in the following publications:
QSaltLake
Q Vegas
OutLands
Outlook (quarterly newsletter for National Association of Gay and Lesbian Journalists)
Salt Lake Metro
Scene Magazine
SLC ArtsBeat
Women 4 Womyn (lesbian spirituality columnist)
LEO (Louisville Eccentric Observer)