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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
Round One
In his training for the fight in a charity match at Madison Square Garden, McBee joined the Church Boxing Gym. It is in downtown Manhattan and in underground down several flights of stairs. There are several rings in the room and it is covered with posters of fighters long forgotten. It is a place that oozes testosterone, echoes to the sound of people working out and sparring and the aroma of stale sweat permeates the place.
Round Two
Mangual and the other guys training him admired his energy and enthusiasm and were fully behind him for this match. Thomas Page McBee was learning how to punch, how to get hit, when to defend and when to strike. Every time he entered the ring he learnt a little more about what makes a man, what makes them resort to a physical way of dealing with issues and why some sorts of masculinity were toxic. But McBee had not been completely open with those training him; when they said he had balls facing the other guys in the ring, it turns out that he didn’t.
Round Three
Because McBee was trans. After a lifetime of being, but not feeling female and having had surgery and testosterone and hormones that he started at the age of 30, he finally got a new birth certificate at the age of 31 declaring the sex he always knew he was. But there is more depth to this book than just his personal journey across the gender divide. He uses it to ask wider questions as to why men are as they are, how women’s perception of him changed and how culture and stereotypes should not always define who we are or who we aim to be.
In his training for the fight in a charity match at Madison Square Garden, McBee joined the Church Boxing Gym. It is in downtown Manhattan and in underground down several flights of stairs. There are several rings in the room and it is covered with posters of fighters long forgotten. It is a place that oozes testosterone, echoes to the sound of people working out and sparring and the aroma of stale sweat permeates the place.
Round Two
Mangual and the other guys training him admired his energy and enthusiasm and were fully behind him for this match. Thomas Page McBee was learning how to punch, how to get hit, when to defend and when to strike. Every time he entered the ring he learnt a little more about what makes a man, what makes them resort to a physical way of dealing with issues and why some sorts of masculinity were toxic. But McBee had not been completely open with those training him; when they said he had balls facing the other guys in the ring, it turns out that he didn’t.
Round Three
Because McBee was trans. After a lifetime of being, but not feeling female and having had surgery and testosterone and hormones that he started at the age of 30, he finally got a new birth certificate at the age of 31 declaring the sex he always knew he was. But there is more depth to this book than just his personal journey across the gender divide. He uses it to ask wider questions as to why men are as they are, how women’s perception of him changed and how culture and stereotypes should not always define who we are or who we aim to be.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Wasn't as compelling as i’d like, but was a good book with an interesting perspective.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This was pretty good book! Loved the way the narrative was balanced in discussing the personal and informational. I know nothing about boxing so it was pretty interesting. Uses some language for transness i don’t totally love but like it’s just towards himself so that’s fine but not for me. He also does say some really powerful things about the trans experience and gender! It’s a really interesting exploration of masculinity but i feel like he does too easily shake off the GNC trans experience (but does acknowledge it). Uhhh.... looking forward to my non-fiction writing class’s discussion of it I guess???
3.5
This is a memoir about a trans man who trains to box at Madison Square Garden.
I recommend it for anyone who wants to know what it is like for a man to figure out how to actually be a man, without being a jerk.
This is a memoir about a trans man who trains to box at Madison Square Garden.
I recommend it for anyone who wants to know what it is like for a man to figure out how to actually be a man, without being a jerk.
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Transphobia
Amateur follows Thomas Page McBee as he trains for a charity boxing match at the Madison Square Garden, becoming the first trans man to fight there.
As he tells us about his training, he also tells us about his doubts, his fears, and also what it means to be a (good) man.
"People sometimes think that being trans means I live "between" worlds, but that's not exactly true. If anything, it has just created within me a potential for empathy that I must work every day, like a muscle, to grow."
While it covers a period of only a few month of Mcfee's life, it also details how things have changed since he started his transition and how this has affected not only the way people see him but also how he sees others.
I discovered McBee last year through a podcast and read (and loved) his first book, Man Alive.
While Man Alive was mostly about the author finding out who he was, Amateur is about what masculinity means, and the expectations that comes with it.
It was great to see McBee's growth since his first book; the author has matured, not only in his life at that time, but also in the way he is writing.
"The notion that gender is a birthright is hard for many people to shake, and I am uncomfortable proof that it's not."
From a personal point of view, I think Man Alive resonated with me more than Amateur, but both together are a wonderful insight into McBee's mind. I look forward to see where his where his journey takes him.
As he tells us about his training, he also tells us about his doubts, his fears, and also what it means to be a (good) man.
"People sometimes think that being trans means I live "between" worlds, but that's not exactly true. If anything, it has just created within me a potential for empathy that I must work every day, like a muscle, to grow."
While it covers a period of only a few month of Mcfee's life, it also details how things have changed since he started his transition and how this has affected not only the way people see him but also how he sees others.
I discovered McBee last year through a podcast and read (and loved) his first book, Man Alive.
While Man Alive was mostly about the author finding out who he was, Amateur is about what masculinity means, and the expectations that comes with it.
It was great to see McBee's growth since his first book; the author has matured, not only in his life at that time, but also in the way he is writing.
"The notion that gender is a birthright is hard for many people to shake, and I am uncomfortable proof that it's not."
From a personal point of view, I think Man Alive resonated with me more than Amateur, but both together are a wonderful insight into McBee's mind. I look forward to see where his where his journey takes him.
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced