The Transgender Studies Reader

by Susan Stryker (Editor), Stephen Whittle (Editor)

Transgender studies is the latest area of academic inquiry to grow out of the exciting nexus of queer theory, feminist studies, and the history of sexuality. Because transpeople challenge our most fundamental assumptions about the relationship between bodies, desire, and identity, the field is both fascinating and contentious. The Transgender Studies Reade r puts between two covers fifty influential texts with new introductions by the editors that, taken together, document the evolution of transgender studies in the English-speaking world. By bringing together the voices and experience of transgender individuals, doctors, psychologists and academically-based theorists, this volume will be a foundational text for the transgender community, transgender studies, and related queer theory.

Genres: Queer, Nonfiction, Gender, LGBT, Transgender, Theory, Feminism

771 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2003

About the author

Susan O'Neal Stryker is an American professor, author, filmmaker, and theorist whose work focuses on gender and human sexuality. She is an associate professor of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Arizona, and is the director of the university's Institute for LGBT Studies. She has served as a visiting professor at Harvard University, University of California, Santa Cruz, and Simon Fraser University. She is an openly lesbian trans woman who has produced a significant body of work about transgenderism and queer culture.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[ncn nothing · Rating 4 out of 5]

no more androgynous naked torsos on covers of books about trans stuff! no, seriously.

[Cole Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection has incredible span from early (mostly) problematic depictions of transgender identity to contemporary academic articles. The inclusion of historical documents in addition to the academic articles included provides information about the historical response to transgender identities that are often overlooked.

The flaw I saw in this anthology is the limited number of transgender people of color contributing. I also hope the second Transgender Studies Reader devotes a larger portion of the text to the intersections of racial identity and gender identity.

The articles in this anthology that I found particularly interesting are listed below in order of appearance:
"Psychopathia Sexualis with Special Reference to Contrary Sexual Instinct" Richard von Kraft-Ebing
"A Cyborg Manifesto: Science Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century" Donna Haraway
"My Words to Victor Frankenstein Above the Village of Chamounix: Performing Transgender Rage" Susan Stryker
"Look! No, Don't! The Visibility Dilemma for Transsexual Men" Jamison Green
"Skinflick: Posthuman Gender in Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs" Judith Halberstam
"Transgender Theory and Embodiment: The Risk of Racial Marginalization" Katrina Roen
"Romancing the Transgender Native: Rethinking the Use of the 'Third Gender' Concept" Evan B. Towle and Lynn M. Morgan
"Whose Feminism is it Anyway? The Unspoken Racism of the Trans Inclusion Debate" Emi Koyama

[Amirsaman]

Only read this chapter:
Magnus Hirschfeld. The Transvestites: The Erotic Drive to Cross-Dress

در این پادکست درباره‌ی این فصل صحبت کرده‌ام:
https://t.me/RadioTor/2227

[Davina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lot of work. These are deep essays which require some focus to really understand. That said, it's well worth the effort. We live in a world which has brought forward transgender issues in ways which have not been healthy or productive. I speak of the spate of bathroom bills and the rhetoric and justifications that have surrounded them. None have seemed to open the space for understanding, but the denial of rights to one is a diminishing of the rights of us all. These essays were well chosen to help understand what it means to be Transgender, and to better understand, sex, gender, and sexual orientation. Some of what is here can be quite difficult and heart rending, and that's a good thing. I know the world is getting more challenging. From our technology to simple cultural assumptions, are challenging us to be better people, and there's nothing wrong with that. I have sympathy for those who hold views unsympathetic to those different than themselves, but I would hope that you would choose to stretch, and take in what's here, and see something beyond your own experience. Certainly for those identifying themselves outside the traditional Western gender binary, I hope these articles help you better understand who you are, and your place in the world.

[6655321 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Q1: is this book worth ~$80?
A1: many of the articles in this book are available free online or in other (much less expensive) volumes, also via JSTOR if you have access via a university

Q2: why do you believe it deserves 4 stars?
A2: in the sense of ~*~archiving~*~ a relatively new an extremely varied set of fields of study that are generally classed as "transgender studies" it is a really invaluable resource (esp. if you are involved in some sort of academic work). Also if you want *context* it is sort of vital insofar as (outside of it being organized into relatively useful subheadings), a sort of historical archive which is like, helpful for tracing lines of filiation

Q3: so, really 4 stars [given A1&A2]?
A3: in terms of like "how good of a book is this," since most of the books i read are borrowed from library collections it is hard for me to like, generally look at the amazon price of something and be like "this book is 5 stars because of its value relative to its cost"; so like, if you do not have disposable income (or are like, already very well read on the subject), like, scanning the table of contents and looking up useful articles from the volume is probably a better tact

[Matt Sautman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a tad pricey, but is an excellent resource for anyone who is wanting to become more familiar with the scope of transgender studies. While there certainly could be more in this anthology regarding transpeople of color, Susan Stryker and Stephen Whittle’s complication feels like a course on Transgender Studies in itself, and there is plenty here for scholars in other fields to draw on, especially in regard to feminist critiques, conceptualizations of the body, and posthumanism.

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

an excellent collection -- favorite work "My Words to Victor Frankenstein" by the iconic Susan Stryker herself. Don't forget to read the intro so you can fully picture her in "leather dyke drag" performing this amazing piece.

[Gabe Riggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful anthology on transgender subjectivity within a variety of realms, including queer theory and critical race theory.

[Nishtha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Revelatory as hell and intriguing!

[Tobi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Includes many of the formative writings on trans folk over the past several decades. Instead of ignoring folks like Janice Raymond, some of the more trans-negative writings have been included, but so have critiques and analysis of them. An excellent way to brush up on the history of the trans movement.

[Andrew]

Recommended in Transgender 101: A Simple Guide to a Complex Issue and in https://buttondown.email/charliejane/... .

[Jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is an amazing collection of essays, article, papers in here. I think this book is essentially for anyone who claims to be interested in gender.

[Nomountain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! Brings the leading Transgender thinkers together.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

glory

[Kevin Holden · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesomeness.

[Emilie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read, then donated to a university library.

[Karen]

* Understanding Oppression: Gay Rights

[Tobias Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential.

[Megan]

so far my favorite article is Donna Haraway's A Manifesto for Cyborgs