hanne blank

Author and activist Hanne Blank writes books about the nexus of bodies, self, and culture. Joyfully spanning the town/gown divide as well as the mind/body split, her books include the histories Straight: The Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality (Beacon Press, 2012) and Virgin: The Untouched History (Bloomsbury, 2007), the cult classic sex and body-acceptance book Big Big Love: A Sourcebook on Sex for People of Size and Those Who Love Them (Greenery Press, 2000; Celestial Arts, 2011), and numerous others. With work has been featured in periodicals ranging from Penthouse to Bitch, she is a former Scholar of the Institute for Teaching and Research on Women at Towson University, has taught in various capacities on campuses including Brandeis and Tufts, and has spoken in venues ranging from the inaugural Femme Conference in San Francisco in 2006 to Harvard University.  She lives with her partner of 15 years in a 175-year-old mill cottage on a dirt road in the middle of Baltimore.Hanne Blank's current list of talks includes:

• "Virgins and Other Indefinite Articles: Thinking Historically about Sexuality, Definition, and Experience"
• " 'Mommy, Where Do Heterosexuals Come From?' A Brief History of Sexual Orientation"
• "Learning from Big Big Love: What A Decade of Talking to People about Weight and Sex Has To Tell Us About Size and Sexuality."

She also offers two workshops:

• Interdisciplining History: Developing Intersectional Analysis for Social and Cultural History (graduate or upper-level undergraduate, minimum 2 hours)
• My Big Fat Sex Workshop (general audiences, 18+, minimum 90 minutes)

For more speakers on queer issues, see: Amy Andre, Kathy Najimy, T Cooper, Julia Serano, Catherine McKinley, Irshad Manji, or Jennifer Baumgardner

For more speakers on sexuality, see: Wyndi Marie Anderson, Jennifer Block, Gloria Feldt, Dr. Patti Feuereisen, Marcia Ann Gillespie, Judith Helfand, Shere Hite, Lisa Jervis, Shelby Knox, Loretta Ross, or Paula Kamen

For more speakers on body image, see: Nancy Redd, Periel Aschenbrand, Courtney E. Martin, Aimee Liu, Nancy Lublin, or Cathi Hanauer.