S/He [Paperback]

Minnie Bruce Pratt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2005

This brave memoir chronicles Pratt’s struggle to overcome the repressive traditions of Southern womanhood and live her life honestly. It chronicles her youth, her marriage, her eventual decision to come out as a lesbian, and her life with transgendered activist and author Leslie Feinberg.

Minnie Bruce Pratt is the author of We Say We Love Each Other, Rebellion, Crime Against Nature, Walking Back Up Depot Street, and The Dirt We Ate.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Pratt breaks traditions, restrictions, and taboos in what many--some with shocked horror, others with fascination--will find a high-risk book, almost sure to become one of the hottest this season in and perhaps also outside the lesbian community. In a long series of vignettes, Pratt chronicles her Southern youth, during which she was "trained into the cult of pure white womanhood" and raised to be subjugated by a man; her lengthy marriage, the birth of two sons, and her eventual leave-taking from that traditional role; her coming out, living as a lesbian, and the fear it brought of "a sisterhood based on biological definitions" ; and--at the book's pulsing, erotic core--her passionate love for a woman born female but male in gender expression, who often lives as a man and whom Pratt calls "my husband." Some straights and gays alike may be repulsed by Pratt, finding her neither a "real woman" nor a "real lesbian." Others may applaud her efforts to eradicate boundaries. Whitney Scott --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Minnie Bruce Pratt is the author of We Say We Love Each Other, Rebellion, Crime Against Nature, Walking Back Up Depot Street, and The Dirt We Ate.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Alyson Books (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155583888X
• ISBN-13: 978-1555838881
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #197,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Biographies & Memoirs > Lesbian

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Minnie Bruce Pratt's extraordinariness, July 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: S/He (Paperback)

Minnie Bruce Pratt is a rare combination of intellect, artfulness, and compassion. I find disturbing the review sited above which claims that some gay and straight readers will find Bruce Pratt "repulsive," that she will be perceived as not "real"--not a "real" lesbian, not a "real" woman. Why is this ridiculousness being perpetuated in what should be a concise, intelligent synopsis/review? I mean, really, does it have to be so banal? I love Minnie Bruce Pratt. She speaks in gorgeous, accomplished poetry the language of the unheard. That, again, is a very rare thing.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If all this is new to you, open the door, September 15, 2000

By 

Cathleen M. Walker "geminiwalker" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: S/He (Paperback)

Words flutter across the page like doves in flight, painting a picture of love like none I have ever seen before, yet as familiar to me as a lover's morning smile or an evening hug. Having already been moved to tears by Feinberg's *Stone Butch Blues*, Minnie Bruce Pratt was the natural next step toward understanding and awareness that only unfolded more of myself. If all this is new to you, open the door. If you are already a fan, you know what to expect. You won't be disappointed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A love letter in poetic prose, December 31, 2009

By 

M. Caldwell (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: S/He (Paperback)

Pratt's language in this book is sometimes painfully raw, as she strips her feelings and experiences bare for the world to read. It is often beautifully poetic and highly quotable. She can come across as tender or intolerant, but always there is strength and affection running through the warp and weave of her story.

I also found the "Some straights and gays alike may be repulsed by Pratt, finding her neither a "real woman" nor a "real lesbian"" of Amazon's Booklist review to be gratuitous, inflammatory, condescending, and repulsive. Gender and sexual identity are highly personal and nuanced, and not subject to external validation.

Recommended reading for:
- Anyone who enjoys poetic prose
- Anyone studying gender dentity or sexual identity
- Anyone who enjoys Dorothy Allison, Leslie Feinberg, or Bear Bergman