Customer Reviews

Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Julia Serano has managed to give voice to many thoughts I've had over the last five years since my transition from male to female, and has sewn them together into a lucid and compelling explanation of how things got so screwed up for us transsexual women. Her approachable, easy-to-follow writing style serves as an effective foil for her brilliant exposition. I feel positively empowered by her writing.

We are the women who give up male privilege for femininity. Serano shows how much this fact threatens the patriarchy, and how transition treatment standards (set largely by men) have tended to objectify and pathologize us.

If you believe the psychiatrists who say we transition just to wear pantyhose, you should buy this book to read the real reason.

If you feel it is just that transsexual women are excluded from such venues as the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, you should buy this book for a convincing explanation of why such policies are flawed from the feminist point of view.

If your thinking has been formed by the feminists who've vilified us over the years, none of whom was transsexual, you owe it to yourself to buy this book to hear our side of the story.

And, if you are a transsexual feminist like me, not only will you buy this book, you'll be elated that we finally have our own manifesto.

This book is amazing. Serano's analysis of sexism, misogyny, feminism, and queer politics are informed by her experiences as a trans woman, but bring important insight to anyone's experience with gender. This was the first thing I've read in years in the gender studies field that didn't feel stale.

"Whipping Girl" is not a light, airy autobiography, so if that's what you're looking for, go elsewhere- there are many wonderful ones. Rather, Julia Serano dives headfirst into some deep issues and instead of repeating the same old tired mantras, proposes new theories and different interpretations.

I found myself reading with my highlighter out because I was consistenly blown away by some of the arguments and insightful comments Serano made. Her very background makes her the perfect analyst: as a biologist, she has the foremost knowledge on scientific reasons for transsexuality and related subject matter, as a transsexual woman she has an intimate knowledge of the effects of both testosterone and estrogen, and of how society treats men and women. Feminists, students of gender, or just the average lay person could all benefit greatly from this book, in my opinion.

The reading can sometimes be a little dense- while much more readable than most, it still is primarily an academic text. And sometimes Serano can come off a bit cold and distant- not angry (or when she is, I believe it to be justified), but not exactly a warm and cozy narrator that draws teh reader in. Still, to me, that's a small price to pay.

All in all, it's something you have to read. But I thoroughly anticipate that this book will be revolutionary- a new, fresh perspective on feminism, transsexuality, and the queer movement.

Read it!

Whipping Girl provides a fresh voice on matters of sexism and prejudice against femininity generally and transsexual expressions of such particularly. Julia Serano's perspective as a woman of transsexual experience, and a particularly bright and well spoken one at that, give this manifesto a brilliant and powerful credibility.

For me the deeply moving first paragraph of Chapter 15, Submissive Streak was worth the price of admission.

Serano's analysis (shredding) of the dreadful novel Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides was also refreshing after all the hoopla that book received from Oprah. I'm also indebted to Serano for the introduction of two new words, "autophallophilic"and "effemimania." Autophallophilic really helps to reframe the Bailey-Blanchard, Man Who Would Be Queen controversy.

Serano's tirade is well informed though I did tire a little of its relentlessness toward the end and longed for a bit of levity, just a little humor to make it a bit more palatable. In several places I felt she drew conclusions and made generalizations about human experience from her own youthful experience that might well evolve as she continues to observe and create. I certainly hope we'll be hearing more from her in the future.

julia serano's "whipping girl" is much more than an intellegent and insightful treatise on the modern trans experience. she provides a long needed revision in the very language we've been forced to use in our attempts to articulate the trans narrative. she offers an accurate analysis of the social context in which trans lives are lived, and how trans people are maginalized and oppressed. her observations are insightful and astute, backed up by her personal experience, and the experiences of other trans people.

her unique understanding of how femininity is at the root of traditional *and* trans misogyny displays a comprehensive theory for trans and non-trans gender experience, no matter the specific perspective from which it is viewed. explanations for all types of trans, homo, and femininity phobias are covered. and her meticulous and exacting interpretations are revealed in a logical and steady format, well written and understandable.

this is the best book on gender i've read. i highly recommend it.

