Customer Reviews

The Gender Frontier: Mariette Pathy Allen (German Edition)

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Ever since the 1970's there has been a growing literature on the topic of gender, some of it of very high quality, some of it negligible. But Mariette Pathy Allen's new book, "The Gender Frontier"(Kehrer, 2004) stands out from all of the books that have preceded it in its immediate humanity, its depth of insight, its extraordinary drama, its excitement at the birth of a new human community, its emotional pathos and its uninhibited celebration of the lives of some of the most courageous people alive today, those who identify themselves as transgendered.

The story that Mariette tells us of the transgendered person who had her throat slit while a group of New York cab drivers stood by and laughed is not fiction. Nor is the story of Robert Eads, a female-to-male transsexual whose transition surgeon told him that a hysterectomy was unnecessary for his change to a man. When Robert contracted ovarian cancer, he was faced with the life-shattering irony that all that was left of his previous existence as a woman was killing him as a man. In a brazen mockery of the Hippocratic Oath, 20 doctors and three hospitals refused to treat him. When he finally found a doctor willing to treat him the cancer had progressed too far to be arrested. The doctors, it seems, were afraid that having "that kind of person" in their waiting rooms would scare away business.

Mariette is both a photographer whose work ranks as genuine, lasting art and a writer whose personal and intimate style, free of all the gender jargon, describes for us the daily lives of transgendered people with their families, their children, their hopes, their fears, their dreams, their aspirations and their vocations in life. Through her words and through the lens of her camera we see them as real people dealing with the exigencies of life just like the rest of us and not as the sordid, commercialized, pornographic freaks we all too often meet on the Internet and in the pages of XXXX magazines.

For this reason Mariette Pathy Allen will take her rightful place in the history of art, and of human liberation, as the original pioneer who brought the human universe of transgendered people to light and as an activist artist whose unflinching dedication to the truth has brought relief, happiness, dignity, self-esteem and psychological self-acceptance to thousands of transgendered persons.

Among professional photographers Mariette is the only one I know of who has dared to document and defend and demonstrate the inherent human beauty of a group of people that to date has been shamefully shunned and hysterically persecuted by society at large. She is not only a superb photographer and an engaging writer, she is also a woman who has been brave enough to go in harm's way for the sake of understanding, tolerance, acceptance and a more truly diverse and human society.

"The Gender Frontier" is a truly beautiful, inspirational book in every sense of those words. It is a "keeper" that everyone should have in their library. Please go buy it. Then feel yourself challenged and transformed as you proceed from one page to the next, from one story to the next. And when you arrive at the end you will have come to realize that we human beings are far more fascinating and complex and mysterious and wonderful then we thought we were when we unthinkingly imprisoned our own minds in the claustrophobic confines of the traditional binary concept of gender.

Without Mariette Pathy Allen's art and activism, the transgender movement would not be the vital force that it is today. It's that simple. If you care enough about the provocative subject of gender to have found your way to this page, this book belongs in your library. Enjoy!

Veronica Vera
Miss Vera's Academy

this book avoids being sensationalistic and instead shows a very real portrait of what different transgendered lives and experiences look like. the histories of the subjects are particularly moving and personal. i'd recomend this book for anyone interested in gender studies or portrait photography. if, however, you're looking for a sesational and exploitative book of "trannies" than you might want to pass this one up.

I already knew something of the subject, but the personal stories opinions and essays provided an extraordinary context for Pathy Allen's wonderful images and I learned a great deal. It is also beautifully produced.

I feel Mariette Pathy Allen has made a real difference in the way non gender variant people view gender variant people. She has recorded something wonderful in her book "Gender Frontiers". This book captures the hues and shadows of the humanity of gender variant people. Her book depicts the joy and struggle of being alive with a difference most of humanity is either unaware of or skeptical about. Gender Frontier is a truly an amazing work created by an amazing person. A must read for all those who are gender variant or know someone who is.

-Renee Simousek
Madison Area Transgender Association

Mariette Pathy Allen's book "The Gender Frontier" is her second into the realm of gender fluidity. Her first book, "Transformations," published in 1989, revealed a sometimes startling array of crossdressers as playful, social anomalies.

Her new book witnesses the dynamics of gender-variance as a `new culture' coming of age. What may have begun as playful quirkiness has become a deep and powerful sociopolitical and cultural movement. Here are outspoken, resolute and well organized voices, loudly and collectively shouting the inequities of an uninformed and often callous society. These "gender-warriors," often disenfranchised and marginalized, span a far greater spectrum than her previous work - males to females, females to male, androgynes, and queer youth.

Allen's photographs shed in an almost painterly way, light and perspective on a world devoid of gender stereotypes. Only those who live within that world can reveal its mysteries. One must look deeply to extract the message. These are not casual snapshots of confused and pathetic persons in search of acceptance and understanding. Here are glimpses into the lives of dynamic persons who, by their very existence, reflect real evolution and social change. She moves among this gender netherworld community easily without judgment or hesitation, capturing through her lens dynamic moments in time, a chronicler for a new age. It is her ease of manner which allows her to witness her subjects throughout their `process of becoming.' And within that safe haven, and through a camera lens, they allow their most guarded selves to be revealed unabashed - without disapproval or condescending eye. What may easily be missed is the vastness of depth and strength of emerging cultural change hidden, dismissed or ignored completely by mainstream society.

Some are soft and intimate portraits; calm, serene and confident. There are couples, families, parents. They are, as all of us, sometimes strained, jubilant, and stoic. Activists offer up gritty, defiant demonstrations on the street as they remember the dead - those murdered by an ignorant and fearful society because of they flouted the binary definition of male and female.

The accompanying essays by activist leaders like Jamison Green and Riki Wilchins speak to the fundamental, political rights of individuals, their strong voices ringing brightly. Robert Eads, his body ravaged by cancer, speaks with calm clarity of his journey and his fate. Still others offer personal narratives, sharing tale and tenor, their poignant and provocative moments of loss and rebirth.

The gift Mariette Allen's book brings is the opportunity to share her observations of what, to many, may seem fundamentally without question...our gender. And for those of us who dare to ask that question, there are no real and certain answers. There may be, however, a life that is daring, courageous, and far less ordinary.

"Once again, Mariette Pathy Allen does it-- as an advocate for transgender rights and understanding about the world of transgender (TG) people through her often daring, always respectful and empowering camera lens. Her words add the necessary spice to make this a savory meal that lasts in your very soul. As a photojournalist she is known worldwide for her remarkable ability to capture in photos the inner and outer landscapes of the TG experience. Poignant, moving, funny, celebratory, provocative, revolutionary, these are some words to describe her art and her impact globally.
Her photos fill the pages of this beautiful book, along with thought-provoking essays, poems, personal stories and essays of advocacy against violence and intolerance toward persons of TG experience by well respected spokespersons including the "Transgender Menace" founder, Riki Wilchins, Jamison Green and Allen herself. If you want to take an insider's walk into Transgenderism, this book will expand your mind and open your spirit."

As a sexologist, gender coach, and gender ID advocate, I can speak to the power of Mariette Pathy Allen's contributions ---they are honestly life altering. She can spin the right words and capture the essence of personhood like no one else. If you want to gain insight about the world of TG, this book is it. I love it. I love her. I[...].to learn more about this important contribution. She and her amazing photographic works are the essence of personal empowerment. Don't miss this book.