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jrc2011's review against another edition
4.0
This is a thorough document of a number of historical cases of people assigned female at birth (AFAB) who chose to live as men. The author relies mostly on news articles and court records, and a few instances where the "female husband" wrote a book about his/her/their experience "transing gender."
The subject is complex -- while we don't necessarily get strong insights into whether the "female husbands" experienced gender dysphoria or how they felt about gender, it's clear from their behavior after exposure in many cases. For example, the punishment for transing gender was often to require the offender to resume the clothing and roles of the gender assigned at birth.
In many cases -- the "female husbands" went right back to their assumed gender identity, clothing, life, business and community. In some cases, the "female husbands" made multiple transitions.
Manion analyzes the strategies for defense utilized by both the female husbands and their wives when death, divorce or other incidents exposed the anatomy of the female husband to official, medical or juridical scrutiny. In some cases, the wives claimed "ignorance" as a way to reestablish their reputation -- but in at least one case, the female husband, possibly with support of community, ensured that the wife was granted her share of their accumulated wealth/savings. In many cases, yes, going to war or work as a man granted people more financial opportunity and personal freedom -- but if it was as simple as wearing men's clothing to earn more money, more people would have done it.
The "female husband" permitted the pursuit of a specifically white male privilege -- AFAB people of color who transed gender often received much different treatment by the press, law and medical establishment.
Manion's work is an important review of mostly "non primary" resources -- that's to say, the inner thoughts and feelings of the "female husbands" are not available for review and therefore not included. Manion can't possibly know what these men believed or felt. The reactions of the press in the US and UK seem to have alternated and shifted as much as the tides of public opinion. As you will learn, gender, however, was not entirely determined based on anatomy as many of the female husbands were viewed as "male" due to the external factors of work, marriage (legal marriages), and clothing.
Early in the book, Manion states a decision to utilize "they/them" pronouns for the female husbands as a way of encompassing many aspects of gender -- presentation by the female husbands, as referred by the community / law / media which would use "she/her" in some cases but not in others.
Overall, I'm given the impression that the solidification of gender along a male/female binary was part of the growing dominance of a white, male overclass in the US & UK. As we face the challenges of white supremacy as a culture -- those arbitrary structures of gender are also being cast in a critical light. I've personally been confused by the way many people cling to gender as something important. As an AFAB person -- I cannot truly claim to feel strongly about any particular gender, but I know when I am being misgendered as a method of insulting and undermining who I am. Personally, I would prefer to not have to choose any gender and just ignore it altogether. A lot of people don't have that choice and many people don't question the choice. This book offers a lens on historical attitudes and perceptions of gender and provides a well researched number of subjects and their experiences, as best as the author can gather.
The subject is complex -- while we don't necessarily get strong insights into whether the "female husbands" experienced gender dysphoria or how they felt about gender, it's clear from their behavior after exposure in many cases. For example, the punishment for transing gender was often to require the offender to resume the clothing and roles of the gender assigned at birth.
In many cases -- the "female husbands" went right back to their assumed gender identity, clothing, life, business and community. In some cases, the "female husbands" made multiple transitions.
Manion analyzes the strategies for defense utilized by both the female husbands and their wives when death, divorce or other incidents exposed the anatomy of the female husband to official, medical or juridical scrutiny. In some cases, the wives claimed "ignorance" as a way to reestablish their reputation -- but in at least one case, the female husband, possibly with support of community, ensured that the wife was granted her share of their accumulated wealth/savings. In many cases, yes, going to war or work as a man granted people more financial opportunity and personal freedom -- but if it was as simple as wearing men's clothing to earn more money, more people would have done it.
The "female husband" permitted the pursuit of a specifically white male privilege -- AFAB people of color who transed gender often received much different treatment by the press, law and medical establishment.
Manion's work is an important review of mostly "non primary" resources -- that's to say, the inner thoughts and feelings of the "female husbands" are not available for review and therefore not included. Manion can't possibly know what these men believed or felt. The reactions of the press in the US and UK seem to have alternated and shifted as much as the tides of public opinion. As you will learn, gender, however, was not entirely determined based on anatomy as many of the female husbands were viewed as "male" due to the external factors of work, marriage (legal marriages), and clothing.
Early in the book, Manion states a decision to utilize "they/them" pronouns for the female husbands as a way of encompassing many aspects of gender -- presentation by the female husbands, as referred by the community / law / media which would use "she/her" in some cases but not in others.
Overall, I'm given the impression that the solidification of gender along a male/female binary was part of the growing dominance of a white, male overclass in the US & UK. As we face the challenges of white supremacy as a culture -- those arbitrary structures of gender are also being cast in a critical light. I've personally been confused by the way many people cling to gender as something important. As an AFAB person -- I cannot truly claim to feel strongly about any particular gender, but I know when I am being misgendered as a method of insulting and undermining who I am. Personally, I would prefer to not have to choose any gender and just ignore it altogether. A lot of people don't have that choice and many people don't question the choice. This book offers a lens on historical attitudes and perceptions of gender and provides a well researched number of subjects and their experiences, as best as the author can gather.
doormatt's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
4.5
Manion succeeds wonderfully in managing the fine line and grey space between masc lesbians and trans men- especially in historic context. I love the emphasis put on the wives of female husbands, as well as on the sources of the narratives that do survive. Manion treats the individuals with a kind of tenderness and empathy I haven't often seen in historic nonfiction.
lesbihane's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Incredible. Very academic and very well researched, I can't imagine the amount of time and effort that went into researching every case.
I appreciated the respectfulness in the gender neutral approach to the female husbands and loved the way Manion examined also the husbands' wives, their possible perspective and active participation in their relationship. There is no book "the wives of female husbands" but they deserve their place on queer history books just as much.
I appreciated the respectfulness in the gender neutral approach to the female husbands and loved the way Manion examined also the husbands' wives, their possible perspective and active participation in their relationship. There is no book "the wives of female husbands" but they deserve their place on queer history books just as much.
alexactually's review
Don't know why I didn't like this, it should be exactly my kind of thing. There was just something I didn't get on with - maybe the narration, maybe the writing.
cloudss's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.0
deep dive into newspaper and court records of "female husbands" and how the term came into and fell out of favor throughout the 18th 19th and early 20th centuries. details all of the stories separately, but does cover change in perceptions of each popularized tale over time. a bit discourse-y in places but enjoyable overall. a book that uses the word butch more than once!! no way!!