The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism (Hardcover)

by J. Michael Bailey (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
An associate professor of psychology at Northwestern University, Bailey writes with assuredness that often makes difficult, abstract material-the relationship between sexual orientation and gender affect, the origins of homosexuality and the theoretical basis of how we discuss sexuality-comprehensible. He also, especially in his portraits of the women and men he writes about, displays a deep empathy that is frequently missing from scientific studies of sexuality. But Bailey's scope is so broad that when he gets down to pivotal constructs, as in detailing the data of scientific studies such as Richard Green's about "feminine boys" or Dean Hamer's work on the so-called "gay gene," the material is vague, and not cohesive. Bailey tends towards overreaching, unsupported generalizations, such his claim that "regardless of marital laws there will always be fewer gay men who are romantically attached" or that the African-American community is "a relatively anti-gay ethnic minority." Add to this the debatable supposition that innate "masculine" and "feminine" traits, in the most general sense of the words, decidedly exist, and his account as a whole loses force.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"...a highly interesting and very worthwhile book. In fact once I started I had difficulty putting down!" -- GLIP (Gay and Lesbian Issues and Psychology) News, August 2003

"...interesting and provocative... Bailey has written a book worth reading." -- Frontiers, March 14, 2003

"...recommended reading for anyone interested in the study of gender identity and sexual orientation. ... a thoughtful book..." -- Out Magazine, March 2003

"...the first scientifically grounded book about male femininities written for a general audience." -- James Cantor, PhD, in the Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues (American Psychological Association) newsletter, summer 2003

"Compassionate without attempting to be politically correct... It will interest anyone with curiosity about the variety of human sexuality." -- The Times (London), December 6, 2003

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Joseph Henry Press (March 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0309084180
• ISBN-13: 978-0309084185
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (100 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #171,070 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars i read it twice, May 12, 2003

By	T. Mclaughlin - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

yes i read this book twice. yes it has some facts. yes some of the lifestyle descriptions exist. No, this book does not qualify as a well researched or presented explanation of transexuality or homosexuality. NO, this is not research at all, It reads like a pulp pocketbook of the adventures of a weird man trolling through the underworld of Chicago in search of bizarre lifestyles. By a combination of some factual information was the intent of this book to pose as science when the true purpose was to titilate the reader perhaps at the expense of homosexual or transgender persons? I rated it one star....because....there was no zero star option

43 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars "Queen" - Sorry Pub-Crawling Pseudo-science, July 8, 2003

By	Kristina-Maia DeMott (Texas) - See all my reviews

Having read what this publisher calls its "lead title of the season," the reader comes up gasping for any meaningful conclusions from this biased and unscientific pastiche of informally collected anecdote. The book is stuffed with unproven, speculative rhetoric, spiced up with tales collected in the field (mostly in gay bars to be exact) by the author and research informants.

There has been a firestorm of outrage against this book from members of the gay, lesbian, and transgendered communities who have spent years in their respective lifestyles. Even some mainline scholars are calling for the book to be recalled, as bogus science unworthy of a national scientific press.

The content is seductive, even interesting, in the same way as works of pseudoscience about the crop-circle hoaxes or the face on Mars of NASA-conspiracy buff Richard Hoagland were. Like these, "Queen" would probably be a fun read for many people who might never have access to better science.

That is a sad prospect. The material is presented as science, but there is no solid documentation: no references, no stated method of analysis. The result is a mish-mash of conflicting hypotheses, and no clear path to understanding just what the author is trying to get across, other than distaste for his subjects of study.

My impression is that the author initially presented to his subjects as what some would characterize as a "trannie-chaser," showing up at certain bars night after night, quizzing people he was fairly sure were "transsexuals," avoiding those he wasn't too sure about, then revealing his research aims. Some of these people, by the way, have already gone on record in protest against the book. The author apparently wants us to believe that millions of effeminate homosexuals (his phrase), transsexuals, cross dressers, and other transgendered people, are either totally misinformed or, in effect, constantly lieing to themselves about their own inner natures and motivations. The impression is that the author sees self-deceit as the cornerstone of all things Transgender.

Perhaps we could accept the author's bland dismissal of the opinions and feelings of many of his study subjects as evidence of scientific detachment. We might even excuse his abrupt dismissal of his vocal detractors as well, if so many of them weren't professionals with solid scientific credentials. However, scientists in particular demand peer review, or at least mentorship, of studies that try to paint broad conclusions like the ones so poorly realized in "The Man Who Would Be Queen."

Most importantly for the field of psychology, there isn't a shred of evidence in this exposition to prove to the reader that Bailey's work brings us closer to a beneficial or therapeutic application of his insubstantial findings. In short, what we have here is merely an interesting, but hollow, indictment of personal behaviors and beliefs. Don't do your understanding of this important social topic a disservice -- avoid!

86 of 106 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Totally off base, April 13, 2003

By A Customer

I am a postop transsexual woman. I find this book to run counter to my personal experience and to the experiences of the dozens, if not hundreds, of transsexual women whom I've met in the past decade.

Mr. Baily might be discussing drag queens, transvestites, or transgendered people, but he is certainly not discussing transsexual women. He certainly interviewed a number of DQs, TVs, and TGs, but few, if any, transsexual women.

If there were a lower rating than one star, I'd "award" it to this book.

Don't waste your money on it. If you want to read a decent book about transsexuals, get a copy of _True Selves_ by Millie Brown and Chloe Rounsley and/or _Confessions of a Gender Defender_ by Randi Ettner