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Jess
Jess used to be a man. Then he found himself in a female body.
It wasn't funny.
Why would anyone even think it was?
*
There's a scene in Tootsie (1982) that is surely one of the most unacclaimed scenes of all time: Dustin Hoffman's character, Michael, as 'Dorothy', makes a suggestion on the set, and the director dismisses it out of hand. As I remember it, Hoffman's face—conveying surprise, confusion, indignation—shows perfectly Michael's reaction to the absence of (and, just maybe, awareness of) male privilege. The entire movie should've been about that. Just that.
It wasn't.
And so I wrote Jess.
It wasn't funny.
Why would anyone even think it was?
*
There's a scene in Tootsie (1982) that is surely one of the most unacclaimed scenes of all time: Dustin Hoffman's character, Michael, as 'Dorothy', makes a suggestion on the set, and the director dismisses it out of hand. As I remember it, Hoffman's face—conveying surprise, confusion, indignation—shows perfectly Michael's reaction to the absence of (and, just maybe, awareness of) male privilege. The entire movie should've been about that. Just that.
It wasn't.
And so I wrote Jess.
152 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 5, 2022
1 person want to read
About the author
Peg Tittle
23 books13 followersEpubs/pdfs of my books are available for FREE download at https://www.hellyeahimafeminist.com and https://www.pegtittle.com.
Peg Tittle (pegtittle.com) has written seven novels to date: Fighting Words: notes for a future we won't have, Jess, Gender Fraud: a fiction (category finalist in the Eric Hoffer Book Award competition), Impact, It Wasn't Enough (also a category finalist in the Eric Hoffer Book Award competition), What Happened to Tom (on Goodreads' list of Fiction Books That Opened Your Eyes To A Social Or Political Issue), and Exile.
She has also written several non-fiction books including Sexist Shit that Pisses Me Off, What If? Collected Thought Experiments in Philosophy (Taylor & Francis), and Critical Thinking: An Appeal to Reason (Routledge).
Her screenplays (including What Happened to Tom and Exile) have placed in several competitions, including Moondance, Fade-In, GimmeCredit, WriteMovies, Scriptapalooza, and American Gem. Aiding the Enemy has been produced as a short by David McDonald.
She was a columnist for the Ethics and Emerging Technologies website for a year (one of her pieces received 35,000 hits, making it #3 of the year, and another received 34,000 hits, making it #5 of the year), The Philosopher Magazine's online philosophy café for eight years, and Philosophy Now for two years. In addition, her short commentary pieces have also been published in Humanist in Canada, Links, Academic Exchange Quarterly, Inroads, Elenchus, South Australian Humanist Post, Forum, and The Humanist. Her longer pieces have appeared in Free Inquiry, The International Journal of Applied Philosophy, New Humanist, The New Zealand Rationalist and Humanist, Philosophy in the Contemporary World, and Sexuality & Culture: an interdisciplinary journal. And she's had a list published at McSweeney's ("Why Feminist Manuscripts Aren't Getting Published Today"). She now blogs (sporadically) at pegtittle.com and hellyeahimafeminist.com.
She has an M.A. in Philosophy, a B.Ed., and a B.A. in Literature, and has received over twenty Arts Council grants.
Peg Tittle (pegtittle.com) has written seven novels to date: Fighting Words: notes for a future we won't have, Jess, Gender Fraud: a fiction (category finalist in the Eric Hoffer Book Award competition), Impact, It Wasn't Enough (also a category finalist in the Eric Hoffer Book Award competition), What Happened to Tom (on Goodreads' list of Fiction Books That Opened Your Eyes To A Social Or Political Issue), and Exile.
She has also written several non-fiction books including Sexist Shit that Pisses Me Off, What If? Collected Thought Experiments in Philosophy (Taylor & Francis), and Critical Thinking: An Appeal to Reason (Routledge).
Her screenplays (including What Happened to Tom and Exile) have placed in several competitions, including Moondance, Fade-In, GimmeCredit, WriteMovies, Scriptapalooza, and American Gem. Aiding the Enemy has been produced as a short by David McDonald.
She was a columnist for the Ethics and Emerging Technologies website for a year (one of her pieces received 35,000 hits, making it #3 of the year, and another received 34,000 hits, making it #5 of the year), The Philosopher Magazine's online philosophy café for eight years, and Philosophy Now for two years. In addition, her short commentary pieces have also been published in Humanist in Canada, Links, Academic Exchange Quarterly, Inroads, Elenchus, South Australian Humanist Post, Forum, and The Humanist. Her longer pieces have appeared in Free Inquiry, The International Journal of Applied Philosophy, New Humanist, The New Zealand Rationalist and Humanist, Philosophy in the Contemporary World, and Sexuality & Culture: an interdisciplinary journal. And she's had a list published at McSweeney's ("Why Feminist Manuscripts Aren't Getting Published Today"). She now blogs (sporadically) at pegtittle.com and hellyeahimafeminist.com.
She has an M.A. in Philosophy, a B.Ed., and a B.A. in Literature, and has received over twenty Arts Council grants.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 11, 2022
very interesting book.
I grew up very feminist, was aware of so much in the book, but the story really gave it a different perspective. considering myself mostly trans, I feel much like Jess towards the end - I would love to be female but i always think about the pleasant parts. Don't really think of all the bad. I'm sure those who go through with transition must be way more aware of a lot of it.
Definitely worth reading
I grew up very feminist, was aware of so much in the book, but the story really gave it a different perspective. considering myself mostly trans, I feel much like Jess towards the end - I would love to be female but i always think about the pleasant parts. Don't really think of all the bad. I'm sure those who go through with transition must be way more aware of a lot of it.
Definitely worth reading
Displaying 1 of 1 review