S. Bear Bergman (born September 22, 1974) is an American author, poet, playwright, and theater artist. He is a

trans man A trans man is a man who was assigned female at birth. The label of transgender man is not always interchangeable with that of transsexual man, although the two labels are often used in this way. ''Transgender'' is an umbrella term that incl ...

, and his

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...

is a main focus of his artwork.

Biography

Bergman was educated at Concord Academy, was one of the founders of the first Gay–straight alliance and a member of the

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachusetts ...

' Safe Schools Commission for

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

youth. He received a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

degree from Hampshire College in 1996. Bergman's first book, '' Butch Is A Noun'', was released in September 2006 by Suspect Thoughts Press and was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award in the LGBT Nonfiction category. A new edition was published by Arsenal Pulp Press in 2010. Bergman's second book, ''The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You'', was released by

Arsenal Pulp Press Arsenal Pulp Press is a Canadian independent book publishing company, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company publishes a broad range of titles in both fiction and non-fiction, focusing primarily on underrepresented genres such as und ...

in the fall of 2009 and was a Lambda Literary Award finalist in the Transgender category. He co-edited with

genderqueer Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

author

Kate Bornstein Katherine Vandam Bornstein (born March 15, 1948) is an American author, playwright, performance artist, actor, and gender theorist. In 1986, Bornstein started identifiying as gender non-conforming and has stated "I don't call myself a woman, ''and ...

''Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation'', which won a 2011 Lambda Literary Award in the LGBT Anthology category and a special Judges Award from the

Publishing Triangle The Publishing Triangle, founded in 1988 by Robin Hardy, is an American association of gay men and lesbians in the publishing industry. They sponsor an annual National Lesbian and Gay Book Month, and have sponsored the annual Triangle Awards prog ...

. He is also the author of four books for children (one of which, ''The Adventures of Tulip, Birthday Wish Fairy'', was a 2013 Lambda Literary Award finalist in the LGBT Children's/Young Adult category) and has a sixth book titled ''Blood, Marriage, Wine & Glitter'' published September 23, 2013 from

. In addition, Bergman continues to lecture and perform at universities, festivals and theatres throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. His performances have received judges' awards at each of the last three biennial National Gay & Lesbian Theatre Festival in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, including Best of the Festival and Best New Work. In 2005, Bergman was awarded a Massachusetts Cultural Council grant for playwriting, as well as a

Millay Colony for the Arts Millay Arts, formerly the Millay Colony for the Arts, is an arts community offering residency-retreats and workshops in Austerlitz, New York, and free arts programs in local public schools. Housed on the former property of feminist/activist poet ...

Fellowship award. He has also been given an assortment of honors for service to the transgender community, including The Spirit of Stonewall Award, the Trans 100 has been selected to the Toronto Arts Council Leaders Lab for his work in equity in the arts, and similar. Bergman is the founder and publisher of Flamingo Rampant, a micropress focused on making celebratory, inclusive picture books for LGBT2Q+ children and families. He also writes the popular advice column Asking Bear, which ran on the Bitch media platform from 2015-2017 and is now an independent column. Bergman lives in Toronto, Ontario, and is married to educator J Wallace Skelton though Bergman has openly discussed his polyamorous orientation in his essays. They have three children. In 2015, Bergman wrote, as a Contributor for the Huffington Post, an article entitled "I Have Come to Indoctrinate Your Children Into My LGBTQ Agenda (And I'm Not a Bit Sorry)."

Books

* ''Special Topics in Being a Human: A Queer and Tender Guide to Things I've Learned the Hard Way about Caring For People, Including Myself'' 2021,

, * ''Blood, Marriage, Wine & Glitter'' 2013,

, * ''The Adventures of Tulip, Birthday Wish Fairy'' 2012, Flamingo Rampant, * ''Backwards Day'' 2012, Flamingo Rampant, * ''Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation'' co-edited with

. 2010,

Seal Press Basic Books is a book publisher founded in 1950 and located in New York, now an imprint of Hachette Book Group. It publishes books in the fields of psychology, philosophy, economics, science, politics, sociology, current affairs, and history. Hi ...

* ''The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You'' 2009,

, * ''Butch Is A Noun'' 2006, reissued 2010,

Theater & performance

* Gender Reveal Party *''Machatunim'' * ''The Virginity Lost & Found'' * ''Monday Night in Westerbork'' * ''Clearly Marked'' * ''You'll Never Piss In This Town Again'' * ''Ex Post Papa''

References

External links

sbearbergman.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergman, S. Bear American short story writers American essayists American performance artists Transgender artists Canadian transgender writers Transgender men Jewish American writers American transgender writers Hampshire College alumni 1974 births Living people Lambda Literary Award winners Canadian LGBT poets Transgender Jews Concord Academy alumni 21st-century American poets 21st-century American Jews Transgender poets Transgender dramatists and playwrights American LGBT poets