Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

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.

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!)

A decade ago Al Bornstein underwent genital reconstruction surgery to become Kate Bornstein and soon fell in love with a lesbian who recently had female-to-male surgery. Kate Bornstein's very existence is a defiance of gender labels so it's no wonder it should be the topic of her first book.

Bornstein, a transsexual S&M feminist, performance artist, playwright, NEA casualty, spokesperson, and talk show regular became a celebrated theorist as well with the publication of GENDER OUTLAW. This fascinating and informative account of her own experiences is also an accessible exploration of gender politics and the current bipolar gender breakdown as an oppressive class system. Drawing on numerous sources and told with frankness and humor, the book covers a great deal of territory such as the mental preparation for and the logistics of genital reconstructive surgery, her reentry into the world, her argument for gender as a social construct, the script of her art/theory play `Hidden: A Gender', and roles the transgendered have played in other cultures.

With her plays, her book, her talk show appearances and her lectures Kate Bornstein is working to break the myths and mystery of the transgendered. Her work is a true union of life and art with education and understanding as the end goal. This is a fascinating exploration of a topic mostly taken for granted in our culture. Discovering that gender is more than simply genitalia is a true revelation.

Kate Bornstein has written a fabulous book about what it means to be differently gendered. Her experience of being male, being female, being something else entirely, has lead her to ask the question "What is gender, anyway?" This book is the beginning of an answer to that question.

Boornstein does not pretend to know the answers to the questions she raises. For the most part, the critical act in this book is raising the questions at all. And even when she has worked out an answer for herself, she is extremely clear (with herself and with the reader) that the boundaries of that answer pretty much end where her body ends and the rest of the world begins.

Her experience acts as a prism through which she views everything else about the world (about theatre, about "the lesbian community", about straight marriage, about loving, about medicine and therapy). Her sideways view of things that had previously seemed solid to me helped me re-orient my vision of the world as it is, and as it might be.

Come to this book with an open mind, and reading it will open your mind even farther. It is absolutely not required that you agree with everything she has to say, that you interpret her observations the way she does, that you experience the world the way she does. Whatever answers you find for yourself, traveling with this author through her world of questions is a ride which should not be missed.

If you want to challenge your assumptions about the role of gender in society, read "Gender Outlaw," or any book by Kate Bornstein. Better yet, listen to her speak. It is a remarkable experience you will never forget!

Bill Taverner Editor, Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Human Sexuality

It's a while since I read Kate Bornstein's *Gender Outlaw*, but my overall impression is that it is a pathbreaking book which drags (!) transsexuality out of the ghetto and into the homes of 'ordinary' people.

This is an amazing, amazing book. It's easy to read, engaging, and the tone is casual but the content is rich and nuanced - both accesible and intelligent. If you only read three books in your life, this should be one of them. I'm not exaggerating.

I've had this book sitting on my shelf for years. I've always hesitated to read it because it was published so long ago--in the 90s--that I figured it must be really dated. Of course, it wasn't growing any more timely the more that time went by, so I decided to read it before it grew any more irrelevant. I feared the worst when Bornstein mentioned this exciting new internet bulletin board she'd just recently discovered: America Online!

Remember when America Online was new? When was that? I think you could find Ben Franklin in a chat room about that time.

Well, the fact is that society, in general, hasn't become that much more enlightened about gender since Bornstein first published this book nearly twenty years ago. Or since the days of Ben Franklin, America's first transexual. All you have to do, if youre a man, is hump it on over to the Outback Steakhouse in a miniskirt and halter top to prove that. The rigid, polarized, two-gender system that Bornstein criticizes, laments, and encourages her readers to destroy is alive and thriving ten years into the 21st century. Those of us who refuse to cooperate, who challenge the notion that one need not be defined, that is, identified and limited, by their genitalia are still "gender outlaws" and still all-too-often punished for their transgressions.

So Bornstein's book is, unfortunately, still relevant and still eloquent to those seeking to deconstruct the dominant paradigm that says men must be men and women must be women. Bornstein, a male-to-female transexual "lesbian" whose lover, as of the writing of "Gender Outaw," was a female-to-male transexual, has this interesting notion that gender can be taken on and off like an actor dons costumes. Her today, him tomorrow, and back again, in ever-varying combinations. She considers her own identity a form of collage and, as she says, her prose-style reflects her personality pastiche. Bits of interviews, personal history, gender theory, and even one of her plays comprise the bulk of "Gender Outlaw."

Most of it is interesting, some of it thought-provoking, a little of it hollow polemic, including almost the entire play, which I could have done well enough without, but, on the whole, this is still a worthwhile read. Gender theory lite is how you might think of it. If you've read heavier books on the subject, Bornstein's pop version of queer theory is probably going to seem a bit tame and a bit lame. "Gender Outlaw" is probably best as an introduction, the kind of thing that gets people thinking, especially those who seldom do, about exactly what gender is, who controls it, and why you let them.

Maybe the most interesting idea Bornstein advances is the one that seeks to open our eyes to possibilities beyond the either/or that society offers us. Why not a woman with a penis, breasts, a beard, maybe a tail, who is attracted to a castrated man with a vagina, no breasts, and a rubber fetish? Why, if I cut it off, do I have to be a woman...or why to be a woman do I have to cut if off? Why must I call myself either a man or a woman? Why can't I be both--or neither. Why cant I be a glynfexlxbzzi? Who says there's no such thing? I'm standing right here, aren't I?