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| View Larger Image | Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity
by Julia Serano
| | List Price: | $15.95 | | Price: | $10.85 | | You Save: | $5.10 (32%) |  | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours | | | | | Sales Rank: | 56739 | | Studio: | Seal Press | | | Binding: | Paperback | | Number Of Pages: | 280 | | Publication Date: | June 01, 2007 | | Publisher: | Seal Press |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
A provocative manifesto, Whipping Girl tells the powerful story of Julia Serano, a transsexual woman whose supremely intelligent writing reflects her diverse background as a lesbian transgender activist and professional biologist. Serano shares her experiences and observations — both pre- and post-transition — to reveal the ways in which fear, suspicion, and dismissiveness toward femininity shape our societal attitudes toward trans women, as well as gender and sexuality as a whole.
Serano's well-honed arguments stem from her ability to bridge the gap between the often-disparate biological and social perspectives on gender. She exposes how deep-rooted the cultural belief is that femininity is frivolous, weak, and passive, and how this “feminine” weakness exists only to attract and appease male desire.
In addition to debunking popular misconceptions about transsexuality, Serano makes the case that today's feminists and transgender activist must work to embrace and empower femininity — in all of its wondrous forms.
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CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 13 reviews)
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An breakthrough in transgendered and men/women relations studies 
There are a lot of books available now written by transgendered people and by their wives on how to deal with gender, their own relationships, and how they came to be. Most are really good ("She's Not There" by Jennifer Finney Boylan, "My Husband Betty" by Helen Boyd, "Alice in Genderland" by Dr. Richard "Alice" Novic, and "Head over Heals: Women who stay Cross-Dressers and Transsexuals" by Dr. Virginia Erhardt are all excellent books). This one is different: it is written by a MtF transsexual from San Francisco, Julia Serano, who has done a considerable amount of thinking about not only gender, but the degradation of the very concept of femininity itself. Written by a feminist but without the tired, ridiculously anti-sex man-hating nonsense found in first-generation feminist literature, this is a deeply-thoughtful book woven with Julia's own amazing story that will likely open your eyes to the world around you, and the roles gender can play in it. In the end, Julia's thesis is solid, well-researched, and yet entirely readable. Like Susie Bright and Pat Califa, Serano writes about sex, sexuality, and gender with understanding and affirmation. Highly recommended.
July 07, 2008 | |
Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity: By Julia Serano:
Aside from some of its dry, but, albeit necessary definitional terms found in the book's early chapters, Ms Serano cogently and accurately captures the transsexual experience as it relates to the straight heterosexual and homosexual people of the world. She points out the obvious reticence and lack of acceptance by straight heterosexuals of transsexuals and the sad, tragic and hypocritical truth of their marginalization and ostracization by the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual community. This is a good read and source book for medical, psychiatric and sociologist clinicians and therapists involved in the treatment of transsexual people and for members of the LGBT community, its leaders, advocates, politicians, supporters and religious leaders or for any one else interested in learning about transsexual people and their experiences. In sum, I highly recommend Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity.
May 04, 2008 | |
Articulate & Biting Rant 
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.
March 06, 2008 | |
Courageous, Intelligent, and Helpful
Few books are genuine pathbreakers, but this is one of them. The author combines analysis of feminist texts, the psychiatric medical profession, popular (sexist) culture, and personal experience to produce a book that truly leads the way. Ms. Serano points out the kinds of pressure and discrimination that make life difficult for "trans" people, those whose sex at birth does not fit with their own feelings of gender. The "gatekeepers," as she calls them, are people with an agenda, and the greatest focus is the requirement that a person desiring to transition from physical male to physical female, want and expect to be heterosexual. There is additional pressure to keep everything confidential, to move away from family and friends...and all this, not to help the trans person, but to keep the normal heterosexual people comfortable.
She explains at length the kinds of contradictions that are foisted upon a person who experiences "gender dissonance"--the non-congruence of one's "assigned sex" (physical sex at birth) and one's self-feeling of gender. This latter she calls "subconscious sex," pointing out that people who never experience this profound disjunct ("cissexual," she calls them) understandably don't comprehend this emotional chasm.
While it's challenging at times to incorporate the several new terms she coins, there appear to be good reasons for all of them. We have to have some words to refer to things not previously named, and the existing psychiatric language is so skewed, that it is both a "slam" on trans people and operates from profound ignorance of trans people's life experiences. For the most part, though, this book--which is a collection of long and short essays--is written in common language, and fluently so. She does lapse into the academic habit of writing "I would argue..." but this is hardly a major failing in a text that has a lot of important ideas.
Argue she does, and cogently so. I was persuaded by her point of view, insofar as I understand it. She movingly describes the plight of the person who discovers they are not cissexual, writing that ..."This gender dissonance is usually experienced as a kind of emotional pain or sadness that grows more intense over time, sometimes reaching a point where it can become debilitating." Sometimes, it results in suicide, especially for those trans people who are unable to persuade the "gatekeepers" to provide them with the physical change that would bring into alignment the trans person's assigned sex and felt gender.
Much of the book is devoted to dissection of feminist hostility and prejudice--including outright proscription from some women's gatherings--and she carefully refutes each and every slur directed at trans people. I'm impressed with her documentation and logical clarity...a crucial component that makes this book an outstanding work.
A very important idea in this book is that not only women, but *femininity* is devalued by our society--and not just by cissexual women and men, but by many feminists and even some queer and trans people. She tellingly points out that "...while most reasonable people see women and men as equals, few (if any) dare to claim that femininity is masculinity's equal. Indeed, much of what has historically been called misogyny--a hatred of women--has clearly gone underground, disguising itself as the less reprehensible derision of femininity." Until men can freely express their own femininity, they will continue to be socialized as emotionally repressed, violence-prone "tough guys." This is not a minor or "cosmetic" issue, but one with farreaching social implications for all of us.
Finally, she addresses the future for trans people, noting the various kinds of attitudes within the trans and queer communities that make it harder for trans people to seek respect, equality, and fair treatment. Ms. Serano points out the "more radical than thou" posturing adopted by some transsexual and queer people, which ironically reproduces its own version of "oppositional" and "binary" sexism...rather than acknowledging the alliance of individuals, with all the variety that that entails. At the end of this book, she strikes an uplifting note, posing the vision of a world in which "...we may finally take the next step toward a world where all people can choose their genders and sexualities at will, rather than feeling coerced by others." Right on!
October 06, 2007 | |
a must read for all people
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.
September 08, 2007 | |
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