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jackiehorne's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up this book from the library after finding out that a man I know enjoys crossdressing as a woman, hoping to find more information about the phenomenon. The book includes three sections, one on female-to-male transsexuals, one on heterosexual male crossdressers, and one on intersex people. I'd read a lot about the latter already, so Bloom's information and insights weren't so "ah-ha" for me. The transsexual section was of the most interest, although it focused more on the surgical details of how females are transformed into males than on the potential explanations (biological, social, cultural?) for transsexuality. The middle section on heterosexual crossdressers, the one which initially drew me to the book, turned out to be the most disappointing one, perhaps because this group was the one with which Bloom was least comfortable. Are all heterosexual male crossdressers conservative socially and politically? Do all of their wives simply put up with their crossdressing, because they are traditionally feminine and thus accepting and bearing the crosses of their lives? Are all the men hiding a sexual fetish for women's clothing behind the more socially acceptable explanation that they are just embracing their feminine side? If she had interviewed these men not in the context of cross-dressing get-togethers (conventions, cruise-ship vacations), but in their own homes, might she have seen a wider variety of motivations and personalities, and thus been able to present heterosexual crossdressers as sympathetically as she does transsexuals and the intersexed?
jess_always_reading's review against another edition
challenging
fast-paced
0.5
This book was a difficult read, the language is dated and Bloom's attitudes towards the people she is interviewing and seeking to 'understand' range from sympathetic but pitying (intersex chapter) to not seeing them as people to be treated with dignity and respect (transgender chapter). It's a disturbing look at attitudes of the past in some places and the present in others and it highlights the importance of having this kind of material written by people in these communities instead of outsiders who approach it with a kind of delight at the 'peculiarities'. Additionally there is little mention of cultural factors or discussions of the harms social norms and views of sexual or gender diversity are responsible for.
I'm glad I read it to better understand perspectives far different from my own and to have a closer look at how some people outside my community view us (especially those who approach with smiles and 'good intentions ') however, it is likely not for everyone.
I'm glad I read it to better understand perspectives far different from my own and to have a closer look at how some people outside my community view us (especially those who approach with smiles and 'good intentions ') however, it is likely not for everyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Homophobia, Child abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Transphobia
anatomydetective's review against another edition
1.0
Dated and transphobic with much more of a focus on anatomy than human beings. Very disappointing.
kristendom's review against another edition
4.0
Amy Bloom takes into the world of transsexuals, transgenders, and hermaphrodites, as only she can - sensitively and with an attempt to help explain for all of us why these are not people to be scorned, people to be treated as outsiders, but truly just people. A great book for anyone wanting to understand more about gender and the continuum we are all on.
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