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maxtiu's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
this one is an interesting mish-mash of memoir, trans 101-102 info, and relfections on the philosophy of sex and gender. the writing is dry, as follows his technical writing background. but overall it was captivating for me to read about the early days of the FTM community, especially as someone doing relevant organizing today.
gdulecki's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
“I needed to understand what it would mean — really mean — to change places: what responsibility would I have for maintaining or deconstructing traditional gender roles once I transitioned?”
I have had this book on my TBR for a few years now, I picked it up from the library as part of my journey to try and grapple with what masculinity means to me and for my as I navigate my transition. I am very grateful for the wisdom of trans elders, and for the groundwork that was laid that makes my life possible now.
I thought it was so interesting to read about how trans communities found each other and interacted with each other, and how much that has changed since this book came out. There were a few moments where my first thought after reading something really good was whether folks in the ftm subreddit or the ftm chicago Facebook groups had talked about this before and that I should see what discussions had already been had.
I did read the version published in 2003, as that is what was available at the library and the language was very dated, but that is to be expected. I did see someone else’s review saying that the rereleased version from a few years back did have updated language and I would have loved to see what changes were made. I am trying to hold both that the language used here was important and impactful at the time, while at the same time it felt very uncomfortable to read today.
More than anything, I really appreciated the in depth discussions about what masculinity has meant for trans men, and how we as a community have both found space in traditional masculinity, but also created space for a new masculinity. I loved the experiences Jamison shared about his men’s groups, both with cis and trans men, and the way that a tender and gentle masculinity was explored. As I continue to grapple with what it means to be a man, I am grateful for the experiences of the men who have been doing this work for decades, and can offer wisdom.
“Being a man is more than looking like one. It requires knowing what is expected of a man, and choosing how to go about meeting or not meeting those expectations at any given moment.”
I have had this book on my TBR for a few years now, I picked it up from the library as part of my journey to try and grapple with what masculinity means to me and for my as I navigate my transition. I am very grateful for the wisdom of trans elders, and for the groundwork that was laid that makes my life possible now.
I thought it was so interesting to read about how trans communities found each other and interacted with each other, and how much that has changed since this book came out. There were a few moments where my first thought after reading something really good was whether folks in the ftm subreddit or the ftm chicago Facebook groups had talked about this before and that I should see what discussions had already been had.
I did read the version published in 2003, as that is what was available at the library and the language was very dated, but that is to be expected. I did see someone else’s review saying that the rereleased version from a few years back did have updated language and I would have loved to see what changes were made. I am trying to hold both that the language used here was important and impactful at the time, while at the same time it felt very uncomfortable to read today.
More than anything, I really appreciated the in depth discussions about what masculinity has meant for trans men, and how we as a community have both found space in traditional masculinity, but also created space for a new masculinity. I loved the experiences Jamison shared about his men’s groups, both with cis and trans men, and the way that a tender and gentle masculinity was explored. As I continue to grapple with what it means to be a man, I am grateful for the experiences of the men who have been doing this work for decades, and can offer wisdom.
“Being a man is more than looking like one. It requires knowing what is expected of a man, and choosing how to go about meeting or not meeting those expectations at any given moment.”
cogowno's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Dysphoria, and Transphobia
naoemil's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Green documents his personal experiences as well as some insights on the state of the trans community during the 80's and 90's. I thought it was very interesting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
jugglingpup's review against another edition
4.0
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
This is a book that I have been looking forward to reading for years. I never had the money to pick up a copy when I went to a bookstore, but I finally found it in a library. This book did not live up to the hype I had created for it, but it was not a terrible book in the slightest. This book gave a really in-depth history of the trans male movement to get recognition and to become visible as men. Much of this history was new to me despite being an activist and a trans educator which was surprising and made me really respect the author.
However, I did not like that “transgendered” made hundreds of appearances in the book (I really hate this grammatical mistake). Transgender is the term that worked throughout the book, but using the past tense just irked me throughout so I was unable to enjoy it as much as I could have otherwise.
My other issue is that it felt that the author was just name dropping during certain chapters. Many of the people he lists by full name (meaning that their name isn’t changed) are famous in the trans world and it felt like he mentioned most of them just to show that he knew them. Many of his points would have been served with mentioning the men involved and not worrying about people that weren’t involved, but I can see why he did as it opened up a new world of trans activists that otherwise people may not have known about, but for the people who did know them it became redundant.
I am a huge fan of standpoint theory writing and writing of that nature so this book was an easy read for me (outside of the two issues I mentioned above). It was a quick read that left me feeling like I knew something about the author and a great deal more about the FtM community than I did before. Not once did I feel like the author was bashing me with information or assuming I was uninformed. The author is a great writer that is able to portray a bunch of information in a way that doesn’t scare off a reader, but instead lets the reader feel like they are being let into a world they may not otherwise see. So if you like standpoint theory, history, or memoir then this book is for you. I highly recommend it for people that are trying to understand a FtM as it goes into answering the questions that people who are not transgender or transsexual usually ask that are invasive.
This is a book that I have been looking forward to reading for years. I never had the money to pick up a copy when I went to a bookstore, but I finally found it in a library. This book did not live up to the hype I had created for it, but it was not a terrible book in the slightest. This book gave a really in-depth history of the trans male movement to get recognition and to become visible as men. Much of this history was new to me despite being an activist and a trans educator which was surprising and made me really respect the author.
However, I did not like that “transgendered” made hundreds of appearances in the book (I really hate this grammatical mistake). Transgender is the term that worked throughout the book, but using the past tense just irked me throughout so I was unable to enjoy it as much as I could have otherwise.
My other issue is that it felt that the author was just name dropping during certain chapters. Many of the people he lists by full name (meaning that their name isn’t changed) are famous in the trans world and it felt like he mentioned most of them just to show that he knew them. Many of his points would have been served with mentioning the men involved and not worrying about people that weren’t involved, but I can see why he did as it opened up a new world of trans activists that otherwise people may not have known about, but for the people who did know them it became redundant.
I am a huge fan of standpoint theory writing and writing of that nature so this book was an easy read for me (outside of the two issues I mentioned above). It was a quick read that left me feeling like I knew something about the author and a great deal more about the FtM community than I did before. Not once did I feel like the author was bashing me with information or assuming I was uninformed. The author is a great writer that is able to portray a bunch of information in a way that doesn’t scare off a reader, but instead lets the reader feel like they are being let into a world they may not otherwise see. So if you like standpoint theory, history, or memoir then this book is for you. I highly recommend it for people that are trying to understand a FtM as it goes into answering the questions that people who are not transgender or transsexual usually ask that are invasive.
xenomorph's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
thereadingwren's review against another edition
DNF @ 61% Page 141
It's been 8 months since I last picked this up, it's time to let it go. While the journey Jamison went on was an important and interesting one it kept making me feel defeated. He lived a hard life and it's hard to read about that. I have so many highlighted quotes from this book though.
It's been 8 months since I last picked this up, it's time to let it go. While the journey Jamison went on was an important and interesting one it kept making me feel defeated. He lived a hard life and it's hard to read about that. I have so many highlighted quotes from this book though.