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booksandladders's review against another edition
3.0
I quite enjoyed this as a means of learning and understanding more about transgender individuals and their similarities and differences when transitioning, but the style of writing was horrendous to me and the gender roles that McCloskey imposes upon herself and appears to judge other women based on are not healthy. I don't think this should be read alone, but alongside Roxane Gay's "Bad Feminist" or even Kelly Jensen's edited volume "Here We Are: Feminism For The Real World" so if you do read this and don't fall into all the things McCloskey (sort of) says you need to in order to be a Woman, don't fret.
hawkietta's review against another edition
3.0
At risk of McCloskey throwing me into the category of feminists for which she shows so much disdain, I find her definition of women very limited and thus exclusionary. Perhaps it's due to the dated nature of this book, but under the characteristics that she defines as integral to the status of "women" I am not woman.
This subscription to social constructs linked to specific gender is alarming for someone in this community. She is quick to dismiss opinions alternate to her own with comments along the lines of 'feminists cannot understand the risk or danger in not subscribing to these practices or rituals and thus not passing because of their cis-privilege' (in many more words). I suppose it would be one thing for her to say these traits or rituals that she partakes in are part of her identity as Deirdre, that I would take no issue with; But she instead associates these acts with being a woman.
In this way, this book is damaging to those who do not subscribe to the gender binary and seek to subvert it. I recommend if only to educate on the fact that even queer people can have very narrow views on gender.
This subscription to social constructs linked to specific gender is alarming for someone in this community. She is quick to dismiss opinions alternate to her own with comments along the lines of 'feminists cannot understand the risk or danger in not subscribing to these practices or rituals and thus not passing because of their cis-privilege' (in many more words). I suppose it would be one thing for her to say these traits or rituals that she partakes in are part of her identity as Deirdre, that I would take no issue with; But she instead associates these acts with being a woman.
In this way, this book is damaging to those who do not subscribe to the gender binary and seek to subvert it. I recommend if only to educate on the fact that even queer people can have very narrow views on gender.
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