A transgender memoir which questions our central cultural assumptions on gender.
Daten zum Buch
Autorin: Kate Bornstein. Titel: Gender Outlaw. Untertitel: On Men, Women, an the Rest of Us. Verlag: Vintage Books, New York. Erscheinungsjahr: 1995. ISBN: 0679757015. Bindung: Taschenbuch, 253 Seiten. Preis: ca. 11 €
Beschreibung
Cover Text
»I know I’m not a man … and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m probably not a woman, either…. The trouble is, we’re living in a world that insists we be one or the other.«
With these words, Kate Bornstein ushers readers on a funny, insightful, and wonderfully scenic journey across the frontiers of gender and identity. On one level, Gender Outlaw is an account of Bornstein’s transformation from heterosexual male to lesbian woman, from a one-time IBM salesperson to a playwright and performance artist. But this particular coming-of-age story is also a fascinating and deeply provocative investigation into our notions of male and female, the myths attached to them, and the penalties that befall not only those who transgress the definitions but anyone who blindly conforms to them.
Told with humor, honesty, and outrageous flair, Gender Outlaw is the unique story of a transgendered woman who never stops questioning our central cultural assumptions. Whether she is describing the nuts and bolts of her sex-change surgery or outing the hidden gender messages in popular culture, Bornstein pushes us gently but profoundly to the farthest borders of the gender frontier.
Book Reviews
»In an age of often hostilely expressed gender politics, Kate Bornstein … is sweet, sincere, lucid, and sometimes as corny as Kansas in August.«
The New York Times
»Kate Bornstein celebrates the power of claiming an identity without getting mired in the tarpits of identity politics. A breath of fresh air, the bestof both worlds, strong enough for a man, yet made for a woman.«
Holly Hughes, performance artist
»While Bornstein covers an incredible range—from the ›nuts and bolts‹ of her surgery to more abstract musings on a brave new gender-free world—the book never stops fascinating. [She offers us] an abundance of questions—thoughtful, disarming, revelatory questions. Gender Outlaw is an invitation to a dialogue, and it’s conversation well worth having.«
Ms.
»Kate Bornstein argues eloquently and passionately for scrapping the categories of women and men. Agree. Disagree. Read it!«
Leslie Feinberg, author of »Stone Butch Blues«
»The first book of gender theory written by a transgendered person … includes countless insights, trenchant cultural analysis, and genereous wit. … [It] will surely become a classic.«
Washington Blade
»[Bornstein is on the] leading edge of contemporary debate about sexual identity and gender. [She] asks fundamental and challenging questions about what it means to be a man or woman in our society.«
San Francisco Chronicle
»Gender Outlaw is an eye-opening book, combining the emotional force of a coming-of-age story with a savvy cultural critique.«
Out
»A radical document.«
The Nation
»Kate is an orgasm on two legs. Reading this book gives me a heart orgasm, and it could give you one too! Gender Outlaw is a great work of love.«
Anne sprinkle, performance artist
»Kate Bornstein is a fierce and funny voice on the front lines of gender and sexual identity. Her wise heart and wild imagination challenge us to really own our bodies, our desires, our dreams.«
Tim Miller, performance artist
About the Author
Kate Bornstein divides her time between the San Francisco Bay Area und Seattle. Her stage work includes her solo performance pieces The Opposite Sex is Neither and Virtually Yours. When not writing or performing, Kate can be found cuddling with Gwydyn, following the adventures of Hothead Paisan, or prowling the Net, playing vampire role-playing games and Star Trek.
Table of Contents (extract)
Part One: First Things First
- Transgender Style: Some Fashion Tips
Part Two: Sorting Seeds
- The Hard Parts
- Interlude: Nuts And Bolts
- Naming All The Parts
- Interlude: The Lesbian Thing
- Abandon Your Tedious Search! The Rulebook Has Been Found!
Part Three: Claiming Power
- Which Outlaws? or, Wo Was That Masked Man?
- Gender Terror, Gender Rage
- Send In The Clowns
- First You Die, And Then You Get Their Attention
Part Four: A Gender Interrogatory
- The First Question, or, They Have Those Funny, Staring Eyes
- The Other Question
Part Five: Creating A Third Space
- Transsexual Lesbian Playwright Tells All!
- Queer Life/Queer Theater
Part Six: Hidden: A Gender, a play in two acts
- Hidden: A Gender
Part Seven: The Punchline
- The Seven Year Itch (what goes around, comes around)
Afterword to the Vintage Edition, Acknowledgments, Bibliography
Weitere Informationen
Themen: Transfrauen und Transsexualität
Genre: (Auto-)Biographie, Englisch, und Gender, Queer & Aktivismus
