About Bo
I’m Bo Laurent, based in Northern California.
Intersex Advocacy
My most sustained work has been in intersex advocacy. I’ve been part of this movement since its early days, focused on the rights of people born with intersex variations — particularly around medical decision-making, bodily autonomy, and the harm done by shame, secrecy, and nonconsensual sexual surgeries on children. I founded the Intersex Society of North America in 1993. You can see its archived website at https://isna.org. Or visit InterACT Advocates for Intersex Youth to learn what’s happening in that world today.
Japan and 古文書
Alongside that, I’ve developed a deep interest in Japan — its language, its culture, and especially its historical documents. 古文書 (komonjo) are old manuscripts, often handwritten in classical scripts that even native Japanese speakers can’t easily read today. I’m learning how to read them.
I’m particularly fascinated by the experiences of Japanese who came of age in a feudal society and helped Japan transform itself into a modern nation state in the late 1800s.
Sonoma County Matsuri Japanese Festival
I’m a member of the board of the Sonoma County Matsuri Japanese Festival. We hold a fabulous festival in Santa Rosa’s Juilliard Park every year on a Sunday in May.
You can join our (very low volume) email list to receive notification before our next festival.
Community Grazing Cooperative for Wildfire Mitigation
I’m proud of the neighborhood grazing cooperative that I helped found, to mitigate wildfire danger. You can read about it at A Community Approach to Natural, Sustainable Wildfire Mitigation
This site holds my writing across those worlds: intersex news and commentary, notes on Japanese language and culture, and explorations of old manuscripts. You can reach me via the contact page.
Educational Background
- Physics study at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (did not complete a degree)
- Mathematics at MIT (SB degree)
- Japanese language study at Harvard University Extension School (non-degree program)
- Middlebury College Summer Language Institute in Japanese (two summers)
- Hiroshima University College of Engineering Graduate Study (independent study in computer graphics; non-degree, supported by Japan Government Monbusho)
- Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality (did not complete a degree)
- Sonoma State University (Masters in Organization Development)
For researchers
Most of my physical papers are held at The Kinsey Institute Library.
As of July 2026, I have begun to publish digital history assets at https://bolaurentpapers.org