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Kortney Ryan Ziegler

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Kortney Ryan Ziegler
Born (1981-12-15) December 15, 1981 (age 43)
Compton, California, U.S.
Other namesShane B. Star
EducationNorthwestern University (PhD)
San Francisco State University (MA)
University of California, Santa Cruz (BA)[when?][1]
Occupations
  • Filmmaker
  • visual artist
  • writer
  • blogger
  • technologist
Websitekortneyrziegler.net

Kortney Ryan Ziegler (born December 15, 1981) is an American entrepreneur, filmmaker,[2] visual artist, blogger, writer,[3] and scholar based in Oakland, California.[4][5] His artistic and academic work focuses on queer or trans issues, body image, racialized sexualities, gender, and black queer theory.

Biography

Ziegler was born in Compton, California. Raised in a family of single black women, his mother struggled with mental illness and drug abuse. According to Ziegler's personal essay, his father was absent, and he lived with three alcoholic uncles who inflicted physical and emotional abuse on the women in his family.[6]

He was the first in his family to attend a post-secondary institution. He went on to pursue his master's degree at San Francisco State University and later his PhD at Northwestern University. When he began his doctoral program, he indicated he was female, but during this time, he slowly began his transition.[6] In his third year he began to identify as genderqueer and started taking hormones. In 2011 he began to defend his dissertation on queer, black, and Latino filmmakers. He was the first person to receive a PhD in African-American studies from Northwestern University.[7]

He currently resides in Oakland, California.[as of?]

Career

blac (k) ademic

From 2003 to 2006, Ziegler maintained a black queer feminist blog, blac (k) ademic.[8] The blog is on the topic of gender and sexuality from a young black queer academic perspective.[9]

Ziegler's radical stance positioned the experiences of women of color as the locus of his feminist analysis.[10] Ziegler shut down the blog due to the many negative comments he was receiving.[10] blac (k) ademic went on to receive the award for Best Topical Blog in the first annual Black Weblog Awards in 2006. It relaunched in November 2012 and was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award[11] and a Transguy Community Award.[12]

STILL BLACK: a Portrait of Black Transmen

Premiering in 2008, STILL BLACK: a Portrait of Black Transmen was conceived during the years Ziegler was a doctoral student in the department of African-American studies at Northwestern University. The film explores the theme of female-to-male transgender transition in the African American community.[13] Ziegler and his producer, Awilda Rodríguez Lora, provided the initial financial investment. They employed a grassroots fundraising method, using social networking to secure funds to complete the project.

Technology

In 2013, Ziegler launched Trans*H4ck, an organizational hub intended for trans people to collaborate on technical projects. It first began as a two-day hackathon.[14]

Along with Tiffany Mikell, he also founded BSMdotCo, an educational technology startup company.[15] They both created Aerial Spaces, a video-based forum.

In 2017, Ziegler and Mikell co-founded Appolition.us to try to help incarcerated Black people return to their families by allowing users to round up purchases to the nearest dollar and donate the funds to funding bail costs. The app was supported through crowdfunding after a tweet from Ziegler in July 2017.[16]

Honors and awards

  • 2006 Best Topical Blog, Black Weblog Awards – blac (k) ademic
  • 2009 Best Documentary, Reelout Queer Film + Video Festival – STILL BLACK: a portrait of black transmen
  • Trans 100 Honoree
  • 2013 GLAAD Media Award Nomination for Outstanding Blog
  • 2013 Empowerment Award, Black Transmen, Inc.
  • 2013 Outstanding Transgender Service, The Esteem Awards
  • 2013 Top 40 Under 40 LGBT Activist, The Advocate
  • 2013 Authentic Life Award, Transgender Law Center
  • 2017 Diablo magazine's 40 Under 40 award winner

References

  1. ^ "C.V. | blac (K) ademicblac (K) ademic". Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  2. ^ Vallejos, Jorge Antonio (July 29, 2009). "Portraits of Black Trans Men". ColorLines Magazine. Applied Research Center. Archived from the original on August 9, 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  3. ^ Moore, Lisa (September 15, 2007). "thank you". Does Your Mamma Know?. RedBone Press. Archived from the original on July 30, 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  4. ^ Sibery, Michelle (September 15, 2007). "Framing race, sexuality". The Chicago Reporter. Community Renewal Society. Archived from the original on December 27, 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  5. ^ Robie, Tehea (October 20, 2010). "Kortney Ryan Ziegler's Crying Room". Oakland Local. Oakland Local. Archived from the original on November 29, 2010. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
  6. ^ a b "The Education of a Scholar Who Chose to Become a Black Man". The Chronicle of Higher Education. October 27, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  7. ^ Zain, Haneen. "Innovation at the intersection: An alum's trailblazing ventures in tech, film, and social change". UC Santa Cruz News. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  8. ^ ""blac (k) ademic - critical essays by Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler"". Archived from the original on April 9, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
  9. ^ Ziegler, Kortney. "Academic Blogging as Intercultural Exchange". From Where I Sit. Association of American Colleges and Universities. Archived from the original on July 10, 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  10. ^ a b De Leon, Celina (March 1, 2007). "The Segregated Blogosphere". ColorLines Magazine. Applied Research Center. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  11. ^ "GLADD Announces Media Award Nominees – Philadelphia Magazine". Philadelphia Magazine. January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  12. ^ Morgan, Glennisha (February 27, 2013). "Kortney Ryan Ziegler, Transgender Filmmaker, Talks Movies, Race And Advocacy". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  13. ^ Ryan, Joelle (Summer 2010). "Feminist Visions Diversifying and Complicating Representations of Trans Lives: Five Documentaries about Gender Identity" (PDF). Women Studies Librarian. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 8, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  14. ^ "Interview with Kortney Ryan Ziegler of the Trans*H4CK Project". TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly. 1 (1–2): 280–284. May 1, 2014. doi:10.1215/23289252-2400253. ISSN 2328-9252.
  15. ^ Lovemonster, Kelly (August 9, 2016). "Inclusive Tech Entrepreneur: Kortney Ryan Ziegler". East Bay Express. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  16. ^ "App Turns Small Change Into Bail Donations For Black People". News One. November 28, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
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