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amydeppe's review against another edition
4.0
I held in my hands a collection of queer ancestors. These lives are gathered together and set within the historical context of gender based social norms.
The author writes about the time before and just after the US Civil War however on peripheral mentions of slavery and blackness are within the text.
The author writes about the time before and just after the US Civil War however on peripheral mentions of slavery and blackness are within the text.
_ellisnoble_'s review against another edition
4.0
Non solo nei film e nei libri: la storia ci insegna che un bel numero di persone AFAB (assigned female at birth) hanno indossato panni maschili per vivere come uomini, prendendo moglie, svolgendo attività tipicamente maschili e godendo di maggiori libertà... eppure di loro si è sempre parlato come donne in cerca di più libertà o donne queer che volevano amare altre donne senza problemi, cancellando la possibilità che tra loro ci potessero essere uomini transgender o persone non binarie.
L'autrice di questo libro restituisce quindi la storia in maniera più inclusiva cercando di restituire la vita di queste figure storiche che sfidarono il binarismo di genere, dando da pensare a cosa volesse davvero dire essere uomo o donna (avere i genitali associati a un dato genere? Essere sposati con una donna? Ricoprire una data posizione sociale e venir percepiti come uomini esemplari dalla società?), ma allo stesso tempo portando le prime femministe a prendere le distanze da chi rigettava la propria femminilità accusando di non favorire la ricerca della parità (le prime terf della storia insomma).
Non so se il libro verrà mai portato in Italia, ma nel caso siate in cerca di libri sulla storia queer veramente inclusivi, questo è sicuramente da recuperare
L'autrice di questo libro restituisce quindi la storia in maniera più inclusiva cercando di restituire la vita di queste figure storiche che sfidarono il binarismo di genere, dando da pensare a cosa volesse davvero dire essere uomo o donna (avere i genitali associati a un dato genere? Essere sposati con una donna? Ricoprire una data posizione sociale e venir percepiti come uomini esemplari dalla società?), ma allo stesso tempo portando le prime femministe a prendere le distanze da chi rigettava la propria femminilità accusando di non favorire la ricerca della parità (le prime terf della storia insomma).
Non so se il libro verrà mai portato in Italia, ma nel caso siate in cerca di libri sulla storia queer veramente inclusivi, questo è sicuramente da recuperare
friendofhayley's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
3.75
We've always been here! I loved learning more about this concept. The epilogue did make me emotional. 🌈
hsinjulit's review against another edition
4.0
This book is engrossing. It is a fascinating academic work on queer pioneers in the UK and US from the 18th to early 20th century. For a brief moment upon finishing, I had to remind myself I am in the 21st century.
Female Husbands reconstructed the life stories of female husbands, their wives, and others who were assigned female at birth and donned male attire without imposing modern terminologies or assumptions. The particular use of 'them/them' pronouns for these remarkable pioneers has made space for ambiguity since no modern person could ever be sure of their gender identity.
In addition to the life stories of Charles Hamilton, James Howe, James Allen, Albert Guelph, Joseph Lobdell, etc., the book supplied backgrounds of laws, social systems, and political aspects during the time. These details certainly helped paint a more complete picture of what it was like back then.
Though the structure could be more streamlined at times for a smoother read and clearer theme connections between consecutive chapters, Manion has done a wonderful job of piecing together the history. It is a book I did not know I needed.
Since all the iconic people mentioned have been outed at some point of their lives so as to fall under public scrutiny, I would like to think that there were a fair amount of female husbands and their wives who lived in relative peace and happiness until their deaths. I really hope there were. If not, at least we have fictional stories of Backwards to Oregon and Hidden Truths from Jae.
I received an e-ARC from Cambridge University Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Female Husbands reconstructed the life stories of female husbands, their wives, and others who were assigned female at birth and donned male attire without imposing modern terminologies or assumptions. The particular use of 'them/them' pronouns for these remarkable pioneers has made space for ambiguity since no modern person could ever be sure of their gender identity.
In addition to the life stories of Charles Hamilton, James Howe, James Allen, Albert Guelph, Joseph Lobdell, etc., the book supplied backgrounds of laws, social systems, and political aspects during the time. These details certainly helped paint a more complete picture of what it was like back then.
Though the structure could be more streamlined at times for a smoother read and clearer theme connections between consecutive chapters, Manion has done a wonderful job of piecing together the history. It is a book I did not know I needed.
