Boston-area author and transgender advocate Chris Edwards will talk about his life-changing journey and read from his memoir, “BALLS: It Takes Some to Get Some,” at Clark University at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 16, in the Higgins Lounge, Dana Commons, 2nd Floor. The event is part of the Higgins School of Humanities’ spring dialogue symposium “What’s so funny?” which includes lectures, community conversations, and exhibits on humor.
Edwards grew up in the Boston suburbs and started the process of transitioning from female to male at the age of 26 when he was a copywriter at a high profile ad agency in Boston. Edwards, who came out at a company board meeting before his white, middle-aged colleagues, endured 28 painful and extensive surgeries to become the man he is today. He’ll reveal how humor helped him negotiate his gender transition and gain acceptance from his family, friends, and colleagues at a time when the word “transgender” was almost non-existent.
Edwards has been interviewed by O Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Refinery29, Vice.com, the Improper Bostonian, New York Post, and NECN about his book, and about being young and transgender in the workplace. He was recently interviewed by The Boston Globe about his decision to attend his 10-year high school reunion while transitioning from Kristin to Chris.
“That’s when it hit me …everyone was going to assume I didn’t show up because I didn’t have the, well, balls,” Edwards told the Boston Globe. “And while technically that might have been true (that surgery was years away), after publicly transitioning in front of 500 coworkers I’d developed quite a set of cojones. I was not about to let my former classmates think I was ashamed. I was going.”
Books will be on sale and a signing will follow Edwards’ talk.
This free, public event is sponsored by the Higgins School of Humanities and the Women’s and Gender Studies Program.
For more information, call 508-793-7479 or email HigginsSchool@clarku.edu.
A complete list of all events in the spring symposium is available at https://www2.clarku.edu/higgins-school-of-humanities/.
