Tania Israel, Professor at the Gevirtz School Department of Counseling, Clinical and School Psychology, is presenting her TED Talk: "Bisexuality and Beyond," on Thursday, August 20 at 7 pm at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1500 State Street. The free event will begin with a screening of Israel’s talk, followed by a Q&A session.
Israel’s TED talk is the first TED Talk that directly addresses bisexuality. In the talk, Israel examines the intricacies of bisexuality and sexual identity through the narrative of her own orientation. After working for years to establish her bisexual identity, Israel realized that the very idea of being “bisexual” was contributing to the binary gender system. Israel explores the negative consequences of this rigid system and explains that when we categorize men and women into two strict groups, we all miss out and are negatively affected, regardless of personal gender expression.
Dr. Israel is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and Past-President of the Society of Counseling Psychology (SCP). Her honors include the Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Award for Excellence in Mental Health from the California API Legislative Caucus, the Emerging Leader Award from the APA Committee on Women in Psychology, the SCP Section for the Advancement of Women 2011 Woman of the Year Award, and the SCP Section for LGBT Issues Award for Significant Contribution to Social Justice and Advocacy. Dr. Israel served as the Lead Coordinator for the 2009 National Multicultural Conference and Summit. Her scholarship focuses on interventions to support the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ individuals and communities; privilege and oppression; and social justice.