In the words of Jerri Blank: "I've got somethin' to say!"

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

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

Several months ago I wrote that I would later include an installment on some of the books I read for my WGS 589 class, which was a Women's and Gender Studies graduate capstone requirement to get my WGS certificate. I opened this document, wrote down a couple of lines, and forgot about it. I have decided to finish it in installments. I will begin with Julia Serano's 2007 book, Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity.

This was a fascinating read and the first book I have read that really delves into transsexuality. It is worth noting, however, that this book is about a lot more than simply that, but goes into a much more detailed look at sexuality and gendered perceptions in general. I especially like that from the perspective of this author, the readers are able to hear how someone who has lived as both a man and a woman sees how she is treated differently now that she identifies as the latter. I find that many people resist the idea that sexism (and racism) is still prevalent in modern society. You don't have to go far to see this perspective, check out the links in my Rage on the Internets post for some examples. Because most men have not at some point lived as a woman, they are unable to make such claims, and because I have not lived as a man, I also have nothing to compare my own experiences to. (Speaking of all of this, is there a gender-focused version of Peggy McIntosh's White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack ? That would be a great intro to this topic. Also if you have not read that article, I suggest you drop everything to do so. It really opened my eyes when I first read it in 2004).

Back to Serano's work... It is a great source to introduce yourself to terms familiar in the trans community and also within other trans-, gender- and sexuality-studies. Actually, Serano's book struck me as a little jargon-y at first, but I caught on with her use of repetition. It might help to make yourself a glossary of terms while reading to keep track of things, especially if you will not get the opportunity to participate in group discussions about the book. Language is especially important to me when considering social change, and although I might not always practice using progressive and inclusive language, I believe in the introduction of new terms that do not marginalize (see Serano's discussion of "oppositional sexism" on page 108). Serano also shows how current discourse on trans- issues becomes a sort of divide-and-conquer strategy that illustrates the trans community as a small and nearly invisible group of individuals without a voice. She shows how cissexuals (non-trans individuals) end up creating and perpetuating the dialogue about transsexuality and transsexuals, which leads to misguided assumptions and ideas on the topic. It would be the same way if only white and black people talked about race, with no input from the myriad of other races that exist.
There is so much more to say about this book, but I am going to have to read and discuss it again before I can ever hope to wrap my head around the concepts enough to articulate them here. I conclude by recommending this reading as a relatively new publication on a subject that is age-old, but still rarely talked about openly.

2 comments:

  1. I almost hesitate to chime in here, as the instructor who inflicted that reading list on you. I'm glad you got a lot out of this book. I know I did - it's one I'd been meaning to read for quite a while.

    I was surprised at the time (well, I still am!) at how foreign the vocabulary was to y'all. I had gotten schooled on it pretty well through blogging, but I assumed my shortcomings were simply a mark of my generation. But it wasn't that simple. For that reason alone, Whipping Girl is staying on my syllabus for that class, even though I know a few people were profoundly uncomfortable. (In fact, I think the discussion on the last day would have been quite different had we avoided Serano. She freaked some people out.)

    That said, I'm on the prowl for new literature coming from Latina feminists/feministas (which shouldn't overlap with Risa's readings), and/or feminists working within or on the fringes of Islam. I'm going to teach the grad seminar again this winter and I am very open to substituting out a couple of the books to increase global content.

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  2. Hey Patty, I would recommend some Cherrie Moraga for Latina feministas! Good luck with classes this quarter/year!

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