Nat Urban

Nat Urban (they/them) is an interdisciplinary independent queer studies researcher, fiber artist, and writer. Nat's work engages with the history of sexuality and gender, breaking down modern understandings of identity towards a playful, embodied mode of engagement. They position compulsory identity and paradigms of "normality" at the base of their research working to complicate these notions. Through explorations of pop culture, history, literature, art, and theory, Nat uncovers histories of joy and empowerment for marginalized groups. Liberation and joy are seated at the center of any work Nat does, and will always be.

Their most recent project, an ethnography (an interview style used in anthropology) of queer girlhoods, was hosted by the Girl Museum and presented at the 2024 Girlhood Studies Collective Conference. Through 6 interviews, we explored different definitions and experiences in girlhood wondering, what is girlhood if it is not relegated to a specific age range and genital configuration? Girlhood becomes a liminal space that anyone can access, where folks work to meet needs of emotional intimacy, interact with their body as an aesthetic object, and can come into deep emotional connection with others.

Nat is happy to both talk about their personal experiences of queerness as well as to speak through a more academic lens about modern queer issues.