Female masculinity - Books.Infosec.Exchange

Masculinity without men. In Female Masculinity Jack Halberstam takes aim at the protected status of male masculinity and shows that female masculinity has offered a distinct alternative to it for well over two hundred years. Providing the first full-length study on this subject, Halberstam catalogs the diversity of gender expressions among masculine women from nineteenth-century pre-lesbian practices to contemporary drag king performances.

Through detailed textual readings as well as empirical research, Halberstam uncovers a hidden history of female masculinities while arguing for a more nuanced understanding of gender categories that would incorporate rather than pathologize them. He rereads Anne Lister's diaries and Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness as foundational assertions of female masculine identity. He considers the enigma of the stone butch and the politics surrounding butch/femme roles within lesbian communities. He also explores issues of transsexuality among "transgender dykes"---lesbians who pass as men---and female-to-male transsexuals who may …

Masculinity without men. In Female Masculinity Jack Halberstam takes aim at the protected status of male masculinity and shows that female masculinity has offered a distinct alternative to it for well over two hundred years. Providing the first full-length study on this subject, Halberstam catalogs the diversity of gender expressions among masculine women from nineteenth-century pre-lesbian practices to contemporary drag king performances.

Through detailed textual readings as well as empirical research, Halberstam uncovers a hidden history of female masculinities while arguing for a more nuanced understanding of gender categories that would incorporate rather than pathologize them. He rereads Anne Lister's diaries and Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness as foundational assertions of female masculine identity. He considers the enigma of the stone butch and the politics surrounding butch/femme roles within lesbian communities. He also explores issues of transsexuality among "transgender dykes"---lesbians who pass as men---and female-to-male transsexuals who may find the label of "lesbian" a temporary refuge. Halberstam also tackles such topics as women and boxing, butches in Hollywood and independent cinema, and the phenomenon of male impersonators.

Female Masculinity signals a new understanding of masculine behaviors and identities, and a new direction in interdisciplinary queer scholarship. Illustrated with nearly forty photographs, including portraits, film stills, and drag king performance shots, this book provides an extensive record of the wide range of female masculinities. And as Halberstam clearly demonstrates, female masculinity is not some bad imitation of virility, but a lively and dramatic staging of hybrid and minority genders.

2 editions

Ben Waber reviewed Female masculinity by Jack Halberstam

A Somewhat Dated but Compelling Classic

4 stars

This is probably the most accessible queer theory book I've ever read, and Halberstam explores masculinity and gender categories more broadly from philosophical, sociological, and artistic lenses. This includes an excellent, nuanced critique of survey research in this area.

This book is very much of its time. Originally published in the late 1990s, on top of cultural references that will only be understandable to those who grew up then (✋), with copious references to GoldenEye, Aliens, etc. As a totally meaningless aside, while Halberstam says that in Aliens Vasquez is the first to die, she is in fact the LAST to die, albeit in a tie with Gorman. More importantly, the analysis of trans identities feel extremely dated, and without analysis of developments in the 21st century the book is certainly less relevant than it was at publication.

Still, this is an essential book for understanding gender categories …

This is probably the most accessible queer theory book I've ever read, and Halberstam explores masculinity and gender categories more broadly from philosophical, sociological, and artistic lenses. This includes an excellent, nuanced critique of survey research in this area.

This book is very much of its time. Originally published in the late 1990s, on top of cultural references that will only be understandable to those who grew up then (✋), with copious references to GoldenEye, Aliens, etc. As a totally meaningless aside, while Halberstam says that in Aliens Vasquez is the first to die, she is in fact the LAST to die, albeit in a tie with Gorman. More importantly, the analysis of trans identities feel extremely dated, and without analysis of developments in the 21st century the book is certainly less relevant than it was at publication.

Still, this is an essential book for understanding gender categories and their myriad meanings and instantiations in the US. Highly recommend

Ben Waber

rated it

June 16

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