Like much of the world, Western society rests on the assumption that all persons exist unambiguously as either man or woman. As a society, however, that assumption is being questioned and challenged in ways that are creating a growing national conversation on the topic.

On March 2, that conversation will take the stage at Washington College when Kand McQueen, a nationally known keynote speaker and advocate for transgender awareness, will speak on “Sex and Gender: Two Are Definitely Not Enough and Why It Matters.” The event at 7:00 p.m. in Decker Theatre of the Gibson Center for the Arts is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the program.

The goals of the talk are to help the audience see how the binary categories of “male” and “female” are inadequate to contain that part of human experience referred to as sex and gender, and to understand how our strict, dichotomous thinking negatively affects all people. In the talk, McQueen will make the case for a greater acceptance of all human beings and the diversity of our species.

McQueen, who addresses issues of transgenderism, intersexuality, and the inadequacies of our current two-and-only-two sex/two-gender way of thinking, earned a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology—Inquiry Methodology from Indiana University.

This event is variously supported by the Office of Intercultural Affairs, the Gender Studies Program, the Department of Education, and the Office of Wellness and Prevention Education. Major sponsorship comes from the William James Forum and the Gibson-Wagner Psychology Department Fund. Theta of Maryland, Washington College’s Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, will host the reception.