Customer Reviews

Queer Theory, Gender Theory: An Instant Primer

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I assign this book in a class called Sexual Identity. It offers an introduction to queer/gender/postmodern theory, situated within contexts of social and political movements. It is extremely accessible, and guides readers through difficult concepts that are often complicated and dense in their original works (e.g., Foucault, Derrida, Butler). For people who want to sample some of the central theoretical concepts related to gender and sexuality, this book is a great resource. The students reading this book often comment on the accessible reading and Wilchins' connections to personal stories and experiences. Such comments starkly differ from when I previously assigned the more abstract and antiquated Queer Theory (Jagose).

In her third book, Queer Theory, Gender Theory: An Instant Primer, Riki Wilchins ventures from writing an autobiography (_Read My Lips_) and editing an anthology (_GenderQueer_) to writing theory explicitly. In particular, she seeks to take theory out of its current limited circulation among "academics and graduate students" (1) and reinvigorate its political center and make it accessible to activists.

Wilchins begins by giving brief histories of civil rights movements (chapters 1-3), follows with discussions of postmodern theory centered around Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault (chapters 4-6) complete with contemporary examples of uses of postmodern theory (chapters 7 & 8), and then proceeds to discuss postmodern theory's weaknesses (chapter 9-11), notably its lack of "any vision of constructive social engagement and political action" (100), and its tendency not to account for the varying perspectives people might encounter due to dimensions of difference, specifically race (chapter 10). Similarly focused on limitations and weaknesses, in chapter 11, Wilchins uses Judith Bulter's work to assert that identity-based politics, while in some ways facilitate political organizing and movement, inevitably and undesirably create margins and practice exclusion. The final chapter chronicling GenderPAC's founding and continue development and growth are offered by Wilchins as an example of theory being put into action.

Wilchins' purpose is to bridge queer theory and human rights activism in order to instill in academics the necessity of putting theory into action, and perhaps more importantly, to offer those unfamiliar with queer theory access to the possibilities such theorizing has opened up and makes available (as evidenced by the book's subtitle "An Instant Primer").

I was really excited when this book came out, so much so that I assigned it to an upper-level feminist theories class I was teaching. The reactions were missed. Some felt it was too abridged, and that its focus on being an "instant" primer sacrificed much needed nuance and complexity. Others really thought the book was accessible and understandable, which appealed to them. One of the biggest problems I found, though, were when students read this book and thought that afterwards then "knew it all."

I can't fault Wilchins for this, but I do think that there are ways in which the book lends itself to exactly this reading of it. A good text for a quick intro, and for folks new to the topic, but definitely only a beginning.

Riki Wilchins has crafted a marvelous primer on the major gender issues facing Americans today, and it's worth reading the book for that purpose alone; but Wilchins manages to provide more than a primer, she gives new life to the long dormant idea that King, Gandhi and Jesus died for, the idea that across the board social constructs must be abandoned, and the fight must be for equal rights for all. Period. No sub-divisions, no special rights, just rights that each and every person is entitled to simply because they are a person.

I doubt Wilchins intended her book to be a theological treatise, but to my way of thinking, her ideas mirror those of Jesus who not only deconstructed social constructs, but taught that each and every person is entitled not only to radical love, but life in a community of radical egalitarianism.

"Queer Theory, Gender Theory" is a great read, a wonderful book, and a breath of fresh air in this age of homophobic rhetoric. In short, buy and read this great book!

This book does exactly what it sets out to do: whereas my initial attempts at reading and understanding Foucault and Butler left me interested but confused, now, after reading this book -- in a mere four days -- I actually get postmodernism, a.k.a. the theory behind gender rights. I've retained more from this book in less than a week than from an entire semester of a college philosophy of race and gender class. In other words, thanks Riki!

I found Quuer Theory, Gender Theory: An Instant Primer by Riki Wilchins to be both academically rigorous while being accessible for the reader who would like an inductory text on Queer and Gender Studies. I use this book in my Introduction to Queer Studies course, and students find that the author has a particular skill for introducing rather difficult concepts in a style that is fresh and engaging, without talking down to them. A must read for anyone wishing to gain a clearer understanding of queer and gender theory.

As someone with little idea of Queer Theory before I began reading this I found it quite useful. It is written in a very easy to read, accessible way. This book is a good first start for people wanting to get to know the basics quickly. I recommend it.

This is a good book for activists, and trans theory beginners who are looking for a light amount of academic relativity to trans-activism. The book had great potential to serve as both an academic and activist tool, but falls severely short on the academic side. It lacks any serious academic quality through it omissions of references and footnotes for all of the textual and historical information cited. Further, a vast majority of ideas and theories in the book are really just Riki's own musings and do not make use of any of the pre-existing valuable critques of the authors and works she analyzes, which is a disappointing ommission.

Those who are irritated by Riki's constant promotion of GenderPAC through all of her work, will find the same situation in this book. All of this is not to say that there is not good ideas or content in the book, as there certainly are, but the ideas don't seem to be all that different from Riki's previous works, or speeches.

I would agree with some of the other reviewers in that this book is great if you're are new to gender/queer theory or just starting to get your feet wet. If you've done a fair amount of studying within the field though it would probably be too simplistic and abridged for your liking. Nonetheless, I give Wilchins credit for breaking down a lot of the theory which is often too complicated/obscure for those outside the academy. Too often we prize only the most obscure (an thus often obsolete). While it might be missing a lot of the more refined arguments, kudos to Wilchins for making theory more accessible.

This book is an excellent introcution to anyone who wants to know what is meant by 'queer theory', and how it relates to concepts such as gender, gender rights, feminism and LGBT studies. Wilchins is not primarily an academic and this shows in the writing - there are few references to other works, and a few points on Derrida and Foucault are a bit shady in how they are interpreted. Nonetheless, the short chapters and fun style mean that the book is very readable, and gets its basic points across very well without too many complications. For someone with a general interest, this is a wonderful place to start. For the serious academic, this should be the first step in understanding how theories mesh together, but should probably be supplemented by thorough reading of other texts. A particular strength of the book, useful to everyone, is hwo Wilchins relates theory to practice, explaining how queer theory can become political and social action on an individual and group scale.

The author attempts to take gender theory out of the classroom and bring it to the forefront of our culture. You'll learn what kinds of gender issues face Americans today.