Working Title With Keisean Raines

Nalo A. K. Zidan is a Queer Black writer, organizer, and Trans-Masculinist whose work pushes at the normative boundaries of gender and sexuality. While completing her degree in Women’s & Gender Studies at Louisiana State University, Zidan founded BlackGirlMasculine, a non-profit organization created to reimagine and complicate conversations around nuanced masculinities. For over six years, Zidan has been a noteworthy contributor to the academic and corporate dialogue on shaping safety in the workplace, LGBTQ+ rights, and building accountable masculinities.  Along with being a 2019 TEDxLSU speaker, Zidan was a 2020 Masse/Remillard Gender & Sexuality Award recipient for her groundbreaking work on de-gendering masculinities in the human body. When she isn’t expanding scholarship, Zidan shares most of her time with her partner and baby turtle Nalito in Detroit, Michigan.  For questions or accommodations, please email Daniel at dec2@illinois.edu