No Outlaws in the Gender Galaxy

by Chayanika Shah, Raj Merchant, Shals Mahajan

How is gender understood and constructed? How does it operate in the sociopolitical structures we inhabit? How is gender lived? No Outlaws in the Gender Galaxy answers these questions by analyzing the lives of queer persons who were assigned the female gender at birth. The lived realities of these individuals—both observed by and reported to the authors—help to interrogate the concept of gender and provide clues as to how gender can be re-envisioned as egalitarian.

Looking closely at these personal stories, authors Chayanika Shah, Raj Merchant, Shals Mahajan, and Smriti Nevatia explore how gender plays out in both public and private institutions, including family units, schools, offices, and public spaces. Looking at each arena independently, the book examines how binary gender norms are engrained and analyzes how the interlocking systems of heteronormativity create exclusion, marginalization, and violence.

Genres: Nonfiction, Gender

287 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2015

Reviews

[Diksha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reads like an academic book for those interested in gender construction and sexualities, but it is so much more than that. It is a sensitive and truthful account of 50 participants who are PAGFB (persons who were assigned gender female at birth), and their struggles revolving around genders and sexualities. The study is presented to the reader in an almost nurturing manner, like the authors are talking about people they genuinely care about. It is an insightful as well as enlightening read.
I relied on some of the data from this book for part of my Master's programme dissertation, and so I did skip over some pages. I do think though that this book belongs in a list of the Best Queer Theory Books in Indian Literature (if there is such a genuine list). Don't expect to be entertained and enthralled by it every second because in essence, it is a research report. But if you wish to understand some of the experiences that are unique to PAGFB persons, then this book should be a good place to start.

[Saurabh Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rare book. If you're perplexed and want to learn what is there in this system of sex and gender, how gender is assigned to us and how do we negotiate it in various spaces, read this book.

[aisu]

this was cool but i viscerally hated a couple of the cis women who were interviewed in this lmao