Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us [Paperback]

Kate Bornstein (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 25, 1995

Part coming-of-age story, part mind-altering manifesto on gender and sexuality, coming directly to you from the life experiences of a transsexual woman, Gender Outlaw breaks all the rules and leaves the reader forever changed.26 black-and-white illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Bornstein considers herself a gender outlaw because she breaks the laws of nature. A former heterosexual male and now a lesbian woman, Bay Area Reporter writer, and actor who has appeared on talk shows, she has completed the transsexual process, including surgery. As she considers her workplace the theater, about a third of this autobiographical work is devoted to queer theater, including her play, Hidden: A Gender. The black-and-white photos were not seen but are apparently a significant part of this informative and humorous book.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

A thoughtful challenge to gender ideology that continually asks difficult questions about identity, orientation, and desire. Bornstein cleverly incorporates cultural criticism, dramatic writing, and autobiography to make her point that gender (which she distinguishes from sex) is a cultural rather than a natural phenomenon. The chapters range from ``fashion tips'' on her writing style to dialogue between herself and another about the ``nuts and bolts'' of the surgical process of a gender change (which she has undergone). Confronting transgenderism and transgendered people is not easy for many individuals, but Bornstein does it in a way that sparks debate without putting her audience on the defensive. She suggests that ``the culture may not simply be creating roles for naturally-gendered people, the culture may in fact be creating the gendered people.'' Her discussion of the ``parts'' of gender is based on respected sources and includes analyses of gender assignment, identity, and roles. Things get mixed up, according to Bornstein, because ``sexual orientation/preference is based in this culture solely on the gender of one's partner of choice,'' in effect confusing orientation and preference. Seeing queer theater as a place in which gender ambiguity and fluidity can and should be explored, she includes in the book her play, Hidden: A Gender. Bornstein uses the term ``gender defenders'' to describe those who work hard to maintain the current rigid system of gender, and she claims that her ``people'' (i.e., the transgendered) are just beginning to challenge the system and to demand acceptance and understanding. Bornstein's witty style, personal approach, and frankness open doors to questioning gender assumptions and boundaries. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; paperback / softback edition (April 25, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679757015
• ISBN-13: 978-0679757016
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Biographies & Memoirs > Transgender
  • #19 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Nonfiction > Transgender

More About the Author

Kate Bornstein is a performance artist and playwright whose latest book was released May 1, 2012--a memoir, A QUEER AND PLEASANT DANGER, with the subtitle, "The true story of a nice Jewish boy who joins the Church of Scientology and leaves twelve years later to become the lovely lady she is today."

Kate has authored several award-winning books in the field of Women and Gender Studies, including GENDER OUTLAW: ON MEN, WOMEN, AND THE REST OF US, and MY GENDER WORKBOOK which she is currently updating for a second edition after 15 years.

Her 2006 book, HELLO, CRUEL WORLD: 101 ALTERNATIVES TO SUICIDE FOR TEENS, FREAKS, AND OTHER OUTLAWS propelled Kate into an international position of anti-bully advocacy for marginalized youth which has earned her two citations of honor from the New York City Council and garnered praise from civil rights groups around the globe. Kate's books are taught in five languages in over 200 colleges and universities around the world.

Kate lives in New York City with her girlfriend, three cats, two dogs, and one turtle.

Photo Credit: Barbara Carrellas, 2012.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 58 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars In Your Face November 28, 2001

By Rivkah Maccaby

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've read many books on feminism and gender, most of the Ms magazine ilk, and all of one mind, spouting the message that William can have a doll, and Sally can be a doctor when she grows up. Mainstream feminism is carrying this message into the 21st century almost unchanged from the late 1960's. This type of book always leaves me feeling a little unsatisfied.

Kate Bornstein has written and book that attacks gender roles at the root, and not the flower. She is a male to female transsexual, in that she was identified as a boy at birth, and raised accordingly (there's a picture from her Bar Mitzvah), and was later surgically altered to look like a woman when she stands naked.

She has a woman's body, and a female name, and prefers the pronoun "she," but Bornstein does not claim a gender in the way gender exists as a social construct. Few things are as personal as gender, and no one has a right to dictate another person's gender, or even that a person claim a gender. She talks about men, and women, and everyone in between. The "everyone in between," however, are not sexless celibates nursing their melancholia in solitude; they are sexual beings like anyone else.

Bornstein, by dispensing with gender, opens up sexual possibilities that were previously unthought of. There's lots of sex in this book.

This book is not an apologetic for transsexualisn, or gender dysphoria. If anything, it is in your face regarding not only personal choices, but anyone who would dare to judge someone else's choices. This is not a plea for understanding, as books on transsexualism usually are, not a heart-breaking tale of emotional pain, rejection and confusion.... Bornstein tells the truth of her story, and gives you the options of recognizing the truth for what it is, or continue living in a Fool's Paradise.

And in captivating narrative voice. Her style reflects her attitude, and you have no trouble hearing her in your head. This, to me, is the mark of a good author. Read more ›

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gender as Tribal Culture, Indoctrinization & other Silliness July 8, 2002

By Graham D. Lincoln VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

As someone often mistaken for a woman, and as an Anthropologist, I highly recommend this wonderful, whimsical, Enlightened view of the Society vs. Gender dilemma.
People often do not realize that a person must read stacks and stacks of books, to even come-close to comprehending WHY Gender is such a Big Deal in most cultures (especially American culture, which is extremely Repressed and dysfunctional).
I have been asking myself Gender-related questions since I was a small child. Unfortunately, being raised in an environment that precluded the possibility of asking my parents any questions, or talking about such things in any other circumstances, all I had were Books.
Obviously, Kate has read her fair share of books, magazines, Psychological arguments (I mean views), etc. Luckily, she wrote about her research, personal experiences, the challenges involved with living "Alternative Lifestyles" and society's response to people dropping out of the tribe....
The most inspiring and interesting concept I found in this work, was the idea that "Gender" is a "Tribal" concept. If you do not act the way your Tribe ("Male," "Female" / "Man," "Woman") WANTS you to act, you get kicked-out.
I enjoy studying Anthropology and this concept makes more sense than a lot of the other theories I have read.
When Kate puts things into perspective, and shows (easily) that the Man Tribe vs. Woman Tribe theory is in-action every day, in most cultures....it is like a Revelation.
When you read this book, you realize that Males act as-if they are a Phallic Cult & Females act as-if they are a Non-phallic Cult.... Both Cults struggle to preserve their Born adherents and Demand they remain in the Cult of their birth (much like someone being born into a Religious Cult, from-which you cannot escape).
As I read Kate's book, I thought, "She should be writing Text books and Psychology papers....Anthropological Research."
It is wonderful to see someone bucking the System and providing an Insider's view of the Struggle between the Sexes.
I believe that if more people were honest with themselves, the Crime Rate, Depression, Homophobia, and numerous other Cultural Ignorance Factors would be reduced, phenomenally.
"Gender Outlaw" is a great start to educating the masses.
Gender issues have been confused, ridiculed, demonized and otherwise caused much unnecessary Grief for far too long. Patriarchal society has given us a Goofball, uneducated view of what Gender is, how it works, & WHY we are the way we are.
"Gender Outlaw" is a fresh, new perspective on Gender issues, and it is written in a humorous, easy to digest format.
Personally, I miss the 80's. It seems, people were a lot happier when they were Androgynous. Read more ›

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Outlaw Kate. May 7, 2000

By [e-mail]

Format:Hardcover

Kate Bornstein asks questions that are for some uncomfortable. You are asked to question the Gender system as defined by Society. You are also given an insite into the life and feelings of a Transsexual, everything you wanted to ask (well nearly). If you have an interest in Transsexuality or general Gender confusion. Then you may find that you cannot put this book down. I found this book to be well written, funny, sad, confusing. But thoroughly enjoyable.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars write me back, Kate! July 24, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

If you consider keeping your identity a secret and keeping mum in order to perpetuate the status quo as being "accepted by society," then I suppose outspoken transsexuals like Bornstein have done a lot of damage. However, she does go to great lengths to address in her book the fact that some other transsexuals will undoubtedly disagree with her. I may disagree with separatist lesbians, but I would never deny them the right to speak out about their beliefs because "they make feminism look bad."

Now, Kate Bornstein is no "man-hater," after all, she used to be a man! But is she a woman now? Well, not exactly. while I may disagree with her occasionally cheesy use of the word "shaman" to describe exactly what she is, I know what she's getting at, because the beauty of this book is that most of us, transgendered or not, have been there, too.

The point is not that "she was a he who got his thing cut off." The point is that gender roles in our culture are way too stratified, too rigid. We need to play with them, to find out what would happen if, god(dess) forbid, we spent some time as neither, even if just while reading a book. As unradical and simple as that may sound, it is the point of Bornstein's book. it would be a start toward dismantling what she so astutely refers to as the cult of gender. She does include her e-mail address in her book, and I am eagerly awaiting a response from her to a message I sent.

I also recommend My Gender Workbook, which is illustrated by Diane DiMassa (who I met when she spoke at RISD!)