My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely [Paperback]

Kate Bornstein (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415916739 | ISBN-13: 978-0415916738 | Publication Date: December 18, 1997 | Edition: 1

Gender isn't just about "male" or "female" anymore - if you have any doubts, just turn on your television. RuPaul is as familiar as tomato ketchup with national radio and television shows, and transgendered folk are as common to talk-shows as screaming and yelling. But if the popularization of gender bending is revealing that "male" and "female" aren't enough, where are we supposed to go from here? Cultural theorists have written loads of smart but difficult-to-fathom texts on gender, but none provide a hands-on, accessible guide to having your own unique gender. With My Gender Workbook, Kate Bornstein brings theory down to Earth and provides a practical approach to living with or without a gender.

Bornstein starts from the premise that there are not just two genders performed in today's world, but countless genders lumped under the two-gender framework. Using a unique, deceptively simple and always entertaining workbook format, Bornstein gently but firmly guides you to discover your own unique gender identity. Whether she's using the USFDA's food group triangle to explain gender, or quoting one-liners from real "gender transgressors", Bornstein's first and foremost concern is making information on gender bending truly accessible. With quizzes and exercises that determine how much of a man or woman you are, My Gender Workbook gives you the tools to reach whatever point you desire on the gender continuum.

Bornstein also takes aim at the recent flurry of books that attempt to naturalize gender difference, and puts books like Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus squarely where they belong: on Uranus. If you don't think you are transgendered when you sit down to read this book, you will be by the time you finish it!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Kate Bornstein's 1994 book of autobiographical theory, Gender Outlaw, drew a line in the sand about the whole boy/girl thing. "Who needs it?" America's most active transgender activist questioned. Now, in My Gender Workbook, Bornstein has assembled a collage of simple exercises, quizzes, puzzles, and essay questions that systematically break down our ingrained ideas about how women and men--and whoever is in between--should act. Bornstein's breezy, "hey, let's all discover who we might really be" style works to make this potentially threatening material accessible and even intriguing to almost all readers. Just glance down, check out who--or what--you thought you were, and get ready to answer a few questions.

Review

My Gender Workbook [is] the most complete guide to living with or without gender to have been written to date, putting books like Men are From Mars, Women Are From Venus squarely where they belong: on Uranus. -- Seattle Gay News
[T]he most exciting and difficult aspect of My Gender Workbook is the way it never relents. It asks a question, then another, then another, answering questions with more questions... Bornstein never tells us what or where the genderless promised land might be, but by the end of the book you do get the sense that she never describes it because she understands its indescribability so deeply. -- Hungry Mind Review
[Bornsteins] ideas are both novel and intriguing. -- Baltimore Alternative
My Gender Workbook may take a leap of faith to crack open, but the charm, wit, and quiet intelligence of its author will almost undoubtedly keep you along for the whole trip. And it is a trip, let me tell you. -- The Toronto Star

"My Gender Workbook [is] the most complete guide to living with or without gender to have been written to date, putting books like Men are From Mars, Women Are From Venus squarely where they belong: on Uranus." -- Seattle Gay News

"[T]he most exciting and difficult aspect of My Gender Workbook is the way it never relents. It asks a question, then another, then another, answering questions with more questions... Bornstein never tells us what or where the genderless promised land might be, but by the end of the book you do get the sense that she never describes it because she understands its indescribability so deeply." -- Hungry Mind Review

"[Bornstein's] ideas are both novel and intriguing." -- Baltimore Alternative

"My Gender Workbook may take a leap of faith to crack open, but the charm, wit, and quiet intelligence of its author will almost undoubtedly keep you along for the whole trip. And it is a trip, let me tell you." -- The Toronto Star

Winner of the 1999 Firecracker Alternative Book Award, Special Recognition/Wildcard Category: Self Improvement

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (December 18, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415916739
• ISBN-13: 978-0415916738
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

i'm an author and playwright and performance artist. i written mostly postmodern gender theory, queer political rants, third wave feminist whatever and s/m porn when i've had time to do that. now, it seems i've written a self-help book for members of the radical left. it's called "hello, cruel world: 101 alternatives to suicide for teens, freaks, and other outlaws." and i'll have more up here about that sooner than later but for now, you can visit http://www.hellocruelworld.net for a sneak peek. it's taken me years to write this book, so that's pretty much what i'm about these days.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Thing, September 29, 2002

By 

Amanda "doceo336" (Yuma, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely (Paperback)

If you have ever wondered what a real man, a real woman, or a real something in-between is, this is a must read. "My Gender Workbook" has interactive exercises, advice, and guidance on gender, and provokes the reader to question the whole idea of gender as an absolute. We all have elements of each gender, and Bornstein goes to the point of arguing that there are many genders, not just two, and it is possible to lack gender entirely. As a transgendered person myself, I found the book enlightening and helpful in my own discovery of gender, and who I really am. In fact, this is one of the most useful books I have found on gender identity, and I refer back to it often.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars incredible! mind-blowing!, February 9, 2000

By 

matthew barbour (chicago illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely (Paperback)

a book for all genders, orientations, and adjectives. i've yet to show this book to someone who wasnt impressed. kate talks theory for those of us that would like a little, adds a dash of cosmology, and then gets into the true, errr, meat of exploring gender with fun exercizes and quizzes. hilarious, irrreverent, and ever-relevant it explores gender while maintaining the upbeat aesthetics of a true gender artist. whether your interest is academic or personal, it's a must read for _anyone_ interested in questions of gender.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars So you think you know what you are..., May 19, 1998

By 

Nicklin Heap "neophytos" (Oak Park, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely (Paperback)

This book - if it can be called that - is about the most extensive course in Gender Studies one could take without walking into a classroom and spending five months with a professor. Kate leads you through every step of the process with humor, insight and compassion - never pulling any of hir punches, though. If you're curious about the creation of gender, thinking about changing or reexamining your own gender, this is definitely a book you need to read.