Transsexualism in Society: A Sociology of Male-To-Female Transsexuals [Hardcover]

Frank W. Lewins (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 178 pages
• Publisher: MacMillan Education Australia (January 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 073293043X
• ISBN-13: 978-0732930431
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,706,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkably objective sociological study of transsexualism, January 17, 1998

By 

Sara Wetherbee ([e-mail]) (Reston, Va.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Transsexualism in Society (Paperback)

Although Lewins' compact, well written study of transsexualism in Australia was inspired by his own son's transition to daughter, it is nonetheless as objective as it is compassionate. Lewins reveals to us that transsexualism is more process than procedure, a case he makes effectively from his study involving multiple detailed interviews of transsexuals.

Myself a transsexual, I found Lewins' informed sociological observations a necessary parallax to the often rhetorical treatment of transsexualism by gender theorists.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A concise overview of transsexualism from an outsider, December 27, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Transsexualism in Society (Paperback)

"Transsexualism in Society" is one of the books I read in
dealing with my own transsexuality. It helped me to
understand some of the process of changing sex without
the same literary flare as many of the autobiographies of
transsexuals. As a book written by a non-transsexual
it loses some of the flavor for the struggle which we
endure in our journey, but still captures enough of that
sense to be an excellent read for transsexuals in the
early stage of self-discovery and for the family and
friends when the time comes.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Important sociological study of Australian transsexualism, May 6, 2001

By 

Rachael (HONG KONG) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Transsexualism in Society: A Sociology of Male-To-Female Transsexuals (Hardcover)

Transsexualism in Society is a scholarly study of sociological aspects of sex change from male to female, based on research done at one major clinic in Australia. As such, it is important but limited in its scope. While some of the conclusions Dr. Lewins arrives at are innovative and intriguing, others seem to have been contradicted by more recent information based on wider research. There is nothing lurid in this book, nor is it a primer for information on transsexualism and the physical process of changing sex--readers hoping for photos or detailed descriptions of sex practices or even the sex reassignment operation itself should go elsewhere. Instead, Lewins, himself a parent of a transsexual, takes a scholarly approach with a (limited) review of the literature, a "case study" of a "typical" transsexual's life that is actually (and admittedly) a composite created by Lewins, and finally an examination of the Macro and Micro process of becoming a woman. At every stage, Lewins challenges the 'taken for granted' assumptions made about sex and gender, with mixed results. It is in the latter chapters that Lewins makes his most valuable contributions, as he differentiates a Macro process, or "the broad social patterns which apply to all transsexuals"; and a Micro process, which is "more concerned with the nature of face to face interactions involving individuals' feelings and responses". In "The Macro Process of Becoming a Woman" he describes a six-stage process. His concept is similar to that of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, who in her book "On Death and Dying" analyses the process of dying abstractly. Lewins' analysis consists of the following stages: 1) Abiding anxiety, 2) Discovery (of information about transsexualism, that is--not the "outing" of the transsexual), 3) Purging and Delay, 4) Acceptance, 5) Surgical Reassignment, and 6) Invisibility (moving away from other transsexuals and blending in as a woman). He points out that not every transsexual goes through every stage, and not all complete every stage; but they do go in order, albeit with occasional gaps. His discussion of the relationship between the transsexual "patient" and the clinical "gatekeepers" is excellent, as is his commentary on social and personal discourse on the body. Where Lewins errs, he errs based on the limitations of his scientific sample. As all of his evidence comes from a single clinic in a single country over a rather limited period of time, it cannot be truly representational. Lewins' most substantial error is one at which many, if not most, transsexuals will take extreme umbrage--he links gender to sexual desire. He sees that the social context of transsexuals is determined by society's rigid view of the heterosexual man/heterosexual woman roles, and can only see transsexuals in that dichotomy, seemingly denying bisexuality, a "continuum of genders", or any possibility that some transsexuals, at least, may self-identify (and proudly so) as a third, separate gender. This is astonishing, given that the majority of studies and transsexual writings propose at least a consideration of such ideas, and that transsexuals are becoming increasingly politically active. To support his claim, Lewins says, that "when a man knows his partner is a transsexual, his sexual emotional response acknowledges her as a woman although intellectually he may reflect on that situation in between times." As evidence he cites psychiatrist John Money's statement, "there are some male partners of pre-operative male to female transsexuals who are strongly attracted to a lady with a penis as a sexuoerotic partner...." Lewins then immediately follows this with the bizarre comment that "the important aspect of transsexuals' relationships is the way their partners see them, that is, as women." But if certain transsexuals' partners see them as "a lady with a penis", then in an effort to deny any evidence of a third gender surely Lewins has twisted the definition of woman to a point where it becomes meaningless. It is impossible to consider these relationships as within the "typical" heterosexual male/female dichotomy. Lewins further claims that "transsexuals who are now homosexual or heterosexual women have been constant in their attraction to women or men...Transsexuals who now have a lesbian orientation, for instance, previously, when living as men, attempted to see themselves as heterosexual men attracted to heterosexual women." This is not necessarily true, and many transsexuals report a change in the orientation of their sexual desire. However, in spite of some serious flaws, Lewins makes a valuable contribution to the literature. The sociological perspective is one that has not often been dealt with, and Lewins goes to great lengths to declare his own interests and viewpoints in an effort at fair and accurate analysis.