Scan barcode
anpu325's review
4.0
I loved this book! It is inspirational to be able to see yourself in history, when that is so seldom the case. This book gave me so many leads that I want to follow up on. I also think the approach of interviewing 2 spirit people and asking them to describe their identities was a great methodology. I do have to say though that this book is not particularly historically accurate or rigorous regarding ancient history and prehistory which are the areas of history that I am more familiar with. The idea that Leslie reiterates over and over that prehistory was a utopian matriarchal commune basically has no evidence to support it at all. I would call this speculative fiction rather than a history. I can't really blame Leslie too much though, since this idea of a mother-goddess worshipping prehistoric matriarchal society was kind of an academic fad in the 70's. Also this book contained actually factually inaccurate information about Hatshepsut, namely that she was succeeded by her husband rather than her stepson, which is just not true. Leslie cites a medical journal from the 1950's for that. So, while I feel like this book does not have the standards of historical rigor that one would expect from a history book, I am still so glad it exists and that we have it. We deserve to see ourselves in history. And there is a lot of valid information contained here too!!
radicalqueerreads's review
5.0
I can’t believe this was published in 1996, and I wish I had been able to find it years ago
didelphysial's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
The way the book is written to parallel the history of transgender expression with Feinberg's own personal journey of expression as xe researched the subject gives it a narrative structure that makes it a compelling read.