The transgression of a gender norm always opened the door to the threat of a sexual transgression.
Since all the iconic people mentioned have been outed at some point of their lives so as to fall under public scrutiny, I would like to think that there were a fair amount of female husbands and their wives who lived in relative peace and happiness until their deaths. I really hope there were. If not, at least we have fictional stories of Backwards to Oregon and Hidden Truths from Jae.
I received an e-ARC from Cambridge University Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
milesdiaboli's review against another edition
5.0
Manion provides a nuanced view of the wide category of experiences falling under the "female husband" umbrella in the 18th-early 20th centuries. The choice to use they/them pronouns to refer to each of the female husbands covered makes room for the variable experiences these people might have had. They might have been seeking romantic relationships with women by passing as male, or they might have wished to live as men in their own right, and it limits the possibilities of their lives to retroactively claim them as definitively men or definitively women when often their lives reflect an experience that doesn't fit neatly in these categories.
Manion covers the context for each female husband in detail, and acknowledges the circumstances surrounding the conversation. Race, social status, colonialism, movements for women's rights, etc., all impact the changing discourse surrounding these female husbands, and Manion acknowledges the matrix of identity and privilege that comes into play in these cases rather than ignoring it as many others often do. Overall, this book provides a really well-rounded history of people assigned female at birth who lived, at least for a time, as men, and the nuance makes it a much more enjoyable and informative experience than other pieces of scholarship on similar subjects that I've read.
Manion covers the context for each female husband in detail, and acknowledges the circumstances surrounding the conversation. Race, social status, colonialism, movements for women's rights, etc., all impact the changing discourse surrounding these female husbands, and Manion acknowledges the matrix of identity and privilege that comes into play in these cases rather than ignoring it as many others often do. Overall, this book provides a really well-rounded history of people assigned female at birth who lived, at least for a time, as men, and the nuance makes it a much more enjoyable and informative experience than other pieces of scholarship on similar subjects that I've read.
annasusan's review against another edition
4.25
A really great book setting the groundwork for how to discuss those in history who transed gender, but who we may disagree on attaching identity labels to.
I think the thematic framing let this book down a bit - with such sparse biographies, it felt hard to keep track of an individual within a chapter/across a chapter. I would've liked their stories laid out as cohesively as possible.
I think the thematic framing let this book down a bit - with such sparse biographies, it felt hard to keep track of an individual within a chapter/across a chapter. I would've liked their stories laid out as cohesively as possible.
jugglingpup's review against another edition
2.0
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got an ARC of this book.
I have studied gender both professionally and personally for most of my life. Gender and sexuality are my two biggest research loves. I have never hidden this and I never will. This book sounded perfect for me. The title promises a TRANS history of something that has always been talked about as a lesbian history in the LGBTQ focused classes I was able to take and in the text books those classes assigned. Lesbian and trans are not mutual exclusive, but there has been friction in the communities for various reasons for decades. So I was interested to see this. I thought it would be a lot like True Sex.
Instead, the author took every chance to make this about lesbian history. If this were titled “Female Husbands: A Lesbian History” I would be ALL OVER IT. It would be a great lesbian history. The author even goes a step further and talks about the wives of female husbands which I have never seen before. This was so cool. Instead I was left thinking the author had no idea what she was talking about quite often since the title is not represented in the book whatsoever. The author self identified in the middle of a history book by saying she was a butch lesbian, which 100% cool. I get that having an identity that is relevant can be important, so now I must say I am a trans man. I have an identity that according to the title is more closely aligned with the book’s content. This book is not a trans history. This is a lesbian history that often has places where it could and should be a trans history, but it is not a trans history.
The author uses trans as a verb, which didn’t sit right with me for various reasons. She explained this away by citing someone else who came up with the idea, but it still did not sit well with me. I am asked by cis people if I am transing when they mean transitioning. So the term is already loaded for me as a trans person. To then have it applied to gender role non-conformity for what the author repeatedly implies and flat out says are lesbians makes me even less comfortable with the world choice.
Pronouns in the book were also a bit weird. The author explains the use of they/them which I can really get behind, but then in the chapter that is about a trans man in a more modern time who explicitly said they were a man and lived stealth for many years, continues to use they/them felt a bit disrespectful. I did some digging and the author also says that asking for someone’s pronouns is harmful in a piece they published in 2018. She mentions how it is harmful to trans people to misgender them, but then says that asking for pronouns and making it safe for someone to say their pronouns should not happen. The more I read the less I want to know.