I found myself so immersed in this book it only took my two days to finish it. I couldn't possibly emphasize enough how important it is for anyone who considers themselves transgendered, a feminist, or a trans-activist to read this book. She put down on paper all the issues I've had with prior works on these subjects and then some.

and cannot be praised too highly. Julia Serano expertly debunks the sexist mis-information provided by psychiatric "professionals" and the media in their portrayal of transsexual and transgendered women. She provides an amazingly clear and moving description of her own perception of gender dissonance which will ring ever so true to anyone interested in or suffering from gender incongruity. She expertly defends feminism and the feminine as a woman who appreciates and understands that these are the qualities that she loves in herself.

"Whipping Girl" is a first person, non-conjecture work of a transsexual woman declaring her right to exist with dignity. I only wish that she would release her chapter "Love Rant" as an excerpt for the book's promotion. This book is not to be missed!

I found Julia Serano's book, "Whipping Girl," to be full of very shrewd observations as to femme-phobia in modern American culture. Many of her observations were dead-on regarding bigotry towards not only trans women and effeminiate gay men, that is, hate being directed primarily toward the feminine itself, but towards the roots of fear of the feminine. The book explores why our culture discourages the feminine in individuals while encouraging the masculine, and on this level I found the discourse very insightful and accurate if somewhat academic.

Although her logic and common sense is very good, at times I found the book a bit too full of legalistic, persuasive argument and lacked in personal experiences that I could relate to. As a trans woman myself, although I agreed and understood whole-heartedly Ms. Serano's line of reasoning, I often found myself a little lost in the rhetoric which at times bordered on the partisan and philosophical. Sadly, at times the book's philosophical tone gets a little caught up in its own righteousness, vocabulary and hard-driven logic, and so loses heart in the process.

I would have enjoyed, and related, more I think to a story involving more personal and emotional anecdotes as well as the anti-transphobia partisanship that the book delves so deeply into. I suspect Ms. Serano's goal was to present a comprehensive and philosophical view from that of a trans woman feminist, which she does very well, and were I in a womens'-studies college class, this book might be an excellent text, however, for relaxing in the sun on a spring afternoon it began to seem a little dry and frankly made me sleepy.

I'm imagine the author might counter that there are many other books of the "personal anecdotal" variety which I could read instead, but that this volume was written as a serious exploration of feminist philosophy from a transgender angle. Assuming the intent was a serious (very serious) study of the roots of femme phobia and transphobia in American culture, the book succeeds brilliantly. As pure entertainment, however, I'm sad to say I found it somewhat lacking, although I don't think entertainment was its sole intent. Far from it.

Nonetheless, an interesting read with some great insights to bigotry towards the feminine in our culture. A good read for GLBT and trans folks with an activist bent.

There's not much I can say on here that hasn't already been covered in all the over reviews of this work. Simply put, I think this book is incredible. No only is the actual content of the book amazing, but the book is written in a very clear and to the point way. It covers a lot of complicated issues and it presents everything in a very simple way so that the audience doesn't have to know much of anything about trans issues to be able to get a whole lot from the book. It's very interesting, but it's also packed with valuable information.

This book is fantastic! I could not put it down. Julia Serano speaks her mind, and it is very refreshing to have someone who is willing to do so. I found myself in agreement with Julia in nearly all areas she addressed. This is a book that should be required reading for all Transwomen! If you have transitioned and want to have a deeper understanding of what we Transwomen deal with on a daily basis, this book is for you. You need to read this book with an open mind and do NOT rush to judgement. "Whipping Girl" is not for the faint of heart, and is honestly one of the best books I have ever read, period. We need another book from Julia Serano. Julia Serano ROCKS!