The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist shows the way. Unfortunately, the text is very dry and not very detailed. While we’ve highlighted his advocacy work and published a memorial post after his death, we haven’t paid nearly enough tribute to his magnificent science career, or to the glial cells he found so enticing. Ben Barres. One person can change sex and still do the same work, but gets treated completely differently before/after only because of one's sex. Ben Barres was known for his groundbreaking scientific work and for his groundbreaking advocacy for gender equality in science. Moreover, this just seems to reinforce the idea that the brain of men are more 'mathematical' and 'mechanical' oriented....which is such an annoying stereotype to fight as a woman! He preserved his story in the book The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist. In fact, I wish it'd spent more and actually explained the science. Privileged white men, Barres writes, “miss the basic point that in the face of negative stereotyping, talented women will not be recognized.” At Stanford, Barres made important discoveries about glia, the most numerous cells in the brain, and he describes some of his work. Be yourself; be happy; don't apologize for who you are. In fact, I wish it'd spent more and actually explained the science. Although much of the science was beyond me, it's plain Ben Barres was a formidable scientist. The links he draws between being trans and his work are, for trans people, vitally important. To my big surprise, after writing against gender stereotypes such as: women are on average less mathematically inclined then men, Ben proceeds to explain how he first realized he was a young boy trapped in the wrong body. The truly autobiographical part is very short and the rest isn't very accessible, not even for a medical doctor with half a PhD who is married to a neuroscientist. His autobiography will make you laugh, cry, and appreciate the underdogs of the brain....Many scientists--LGBT and otherwise--will find his candid depiction of both his own life and scientific journey to be wholly inspiring. So for a non-neuroscience person, it might not be interesting and can be too much information. Barres felt even as a very young child that he was assigned the wrong gender. Having been asked to speak about advances in “glioscience” at a university in the Netherlands with a particularly unsavory record of excluding females, Dr. Barres responded to the invitation with the following (again from Nancy Hopkins’ Foreword): There are lots of comments about things that had brought up tantalizing clues that might. It was a short read that will have a lasting impact on me and how I view and interact with the scientific community. It is too bad that this scientist's story got distilled into this slim volume. A quick read only if you are a scientist, The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist is less an autobiography and more a review article about the scientific achievements of Ben Barres. There are lots of comments about things that had brought up tantalizing clues that might help to find answers for new questions in the field. His posthumously published memoir, The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist, documents his remarkable life story. It wasn't long before he took an interest in her and encourage, A beautiful love letter to neuroscience and all the mentors and opportunities that supported Ben Barres on his journey to a leading neuroscientist, transgender man, and an incredible advocate for women in science. But first make sure you have plenty of time to hear his answer. Not because I'm not excited about learning about how science works, but because it ended up being minutes upon minutes of repeating initials that I was either expected to recognise or had missed their meaning in the nanosecond when they were first mentioned. His candor and love for science transform the ensuing story into a portrait of a singular personality that was shaped by his status as an outsider. We are made by history.” So, this January, as we celebrate Martin Luther King... To see what your friends thought of this book, As a transmasculine scientist myself, I was really excited to read this book and I am glad Ben decided to share his story before he passed away. Not yet available on Amazon. Unless you know the relevant terms, neural cell biology, most of it will go over your head as it did mine. I highly recommend (sections of this) book to everyone. A leading scientist describes his life, his gender transition, his scientific work, and his advocacy for gender equality in science. Not because I'm not excited about learning about how science works, but because it ended up being minutes upon minutes of repeating initials that I was either expected to recognise or had missed their meaning in the nanose. Even in just the Foreword, Barres’ blistering ferocity AND humor comes through clearly. Professor Barres happened to make a big impact on a close friend of mine who stumbled into his graduate level course out of the School of Medicine. It certainly helps normalize the journey and I imagine encourage others. As an undergraduate at MIT, Barres experienced discrimination, but it was after transitioning that he realized how differently male and female scientists are treated. In this book, completed shortly before his death from pancreatic cancer in December 2017, Barres (born in 1954) describes a life full of remarkable accomplishments—from his childhood as a precocious math and science whiz to his experiences as a female student at MIT in the 1970s to his female-to-male transition in his forties, to his scientific work and role as teacher and mentor at Stanford. Ask Ben Barres whether women in science are treated fairly. Buy this book. Unless you know the relevant terms, neural cell biology, most of it will go over your head as it did mine. I am grateful that this book got to be published. Ben Barres was known for his groundbreaking scientific work and for his groundbreaking advocacy for gender equality in science. Ben Barres wrote his autobiography over the course of a few years. He was an openly transgender faculty member at Stanford University School of Medicine in California, and a pioneer in understanding the functions of glia — the most abundant and mysterious cells in the brain. I've studied it a little and got the gist but when