This book could have been amazing. It could have been a great history, instead is just read as transphobic. Yes, there is no way to know for sure if the female husbands reported are trans or lesbian or bi or whatever else they possibly identified as. But saying a book is a trans history then repeatedly denying the chance that there is trans in the history doesn’t sit right. The epilogue literally uses outdated language to refer to a trans man. The author repeatedly refers to the wives of the female husbands as being the hidden lesbian history that no one talks about. Some of the female husbands were very probably not binary in their gender, but the majority of the ones mentioned appeared based on reading the source materiel as binary. So there is no reason to keep insisting that the wives of these very potentially trans men are lesbians, except to erase the possibility of trans men. If trans was ever really allowed as an option for these female husbands, I could overlook so much of this. The idea that they could be trans comes up a few times, but then the author doubles down on the idea of lesbian for everyone involved.
This would be a one star book, but the history and the depth that the history of the female husbands’ stories are told is impressive. The two stars is literally just for the gathering of information of a biographer. The rest of the book is just awful. I feel bad even giving it two stars.
I got an ARC of this book.
I have studied gender both professionally and personally for most of my life. Gender and sexuality are my two biggest research loves. I have never hidden this and I never will. This book sounded perfect for me. The title promises a TRANS history of something that has always been talked about as a lesbian history in the LGBTQ focused classes I was able to take and in the text books those classes assigned. Lesbian and trans are not mutual exclusive, but there has been friction in the communities for various reasons for decades. So I was interested to see this. I thought it would be a lot like True Sex.
Instead, the author took every chance to make this about lesbian history. If this were titled “Female Husbands: A Lesbian History” I would be ALL OVER IT. It would be a great lesbian history. The author even goes a step further and talks about the wives of female husbands which I have never seen before. This was so cool. Instead I was left thinking the author had no idea what she was talking about quite often since the title is not represented in the book whatsoever. The author self identified in the middle of a history book by saying she was a butch lesbian, which 100% cool. I get that having an identity that is relevant can be important, so now I must say I am a trans man. I have an identity that according to the title is more closely aligned with the book’s content. This book is not a trans history. This is a lesbian history that often has places where it could and should be a trans history, but it is not a trans history.
The author uses trans as a verb, which didn’t sit right with me for various reasons. She explained this away by citing someone else who came up with the idea, but it still did not sit well with me. I am asked by cis people if I am transing when they mean transitioning. So the term is already loaded for me as a trans person. To then have it applied to gender role non-conformity for what the author repeatedly implies and flat out says are lesbians makes me even less comfortable with the world choice.
Pronouns in the book were also a bit weird. The author explains the use of they/them which I can really get behind, but then in the chapter that is about a trans man in a more modern time who explicitly said they were a man and lived stealth for many years, continues to use they/them felt a bit disrespectful. I did some digging and the author also says that asking for someone’s pronouns is harmful in a piece they published in 2018. She mentions how it is harmful to trans people to misgender them, but then says that asking for pronouns and making it safe for someone to say their pronouns should not happen. The more I read the less I want to know.
This book could have been amazing. It could have been a great history, instead is just read as transphobic. Yes, there is no way to know for sure if the female husbands reported are trans or lesbian or bi or whatever else they possibly identified as. But saying a book is a trans history then repeatedly denying the chance that there is trans in the history doesn’t sit right. The epilogue literally uses outdated language to refer to a trans man. The author repeatedly refers to the wives of the female husbands as being the hidden lesbian history that no one talks about. Some of the female husbands were very probably not binary in their gender, but the majority of the ones mentioned appeared based on reading the source materiel as binary. So there is no reason to keep insisting that the wives of these very potentially trans men are lesbians, except to erase the possibility of trans men. If trans was ever really allowed as an option for these female husbands, I could overlook so much of this. The idea that they could be trans comes up a few times, but then the author doubles down on the idea of lesbian for everyone involved.
This would be a one star book, but the history and the depth that the history of the female husbands’ stories are told is impressive. The two stars is literally just for the gathering of information of a biographer. The rest of the book is just awful. I feel bad even giving it two stars.