Female MasculinityDuke University Press, 2019 M01 5 - 360 pages In this quintessential work of queer theory, Jack 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 centuries. Demonstrating how female masculinity is not some bad imitation of virility, but a lively and dramatic staging of hybrid and minority genders, 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. He rereads Anne Lister's diaries and Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness as foundational assertions of female masculine identity; considers the enigma of the stone butch and the politics surrounding butch/femme roles within lesbian communities; and 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. Featuring a new preface by the author, this twentieth anniversary edition of Female Masculinity remains as insightful, timely, and necessary as ever. |
From inside the book
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... politicians, athletes (often black), and superstars. A stunning shot of Martina Navratilova pulling on a huge mechanical cog wheel, emphasizes precisely what women's sports photography tends to deemphasize—namely the magnificent ...
... politicians, athletes (often black), and superstars. A stunning shot of Martina Navratilova pulling on a huge mechanical cog wheel, emphasizes precisely what women's sports photography tends to deemphasize—namely the magnificent ...
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... political enfranchisement, or gender equality, he meant rather the “deep seated craving to acquire man's character, to attain his mental and moral freedom, to reach his real interests and creative power” (65). In other words, women with ...
... political enfranchisement, or gender equality, he meant rather the “deep seated craving to acquire man's character, to attain his mental and moral freedom, to reach his real interests and creative power” (65). In other words, women with ...
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... politics that sets her at the top of a hierarchy of women or does she recognize her solidarity with feminine women and set her sights on feminist goals? Gertrude Stein, for one, was extremely attracted to Weininger's ideas precisely ...
... politics that sets her at the top of a hierarchy of women or does she recognize her solidarity with feminine women and set her sights on feminist goals? Gertrude Stein, for one, was extremely attracted to Weininger's ideas precisely ...
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... political awareness of it, was like: Oh, I'm a man trapped in a female body. I would've just gone down that road if it had been there. But I'm so glad it wasn't, because I really like being this kind of unusual woman. I like making this ...
... political awareness of it, was like: Oh, I'm a man trapped in a female body. I would've just gone down that road if it had been there. But I'm so glad it wasn't, because I really like being this kind of unusual woman. I like making this ...
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... politics, I feel the greatest admiration for his work and feel fortunate to be in dialogue with him. Jordy has inspired me with his strange and wonderful artwork, and Del has proven to be a steadfast friend and continues to amaze me ...
... politics, I feel the greatest admiration for his work and feel fortunate to be in dialogue with him. Jordy has inspired me with his strange and wonderful artwork, and Del has proven to be a steadfast friend and continues to amaze me ...
Contents
Beryl Reid as George in The Killing of Sister George 1968 198 | |
Beryl Reid as George in drag in The Killing of Sister George 1968 198 | |
Movie poster for Caged 1950 200 | |
Hope Emerson in Caged 1950 202 | |
Doris Day in Calamity Jane 1953 210 | |
Greta Garbo in Queen Christina 1933 211 | |
Tilda Swinton in Orlando 1993 214 | |
Ana Beatrice Nogueria as Bauer in Vera 1987 216 | |
SelfPortrait by Catherine Opie 1993 39 | |
The Androgyne the Tribade the Female | |
John Radclyffe Hall and the Discourse | |
Even Stone Butches Get the Blues | |
ButchFTM Border Wars and the Masculine | |
A Rough Guide to Butches on Film | |
Jeanette Goldstein as Vasquez in Aliens 1986 182 | |
Beryl Reid as George in The Killing of Sister George 1968 184 | |
Robin Johnson as Nicky in Times Square 1980 189 | |
Julie Harris as Frankie Addams in The Member of the Wedding 1953 191 | |
Mercedes McCambridge as Emma in Johnny Guitar 1954 194 | |
Mercedes McCambridge as a street butch in A Touch of Evil 1958 196 | |
Mary Stuart Masterson in Fried Green Tomatoes 1992 221 | |
k d lang in Salmonberries 1992 223 | |
Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon in Bound 1996 228 | |
Queen Latifah in Set It Off1996 229 | |
Masculinity and Performance | |
Judith Jack Halberstam by Del Grace 1997 243 | |
Sean by Betsey Gallagher 1995 247 | |
Chico Soda by Betsey Gallagher 1996 249 | |
Diane Torr by Betsey Gallagher 1996 251 | |
Dred by Betsey Gallagher 1996 254 | |
Who Loves You Baby? Murray Hill as the Puffy Elvis by Matthew Sandager 1997 258 | |
Murray Hill as Bela Karolyi and Penny Tuesdae as Kerri Strug by Tanya Braganti 1997 260 | |
Murray Hill for MayorThe God Bless America Show at Club Casanova by Vivian Babuts 1997 265 | |
New Masculinities | |
Robert De Niro as Jake La Motta in Raging Bull 1980 274 | |
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Common terms and phrases
androgynous Anne Lister argue Barker bathroom become binary butch-femme called camp century chapter cinema club contemporary cross-dressing discourse dominant drag king drag king contest drag king performances drag queen dyke embodiment essay example female body female masculinity femininity feminism femme film forms Fredd Furthermore gay and lesbian gay male gender identity gender variance girl Hall’s heterosexual homosexuality identification images invert John kind lesbian desire lesbian feminism lesbian feminist lesbian masculinity lives Loneliness lover male impersonation male masculinity mannish masculine women men’s Miss narrative Newton notion novel obviously perverse play pleasure politics produced queer theory Radclyffe Hall relation representation represents role same-sex scene seems sexual activity sexual identity sexual practices signify simply social Souline Stephen stereotype stone butch Stone Butch Blues suggests tend theatrical tomboy tomboy film transgender transgender butch transsexual transvestism tribadism woman York