Female MasculinityMasculinity without men. In Female Masculinity Judith Halberstam takes aim at the protected status of male masculinity and shows that female masculinity has offered a distinct alternative to it for well over two hundred years. Providing the first full-length study on this subject, Halberstam catalogs the diversity of gender expressions among masculine women from nineteenth-century pre-lesbian practices to contemporary drag king performances. Through detailed textual readings as well as empirical research, Halberstam uncovers a hidden history of female masculinities while arguing for a more nuanced understanding of gender categories that would incorporate rather than pathologize them. She rereads Anne Lister's diaries and Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness as foundational assertions of female masculine identity. She considers the enigma of the stone butch and the politics surrounding butch/femme roles within lesbian communities. She also explores issues of transsexuality among "transgender dykes"--lesbians who pass as men--and female-to-male transsexuals who may find the label of "lesbian" a temporary refuge. Halberstam also tackles such topics as women and boxing, butches in Hollywood and independent cinema, and the phenomenon of male impersonators. Female Masculinity signals a new understanding of masculine behaviors and identities, and a new direction in interdisciplinary queer scholarship. Illustrated with nearly forty photographs, including portraits, film stills, and drag king performance shots, this book provides an extensive record of the wide range of female masculinities. And as Halberstam clearly demonstrates, female masculinity is not some bad imitation of virility, but a lively and dramatic staging of hybrid and minority genders. |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 73
Page 121
24 As many social histories of lesbianism have now shown , after the rise of
lesbian feminism in the 1970s , some women ... The rejection of the butch as a
repulsive stereotype by some lesbian feminists also had the unfortunate effect of
...
24 As many social histories of lesbianism have now shown , after the rise of
lesbian feminism in the 1970s , some women ... The rejection of the butch as a
repulsive stereotype by some lesbian feminists also had the unfortunate effect of
...
Page 135
Even a quick glance at some of the literature from the 1970s and 1980s makes
clear the kinds of feminist imperatives that led to the production of a clear feminist
sexual morality and also shows that some feminists tended not to represent their
...
Even a quick glance at some of the literature from the 1970s and 1980s makes
clear the kinds of feminist imperatives that led to the production of a clear feminist
sexual morality and also shows that some feminists tended not to represent their
...
Page 136
Feminists felt that pornography was an expression of patriarchal attitudes toward
women and toward the female body ... In case readers think that this idea of a
pure feminist desire is all speculation , I would like to turn briefly to one account of
...
Feminists felt that pornography was an expression of patriarchal attitudes toward
women and toward the female body ... In case readers think that this idea of a
pure feminist desire is all speculation , I would like to turn briefly to one account of
...
What people are saying - Write a review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - amberluscious - LibraryThingI learned quite a bit from this book, especially the distinction between androgyny and masculinity. These two presentations of being are not equal, and for me this was an important point in ... Read full review
Female masculinity
User Review - Not Available - Book VerdictHalberstam (literature, Univ. of California, San Diego; Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters, Duke Univ., 1995) presents a unique offering in queer studies: a study of the ... Read full review
Contents
Masculinity | 1 |
The Androgyne the Tribade the Female | 45 |
John Radclyffe Hall and the Discourse | 75 |
Copyright | |
5 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
activity Anne appearance argue attempt become body butch-femme called camp century chapter claim clothing club communities complex construction contests course cross-dressing culture describes desire directed discourse discussions dominant drag king dyke effect emerge essay example expression feel female masculinity femininity feminist femme Figure film finally forms gender George girl give heterosexual identify identity images impersonation invert John kind lesbian lives look lover male masculine women mean misogyny Miss narrative nature never notion novel obviously particular passing performance play pleasure political position practices present Press produced queen queer question Radclyffe Hall relation representation represents role scene seems sense sexual simply social stone butch studies suggests tend theory tion tomboy transgender transsexual turn various woman women York
References to this book
G-Strings and Sympathy: Strip Club Regulars and Male Desire Katherine Frank No preview available - 2002 |