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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
Przejmująca książka opisująca własne zmagania się z tym, co to znaczy być mężczyzną. Autor zadaje wiele pytań - od tego, w jaki sposób socjalizacja jako kobieta wpływa na jego postrzeganie świata, czy sam staje się częścią problemu którego doświadczył w młodości (seksizm, ignorowanie przywileju) i jak to wszystko wpasowuje się we współczesny obraz Ameryki. Sam opis przygotowań do walki bokserskiej jest piękną analogią dojrzewania w świecie "prawdziwych mężczyzn" oraz próby zrozumienia, dlaczego są tacy, a nie inni - i gdzie my, jako trans faceci, mamy umieścić siebie.
Amateur may be my favorite read of 2023. McBee dives into masculinity as he trains to fight in a charity boxing event -- where he'll become the first trans man to box against other men at Madison Square Gardens -- in the wake of his mother's death and his personal and existential struggles to define what it means to be a man.
I expected a lot about male bodies, but instead, it was more about (platonic) male relationships: comradery, emotionality, and touch. McBee wants to know why men are violent and faces the anger inside of himself, fueled by his grief. I loved how he talked about consciously working toward being a better man and his specific steps, accounting, conversations, and apologies. The ending was brilliant.
Even though McBee and I have different backgrounds and differences in the nuances (and timelines) of our transitions, I found the questions and quests in defining masculinity for himself so relatable. His experiences resonated. I tore through Amateur in 2 days, and I've been telling everyone to read it. It was a great companion read to Cordelia Fine's Testosterone Rex, especially to put the science to something more personal and more trans.
I expected a lot about male bodies, but instead, it was more about (platonic) male relationships: comradery, emotionality, and touch. McBee wants to know why men are violent and faces the anger inside of himself, fueled by his grief. I loved how he talked about consciously working toward being a better man and his specific steps, accounting, conversations, and apologies. The ending was brilliant.
Even though McBee and I have different backgrounds and differences in the nuances (and timelines) of our transitions, I found the questions and quests in defining masculinity for himself so relatable. His experiences resonated. I tore through Amateur in 2 days, and I've been telling everyone to read it. It was a great companion read to Cordelia Fine's Testosterone Rex, especially to put the science to something more personal and more trans.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Originally a piece of journalism, this account describes McBee learning to box in order to take part in a charity boxing match. McBee is trans, and wanted to learn about the hyper-macho world of boxing in order to better understand masculinity and his own relationship with being a man. Like many pieces of work that began as journal articles, this narrative doesn't entirely fit together, and thought it's less than 200 pages, still feels long. McBee describes the world of boxing gyms, and the meeting of working class and wealthy worlds within them. He interrogates the ways in which boxing reflects masculine ideals, and the ways in which fighting in the ring allows men to take care of one another and break down the artificial barriers created by toxic masculinity. However, McBee is specifically looking at one form of masculinity -- white, American, traditional -- and the book lacked scope, focusing too much on very simplistic concepts. Like many American writers, McBee approaches specifically white, American problems as though they are universal, and doesn't realise he's blinkered. There is some beautiful writing in here, and McBee writes about the boxers he meets with great tenderness, and evokes the tensions of the fights in a palpable way, but I think this would have functioned better as an essay or article and doesn't hold together as a longer piece.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Me pasa que a veces no necesito libros perfectos, que este es muy bueno, necesito voces honestas que buscan con entraña pero también con corazón.
Gracias Thomas, por coincidir y por la esperanza ✨🌱
Gracias Thomas, por coincidir y por la esperanza ✨🌱
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
A great story with insights on navigating heteronormative space as a trans person.
This is the perfect blend of cited sources and thoughtful critique and wide-open personal honesty I love in non-fiction. A frank consideration of what it means to be manly and how to make it less toxic for those who aren’t.