Beans Velocci

Beans Velocci is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History and Sociology of Science and Core Faculty in Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Their work focuses on how classification systems become entrenched as biological truths, particularly regarding sex, gender, and sexuality in 19th- and 20th-century U.S. contexts. They employ queer, trans, and feminist methodologies to analyze intersections of race science, eugenics, and medical history.

Education:

• Ph.D., M.A., M.Phil. in History of Science & Medicine, Yale University
• Graduate Certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Yale University
• M.A. in History, University of Utah
• A.B. in History, Smith College

Research Interests: Queer feminist STS, trans history as method, histories of sex science and race science, classification systems, uncertainty in scientific inquiry, and Cold War-era post-disaster repopulation imaginaries. Their first book project Binary Logic: The Power of Incoherence in American Sex Science (Duke UP, 2026) traces how scientific norms of binary sex were constructed despite inherent contradictions.

Awards: Supported by the American Philosophical Society, Kinsey Institute, and Yale Fund for Lesbian and Gay Studies.

Grants & Collaborations: Works with biologists/ecologists to reimagine contemporary sex research. Co-designs projects promoting socially just science through STS frameworks.

Labs/Teams: Engaged in interdisciplinary collaborations bridging history of science and contemporary scientific practice through the Penn Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies program.