Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity
Julia Serano
(Author)
21,000+ Reviews
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Description
This classic manifesto is "a foundational text for anyone hoping to understand transgender politics and culture in the U.S. today" (NPR) *Named as one of 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of All Time by Ms. Magazine* In Whipping Girl, biologist and trans activist Julia Serano shares her experiences and insights--both pre- and post-transition--to reveal the ways in which fear, suspicion, and dismissiveness toward femininity shape our attitudes toward trans women, as well as gender and sexuality as a whole. Serano's well-honed arguments and pioneering advocacy stem from her ability to bridge the gap between the often-disparate biological and social perspectives on gender. In this provocative manifesto, she exposes how deep-rooted the cultural belief is that femininity is frivolous, weak, and passive. In addition to debunking popular misconceptions about being transgender, Serano makes the case that today's feminists and transgender activists must work to embrace and empower femininity--in all of its wondrous forms.
Product Details
Price
$19.99
$18.59
Publisher
Seal Press (CA)
Publish Date
March 08, 2016
Pages
432
Dimensions
5.5 X 8.2 X 1.2 inches | 0.82 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9781580056229
BISAC Categories:
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About the Author
Julia Serano is the author of four books, including Sexed Up. Her writing has been published in the New York Times, the Guardian, TIME, Salon, Out, and Bitch. Serano holds a PhD in biochemistry from Columbia University. She lives in Oakland, California.
Reviews
"Serano takes to task those who categorize "femininity" as artificial rather than a natural gender expression. Her convincing analysis and personal revelations challenge us to recognize our own sexist notions."
--Ms. Magazine "Julia Serano offers a perspective sorely needed, but up until now rarely heard." --Bitch Magazine "An absorbing and essential achievement in both theory and biography." --Washington City Paper "Whipping Girl critiques media depictions of trans people, dismantles science's longtime characterization of transsexuality as pathology, and offers a whip-smart vision of a world that celebrates sexual difference." --AlterNet "Julia Serano is a careful and astute critic of the ways that trans women have been stereotyped and dismissed in popular culture, feminism, and psychology, and she repeatedly surprised me with her razor-sharp observations of the pervasive hatred of trans women and all differently gendered people. This is an important text for gender studies classes, as well as for therapists, journalists, and anybody who'd like to keep updated as a sex radical."
--Patrick Califia, author of Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism
Advance praise for the second edition of Whipping Girl "It's official: Whipping Girl is a 21st century feminist classic. It's also a gift to a culture (still) struggling to face its own misogyny. Serano's writing is clear, gracious, and incredibly illuminating."
--Jennifer Baumgardner "Serano's thinking continues to challenge and delight--Whipping Girl is a foundational text that will prove to be timeless."
--Jessica Valenti "Having only just come out as Transgender, I was taken by a friend to a bookstore and told to buy Whipping Girl immediately. As I read, the revelation dawned on me that experiencing my gender could be full of self-empowerment and liberation as opposed to the fear and shame I had already spent a lifetime living with. Not only was this book a light in the dark for someone jumping head-first into transition, it also served as an essential tool to pass on to family and friends to help them to better understand what it means to be Trans. I'm forever thankful for this book and its author."
--Laura Jane Grace
"Julia Serano is the wise, acerbic brain at the center of the transgender movement. The original edition of Whipping Girl forever connected trans theory to feminism and queer studies; this new edition updates that work as well as providing a compelling new preface that reflects the movement's enormous progress as well as the progress that remains to be made. Julia Serano is more than a brilliant writer and theorist; she's also a tremendously compassionate, humane woman whose work has enlarged the lives of all her readers. Urgent, contentious, generous, and brilliant."
--Jennifer Finney Boylan, Author of She's Not There, and Writer in Residence at Barnard College of Columbia University "Julia Serano did not invent transfeminism, but she's done more to promote its ideas and demonstrate its necessity than any other writer. Her analysis of the misogyny at the root of transphobia is vital. This book should be taught in every introduction to gender and women's studies class in the country--read it, teach it, learn from it, and act on it."
--Susan Stryker, author of Transgender History and Director, University of Arizona Institute for LGBT Studies ----- Praise for the first edition: "Seminal." --Variety
--Ms. Magazine "Julia Serano offers a perspective sorely needed, but up until now rarely heard." --Bitch Magazine "An absorbing and essential achievement in both theory and biography." --Washington City Paper "Whipping Girl critiques media depictions of trans people, dismantles science's longtime characterization of transsexuality as pathology, and offers a whip-smart vision of a world that celebrates sexual difference." --AlterNet "Julia Serano is a careful and astute critic of the ways that trans women have been stereotyped and dismissed in popular culture, feminism, and psychology, and she repeatedly surprised me with her razor-sharp observations of the pervasive hatred of trans women and all differently gendered people. This is an important text for gender studies classes, as well as for therapists, journalists, and anybody who'd like to keep updated as a sex radical."
--Patrick Califia, author of Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism
Advance praise for the second edition of Whipping Girl "It's official: Whipping Girl is a 21st century feminist classic. It's also a gift to a culture (still) struggling to face its own misogyny. Serano's writing is clear, gracious, and incredibly illuminating."
--Jennifer Baumgardner "Serano's thinking continues to challenge and delight--Whipping Girl is a foundational text that will prove to be timeless."
--Jessica Valenti "Having only just come out as Transgender, I was taken by a friend to a bookstore and told to buy Whipping Girl immediately. As I read, the revelation dawned on me that experiencing my gender could be full of self-empowerment and liberation as opposed to the fear and shame I had already spent a lifetime living with. Not only was this book a light in the dark for someone jumping head-first into transition, it also served as an essential tool to pass on to family and friends to help them to better understand what it means to be Trans. I'm forever thankful for this book and its author."
--Laura Jane Grace
"Julia Serano is the wise, acerbic brain at the center of the transgender movement. The original edition of Whipping Girl forever connected trans theory to feminism and queer studies; this new edition updates that work as well as providing a compelling new preface that reflects the movement's enormous progress as well as the progress that remains to be made. Julia Serano is more than a brilliant writer and theorist; she's also a tremendously compassionate, humane woman whose work has enlarged the lives of all her readers. Urgent, contentious, generous, and brilliant."
--Jennifer Finney Boylan, Author of She's Not There, and Writer in Residence at Barnard College of Columbia University "Julia Serano did not invent transfeminism, but she's done more to promote its ideas and demonstrate its necessity than any other writer. Her analysis of the misogyny at the root of transphobia is vital. This book should be taught in every introduction to gender and women's studies class in the country--read it, teach it, learn from it, and act on it."
--Susan Stryker, author of Transgender History and Director, University of Arizona Institute for LGBT Studies ----- Praise for the first edition: "Seminal." --Variety
