In Search of Eve: Transsexual Rites of Passage

by Anne Bolin

An absorbing account of the sociocultural aspects of gender transition. . . . [a] carefully crafted, clearly written monograph which scholars of both sexuality and gender can profitably read.
Contemporary Sociology

A fascinating study, perceptive and well written, an excellent piece of work.
Martin S. Weinberg, Indiana University

Anne Bolin illuminates the array of social, psychological and physical changes experienced by a group of people in the process of changing gender.

Genres: LGBT, Nonfiction, Queer

222 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1987

Reviews

[6655321 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly this is a somewhat dated collection of the experiences of a ~*~somewhat~*~ affluent (relative term, honestly) group of trans women but manages despite being written in fucking 1981, let me repeat NINETEEN EIGHTY-ONE, manages to be a better treatment of transsexual / transgendered populations than *many* of the popular accounts including (and this is such a low bar) not dead naming or misgendering people? Is it depressing that a book that came out 2 years after the Transsexual Empire (and cites it and very gently and charitably dismisses the claims of Raymond's that veer anywhere near reality) impressed me by doing that? Or that Bolin seems extremely sympathetic and open minded to the women she interacts with? This isn't a diverse sample and quite a bit of the medical information is dated (i.e. antiandrogens weren't used in HRT) but it actually *is* a great example of how to write about a maligned population without being a cheerleader or a demagogue and it is depressing that attempts to produce a similar work have vastly overstated their applicability (*cough Anne Lawrence cough*) or used an even smaller sample size (*cough J Michael Bailey cough*) and thinking about that is just profoundly depressing?