Divas of San Francisco: Portraits of Transsexual Women [Paperback]

David Steinberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2008

For the last five years, David Steinberg has been photographing transsexual women who frequent San Francisco's Divas Nightclub and Bar, the most prominent transgender club in the U.S. With this collection of intimate, revealing photographs, Steinberg honors the individuality, diversity, and fierce integrity of a group of people who are alternatively ignored and fetishized, but rarely acknowledged and appreciated for who they really are. These 59 full-page color portraits of transsexual dancers, bartenders, lip-sync performers, disc jockeys, regulars and visitors reach beneath an often glamorous surface to present a broad spectrum of remarkable women in all their complexity -- their joy, sadness, strength, uncertainty, toughness, vulnerability and, most of all, their courage in embracing the core of who they know themselves to be in the face of a misunderstanding, frightened, and often hostile world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

David Steinberg's portraits provide an inside track to a world that only he could have penetrated at this level. They are haunting, beautiful, and leave you wanting more, as all brilliant portraits do. --Barbara Nitke, photographer, lecturer, author of Kiiss of Fire

Steinberg documents his subjects compassionately, showing their inner depth and loveliness. Beautiful work from a world that most people know nothing about. --Carol Queen, Ph.D., cultural sexologist

David Steinberg's images bring the viewer inside the true humanity of his subjects, capturing the vulnerabilities, fears, and insecurities of a community that often hides behind brash bravado. The level of trust he established to get these images is remarkable. --Jim Duvall, founder, Seattle Erotic Arts Festival

About the Author

David Steinberg is a photographer, author, editor, and publisher. His other books include Photo Sex: Fine Art Sexual Photography Comes of Age; Erotic by Nature: A Celebration of Life, of Love, and of Our Wonderful Bodies; The Erotic Impulse: Honoring the Sensual Self; and Fatherjournal: Five Years of Awakening to Fatherhood. He is Associate Editor of Sexuality and Culture magazine, and U.S. photo representative for Cupido magazine (Norway/Denmark). His photography and writing have appeared in such journals as Salon, Playboy, Boston Phoenix, Los Angeles Weekly, SF Weekly, The Sun, Libido, The Gay and Lesbian Review, On Our Backs, The Realist, Clean Sheets, Transgender Tapestry, Journal of Gender Studies, and Issues in Radical Therapy. He lives in San Francisco.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Red Alder Books; First Edition edition (February 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0914906054
• ISBN-13: 978-0914906056
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #922,037 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bold and Beautiful, February 20, 2008

By 

Kim Mears (Monterey, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Divas of San Francisco: Portraits of Transsexual Women (Paperback)

This is a beautiful book that has to be seen to be fully appreciated. The photographer captures the true essence of individuals that personify the terms "diverse" and "dynamic." Divas of San Francisco challenges the viewer to set aside stereotypical beliefs and misperceptions of those who identify as transsexual, and allows for the full appreciation of these women who dare to be seen as themselves.