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Kate Bornstein
she/her

Kate Bornstein with a big laugh and a hand near her chest suggestive of joy. Kate is a white person with a blond bob, round-framed sunglasses, lipstick and nail polish. Kate wears a vibrant jacket of blues and greens over, a punk bracelet and several necklaces.

Images
Kate Bornstein stands by a railing at the beach on a sunny day, facing the camera with their arms stretched out to their sides catching the breeze. She is a white person with a blonde short bob hairstyle. She is wearing a loose oversized sweater and jeans.
Kate Bornstein laying on a bed using her arms to prop up her upper body to pose for the camera with vibrant facial expression. Kate is a white person with short blonde hair. She is wearing tinted colourful glasses, has brightly coloured fingernails and has colourful tattoos on her legs and arms.
Sam Feder and Kate Bornstein on stage. Sam is a white person with short hair and glasses while Kate is a white person with a blond bob, round sunglasses, and wears a beret. Sam looks at Kate who is holding the microphone and facing the audience.
Kate Bornstein and Sam Feder are equipped with microphones and seated on stage after a film screening as they engage with the audience in discussion. Kate, an older white person with an ear-length bob, smiles and listens attentively. She is wearing a long white sleeve top with a black vest on top. Sam, a white person with dark coiffed hair, also engages with the speaker that is off screen. They are wearing a subtle patterned button up shirt with a dark cardigan on top.
A wide photograph capturing both the audience and panel speakers, Kate Bornstein and Sam Feder. Kate Bornstein, a white person with an ear-length bob, brown hat and round glasses, sits on the panelist's table in an engaging pose while speaking into a microphone towards the audience. Sam Feder, a white person with short, dark coiffed hair and bold glasses, leans comfortably in a chair behind the table while listening to Kate.
Friendly photograph of Kate Bornstein outdoors, standing proudly pointing with both hands to a cinema marquee above her that has her name and film promoted. Kate, a white person with a short light bob, round glasses and a statement hat. She is wearing a stylish long coat, a cross body bag and flared jeans. The picture was taken in the evening and is illuminated by the glowing marquee.
Candid photograph of Sam Feder and Kate Bornstein sharing a laugh together on stage. Sam Feder, a white person with dark coiffed hair, is wearing a striped shirt and holds a microphone. Kate Bornstein, a white person with a short bob and round glasses, laughs beside them.
Kate Bornstein, a white person with a short bob hairstyle and round glasses, sits to the left of Sam Feder and laughs. Sam Feder, a white person with short coiffed hair, sits with microphone in hand while answering questions after a film screening.
Kate Bornstein, an older white person with light skin and shoulder-length blonde hair, sits in a red chair in a comfortable home surrounded by books and personal items. She is wearing a tank top and her iconic orange round glasses. Two pugs sit close to her attentively.
Kate Bornstein lies on her stomach on a bed with her chin propped on her knees and legs in the air. Kate is a white person, has a blond bob, and wears aviator sunglasses. Kate wears socks and is topless, showing off her tattoos and punk jewelry.
Close up joyful portrait of Kate Bornstein, an older white person with light skin and shoulder-length blonde hair. She is wearing a dark hat along with her her iconic colourful round glasses and silver nose and lower lip piercings. The background is soft and blurred red and brown tones. A beam of golden-hour sunlight illuminates Kate's hair.
Still of Kate Bornstein in a decorated living room, excitedly talking to the camera while holding three butterknives between her fingers, which are curled in a fist. Kate is an older white person with light skin and shoulder-length blonde hair. The room has dark walls and golden accents. Behind Kate is a shelf holding several awards and tiaras.
Kate Bornstein with a big laugh and a hand near her chest suggestive of joy. Kate is a white person with a blond bob, round-framed sunglasses, lipstick and nail polish. Kate wears a vibrant jacket of blues and greens over, a punk bracelet and several necklaces.
Metadata
Biography

Since 1989, trans trailblazer Kate Bornstein has—with humor and spunk—ushered us into a world of limitless possibility through a daring re-envisionment of the gender system as we know it. Today, Kate identifies as nonbinary: not a man, and not a woman—and she’s been writing about nonbinary gender identity for nearly thirty years. Kate was born Albert Bornstein in 1948, in Asbury Park, New Jersey. At an early age, he came to the conclusion that he wasn’t a boy, and that she didn’t want to grow up to be a man. To Albert, being a boy was all acting, and pretending to be a boy. In 1984, she began her hormonal, surgical, and social transition from male to female, which she completed in 1986—she was a woman! In less than two years, she realized that being a woman was for her no more than acting and pretending…just like it had been for being a man. So in 1988, Kate gave up the idea of being a woman, and now she lives on the edge of paradox: she is not a man, and not a woman. She looks beyond the gender binary to see gender as both a conscious practice, and a playful journey.

Kate Bornstein. “Welcome!,” n.d. http://katebornstein.com.

Katherine (Kate) Vandam Bornstein is a pathbreaking transgender lesbian activist, theorist, and performance artist. Known for tackling social ills and personal pain with joyful optimism, she asserts that “real gender freedom starts with fun!” (Bornstein 2016, 87). This playful style infuses her website and even the title of her memoir, A Queer and Pleasant Danger: The True Story of a Nice Jewish Boy Who Joins the Church of Scientology and Leaves Twelve Years Later to Become the Lovely Lady She Is Today (2012).

Jewish Women’s Archive. “In Brief,” n.d. https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/bornstein-kate.
Filmography