I can unhesitatingly say that this is one of the best books I've read in 2014. Julia Serano is a very thoughtful writer who articulates a lot that, frankly, needs to be articulated. The gist of the book is that contemporary feminism polices sexuality and gender expressions within its ranks just as much as the heterosexist, masculinist, or monosexist folks they protest against. For instance, while a great many people treat homosexuality, bisexuality, transsexuality and other "abnormal" sexuality or gender expressions as inferior, feminists often treat 'conventional' expressions (like females expressing femininity or male-to-female transsexuality) as suspect.
The author is a male-to-female transsexual (whose gender expression is feminine), and her perspective provides her with useful insights that might elude others. The first half of the book is a collection of autobiographical essays documenting the awkwardness of not being accepted in queer and feminist spaces. The common theme here is both that the author is often judged as somewhat inferior because she chose to change sex from male to female and gravitates towards feminine gender expressions. Transsexuality, it seems, is suspect both because to some, the author will never 'really' be a woman, and because in changing sex, the author does not 'challenge the gender binary' to many feminists' liking. And then there is the fact that Serano is feminine, which she recounts is often viewed suspiciously by those who want everyone to challenge existing gender norms.... even at the expense of doing what is natural to them.
The second half of the book is a more theoretical elucidation of what Serano thinks is wrong with current feminism and what she thinks feminists could do to become more inclusive. Several essays here are themselves easily worth the price of the book. Particularly, as a biologist, Serano devotes several chapters that challenge the "social artifactualism" that exists in feminist and queer thought that sees gender solely as a social performance with no biological influence. Serano champions a more holistic view of social construcionism that sees biology as one element that plays into determining what our preferences will be, but noting that culture, environment, and individual choice all interact with biology in a way where these four variables cannot be meaningfully disentangled. As much as I admire Serano's theory, I must say that by my understanding of biology (and behavioral genetics), her view is probably closer to the norm than most people would suspect. (See Evelyn Fox Keller's book The Mirage of a Space between Nature and Nurture for a similar articulation.) Very few behavioral geneticists believe that one can disentangle the genetics that help determine a trait's expression from the environmental and cultural factors that determine a trait's expression.
Then, there are some REALLY good chapters where the author argues that all of us are likely victims of double standards that we face regarding our identities. The important thing, for Serano, is less that we fight patriarchy, heterosexism, and the like. As important as those things are, the important thing is to fight for a world where people can be who they'd like to be without ostracism, coercion, or fear of being judged inferior. We can fight patriarchy, but when that becomes a way to exlude anyone who identifies with 'convetional' gender identities as inferior because they are not challenging the gender binary, then we simply replace one judgmental 'ism' with another.
This is a wonderful book. Serano says many things that probably need to be said. In a world where a fair amount of feminist and queer theory seem to be getting repetitive, Serano provides some very useful critique that, if taken seriously, might change both areas of study for the better.
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| Explore the Works of Julia Serano | Many view sexualization as a mere component of sexism, racism, or queerphobia, but Serano argues that liberation from sexual violence comes through collectively confronting sexualization itself. | Newly revised and updated, this classic manifesto is “a foundational text for anyone hoping to understand transgender politics and culture in the U.S. today” (NPR). |
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Top reviews from other countries
Beatriz Bagagli
Paginação irregular na versão e-book.
Reviewed in Brazil on February 8, 2018Kindle Customer
A good book for fledgling activists. Not a general read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2018Jundurg
The best book on queer feminism I've encountered so far
Reviewed in Germany on May 18, 2018