he talks about how profound his findings were I'm like, "Okay, if you say so." A great read about a commitment to science, mentor ship, and advocating for gender equality. Ben Barres was born Barbara Barres in 1954 and was raised in West Orange, New Jersey. Ben Barres was known for his groundbreaking scientific work and for his groundbreaking advocacy for gender equality in science. After Barres gave a talk as Ben, he heard an audience member remark, “Ben Barres gave a great seminar today, but then his work is much better than his sister’s.” Having inhabited both gender roles, Barres brings singular perspective to the question of how to create an even playing field for female and transgender scientists. If that's what makes sense to him I do not want to negate that, but he makes it sound as if that is the only way someone could identify as gender dysphoric. MIT Press, $21.95 (160p) ISBN 978-0-262-03911-6. This book made me cry. It is too bad that this scientist's story got distilled into this slim volume. Check out this great listen on Audible.com. The interesting thing about that science section though, is that I felt it was a wonderful love letter to his students in his lab, and it was also a To-Do list for them and future scientists! Ben Barres was known for his groundbreaking scientific work and for his groundbreaking advocacy for gender equality in science. Ashley Juavinett in The Spike. SHARE: SMS; Related Articles. I hope that when I re-read it in a few years, things will have changed in me and around me so that it is less painful and more empowering. I am left saddened that I won't know more about this person as this book was published after his death. Details of research do come in, but they're decently contextualized, and even if you don't fully get them, it's fine. Ben Barres was known for his groundbreaking scientific work and for his groundbreaking advocacy for gender equality in science. I am having trouble describing how I felt reading this book. As a neuroscientist, I did understand a lot about his science but it did get overwhelming in some parts. The first half-ish of this is basically autobiography. Although this is generally consid-ered one of the most aggressive and least treatable of cancers, thanks to recent medical advances, I am fortunate to still be working every day. I got wind of this book through a college class and absolutely loved hearing Dr. Barres' perspective of his life experiences, his dual perspective as a woman and a man, and his advocacy for women in medicine. Ben A. Barres I have not yet retired but was diagnosed about two years ago, at the age of 61, with advanced pancreatic cancer. “The most rewarding part of his job,” however, was mentoring young scientists. In the foreword to Barres’ new book, The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist (MIT Press, 2018), friend and scientist Nancy Hopkins, PhD, said that many people had urged Barres to get his extraordinary life down on paper, to no avail. There aren't many narratives of trans people before 2000 and Barres work in STEM provides a powerful testament to dedication and perseverance... Barres' autobiography cements his exceptional legacy – a high-profile scientist who, as another MIT neuroscientist put it, became 'a role model for role models.'. I started the book so excited, especially once I realized how involved Ben was with fighting gender based discrimination in academia. I suspect in the end his main argument was that his preferences were also influenced by his gender identity wanting to align with that of other boys, but that's not at all clear from his book (and may be only my interpretation of his oral presentations). This tale is phenomenal not just because it's an excellent autobiography of a really interesting person (but it's phenomenal for that reason too). That has enormous value, of course, because the community is young; however, reading the experiences of someone who transitioned at an older age was incredibly valuable as well. Given how much I love science, and this branch in particular, I liked it a. [Image description: Sketch of Ben Barres with the transgender pride flag & astrocytes, by the author] As I suspect many others will feel, I recognized parts of my own story in Ben’s writing. Throughout the book, Hill gives examples of individuals who have changed their mindset, ... Ben Barres tells his story in his own words. That’s ok. Ben’s work was who he was, and I can’t imagine a scientist writing a book that didn’t include their findings over the course of their career. After years of being acutely uncomfortable in his own skin, Barres transitioned from female to male. Clearly the work is the same and people are judging it differently due to bias. Purifying and Culturing Neural Cells : Ben A Barres : 9781621820116 We use cookies to give you the best possible experience. Tote Bag Awards 2018. He became an advocate for gender equality in science, and later in life responded pointedly to Larry Summers's speculation that women were innately unsuited to be scientists. Like most of the reviewers here, I thought the book was really fascinating, especially the part about his life and about his advocacy, while the science section was pretty much unreadable for somebody not in his field. Today we publish over 30 titles in the arts and humanities, social sciences, and science and technology. Books by Ben Barres published by The MIT Press. Barres BA, Burne JF, Holtmann B, Thoenen H, Sendtner M, Raff MC. I've highlighted many parts and made them public. If you don't care about his amazing science on the interaction of glia and neurons, skip the middle portion of the book; I suspect it's quite dry for non-scientists. October 30th 2018 Ben Barres was known for his groundbreaking scientific work and for his groundbreaking advocacy for gender equality in science. The Life of a Transgender Scientist. We’ll send you the latest updates from Ben Barres. I appreciate his contribution to science and his continual advocacy for diversity and mentoring within STEM fields. Browse Ben Barres’s best-selling audiobooks and newest titles. See 1 question about The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist…, Fall 2018: The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist by Ben Barres '76 (selected by Prof. Nancy Hopkins), New African American Histories and Biographies to Read Now.
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