The wide spectrum of sexuality and gender identity will take center stage Wednesday as activist and public speaker Robyn Ochs returns to Texas A&M to speak about her work.
“Beyond Binaries: Identity and Sexuality” will feature Ochs in a discussion about the complexities of attraction. Sidney Gardner, program coordinator at the Texas A&M GLBT Resource Center, said Ochs focuses on the wide spectrum of sexual orientation with the hopes of providing a stronger understanding.
“It’s just about education, people have a lot [of] questions about identities — events like this really help to just kind of talk about identity, what that looks like and just educate people on those different identities,” Gardner said.
Gardner said the most interesting thing about Ochs’ presentations is that they are interactive.
“You not only get to experience someone talking about the depth and the breadth of identity in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity, but she also has a piece that illustrates before you how different and varied sexual orientation and gender identity is when it comes to everybody,” Gardner said.
According to her official website, Ochs spent 26 years working at Harvard University as an administrator. While at Harvard, she co-founded and co-chaired an LGBT Faculty and Staff Group, was an active member of the Trans Task Force and was the faculty adviser for Harvard’s undergraduate student LGBTQ organization. She also was a co-founder and facilitator of LGBTQ Lunches, a monthly lunch series for lesbian, bisexual, queer and trans women faculty and staff.
Ochs is also known for her two books — “Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World,” and “RECOGNIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men.”
“Robyn now speaks both across the country and internationally,” Gardner said. “She is constantly moving from location to location all academic year as she mostly speaks at colleges”.
Ochs’ presentation is facilitated by Texas A&M’s GLBT Resource Center. Emily Gaines, communication freshman, read about the event on one of the GLBT Resource Center’s flyers.
“I think it looks like a very interesting and informative event,” Gaines said. “I’m also glad that the [GLBT] Resource Center is at A&M for anyone who needs it.”
Ochs will present “Beyond Binaries: Identity and Sexuality”at 6 p.m. Oct. 7 in the Interdisciplinary Life Science Building auditorium.
