Customer Reviews

Current Concepts in Transgender Identity (Garland Gay and Lesbian Studies)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dallas Denny should be congratulated for pulling together the threads from both the trans community and the (mental) health community to form rich material for the truthseeker and researcher alike: provocative discussion and dialogue on the intriguing and oft-elusive phenomenon of "transgender identity" over the course of the past half-century.

This text weaves a vibrant tapestry of diverse perspectives from many of the key players in the field, tracing the clinical research, assessment and treatment of "gender dysphoria" and "Gender Identity Disorder," as well as sociological studies and (what is rarely seen in traditional works on this subject) phenomenological accounts of the lived experiences of real-life transsexual and transgendered people.

Of particular interest to me, as a transperson and a professional therapist, is the provision of individualized gender identity presentation paradigms, in addition to specific theoretical models and treatment interventions, including psychotherapy, electrolyis, hormonal and surgical therapies. (I especially appreciated the chapter on supportive counselling for transpeople's families and would have liked to have seen additional therapeutic strategies for specific subgroups of the TS/TG community (i.e., youth, seniors, people living with HIV/AIDS, sex workers, etc.).

Equally intriguing for me, as a gay transman, is the examination of how gender identity and sexual orientation intersect for transmen and transwomen, respectively.

Is it any surprise then that perhaps it takes a transsexual researcher and clinician, as Denny is, to possess the initiative and creativity needed to facilitate a project such as this? One that can help to bridge these two longstanding adversarial populations (trans- and non-transpeople) and substantively move us forward towards our mutual collaboration?

I really enjoyed reading this book, it has many different trans perspectives and topics all of which will be of interest to anyone interested in transgender stuidies. I particularly liked chapter 3 "Black Telephones, White Refrigerators: Rethinking Christine Jorgensen" by the book's editor Dallas Denny as well as chapter 2 "Transsexualism: Historical Perspectives, 1952 to Present" Another highlight was chapter 24 that is basically a case study of a young 16 year old transgirl and the final chapter by Richard Green who was the editor of "Transsexualism and Sex Reassignment" in 1969 the first compilation on trans studies to be published after Harry Benjamin's "The Transsexual Phenomenon" Unfortunately the current price of the book will limit it's distribution but if you are willing to spend +100.00 on a book you will not be disappointed with this one.