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Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity by Julia Serano
tinylove's review against another edition
It is hard and also seems rather pointless to rate this book so I won't!
The book is a collection of essays - it is in very high regard in feminist cycles especially regarding the transfem experience, so of course it ranked very high on my list. But even as early as in the revised introduction, the author acknowledges the way this book was lacking - glaringly, in the sense of intersectionality. It is not a book that takes into account the experiences of women of color, trans or cis - at the same time, it is a very personal collection in general. It actually felt a bit misleading that I saw this filed under and recommended as theory, when it is clearly so much personal opinion. Then again, as people have pointed out, so much of what is taken for granted today was not established in feminist cycles at the time of writing and this text played no small role in starting these conversations that bring us to where we are today, so that is important to take into consideration as well when criticizing the book.
But with all that said, I would still rather see this book as a very personal and thus limited view of the world and gender roles. It is not well-researched, or academic, or really all that well-rounded and intersectional after all, and a lot of it is spent on refuting basic transphobic talking points. It is a sad reality that oppressed authors have to expend so much energy on simply defending their existence, but the things that we could achieve if we could move beyond that!
I do think the book would have benefited from a more introspective view of society's take on femininity and gender roles overall. The intrinsic inclinations model seems a bit of a hot take in the current landscape of gender discussion - the idea that the gender binary is formed from both social and natural inclinations in the majority of the population. It is a lot of food for thought, because in the hands of anyone cis it would come off as -and often is- a very transphobic take, but hearing it from a trans woman made me think about it in a new light. I found it very odd that it did not mention or seem to take into account at all how femininity is branded, commercialized and essentially "sold" to anyone who society thinks should confront to it. Though there may be merit to the claim that femininity and masculinity are natural to most of the population and always have been, the ways that what is considered feminine and masculine change over time are not considered at all as factors by Serrano. That seems like a huge omission in my opinion, and costs the book a lot of nuance - as do a lot of other perspectives and factors that are omitted. Overall, I don't think Serrano's models and theories can hold on their own just through her writing in Whipping Girl, but they are worth a wider discussion in community so that other perspectives can weight in on them.
So far I have only been negative about it - but truth be told, I really appreciated this book. Sure, it is only one woman's perspective, but valuable and well-articulated nonetheless. In particular, I appreciated her takes on the scapegoating and dismissal of femininity. But I do think it would be better fleshed out with more nuance and intersectionality. A trans woman's perspective is going to be limited to just that, but this text has still done a lot on its own to spark conversations and thought around the topics of transmisogyny and trans rights, and on top of everything it is also very approachable in its language and topics - so overall, a great starting point, but it would be entirely unsatisfying to just stop here.
I will say however - I listened to it as an audiobook, and it was not the best listening experience for me. Serrano narrates the book herself, and even though it always feels more intentional when an author reads their own work out loud, it is not always the best choice for an audiobook overall. Her reading rhythm and enunciation were not on par to a professional narrator's (or voice actress) and I personally found it rather tiring after a while. So that's something to consider if you're thinking of doing the audiobook, but it's very up to personal taste, so I hope other audiobook readers didn't have this issue!
The book is a collection of essays - it is in very high regard in feminist cycles especially regarding the transfem experience, so of course it ranked very high on my list. But even as early as in the revised introduction, the author acknowledges the way this book was lacking - glaringly, in the sense of intersectionality. It is not a book that takes into account the experiences of women of color, trans or cis - at the same time, it is a very personal collection in general. It actually felt a bit misleading that I saw this filed under and recommended as theory, when it is clearly so much personal opinion. Then again, as people have pointed out, so much of what is taken for granted today was not established in feminist cycles at the time of writing and this text played no small role in starting these conversations that bring us to where we are today, so that is important to take into consideration as well when criticizing the book.
But with all that said, I would still rather see this book as a very personal and thus limited view of the world and gender roles. It is not well-researched, or academic, or really all that well-rounded and intersectional after all, and a lot of it is spent on refuting basic transphobic talking points. It is a sad reality that oppressed authors have to expend so much energy on simply defending their existence, but the things that we could achieve if we could move beyond that!
I do think the book would have benefited from a more introspective view of society's take on femininity and gender roles overall. The intrinsic inclinations model seems a bit of a hot take in the current landscape of gender discussion - the idea that the gender binary is formed from both social and natural inclinations in the majority of the population. It is a lot of food for thought, because in the hands of anyone cis it would come off as -and often is- a very transphobic take, but hearing it from a trans woman made me think about it in a new light. I found it very odd that it did not mention or seem to take into account at all how femininity is branded, commercialized and essentially "sold" to anyone who society thinks should confront to it. Though there may be merit to the claim that femininity and masculinity are natural to most of the population and always have been, the ways that what is considered feminine and masculine change over time are not considered at all as factors by Serrano. That seems like a huge omission in my opinion, and costs the book a lot of nuance - as do a lot of other perspectives and factors that are omitted. Overall, I don't think Serrano's models and theories can hold on their own just through her writing in Whipping Girl, but they are worth a wider discussion in community so that other perspectives can weight in on them.
So far I have only been negative about it - but truth be told, I really appreciated this book. Sure, it is only one woman's perspective, but valuable and well-articulated nonetheless. In particular, I appreciated her takes on the scapegoating and dismissal of femininity. But I do think it would be better fleshed out with more nuance and intersectionality. A trans woman's perspective is going to be limited to just that, but this text has still done a lot on its own to spark conversations and thought around the topics of transmisogyny and trans rights, and on top of everything it is also very approachable in its language and topics - so overall, a great starting point, but it would be entirely unsatisfying to just stop here.
I will say however - I listened to it as an audiobook, and it was not the best listening experience for me. Serrano narrates the book herself, and even though it always feels more intentional when an author reads their own work out loud, it is not always the best choice for an audiobook overall. Her reading rhythm and enunciation were not on par to a professional narrator's (or voice actress) and I personally found it rather tiring after a while. So that's something to consider if you're thinking of doing the audiobook, but it's very up to personal taste, so I hope other audiobook readers didn't have this issue!
jennypeeble's review against another edition
5.0
an essential read for anyone interested in feminism and transgender/queer actvisim, and how it all intersects
mimicgoo's review against another edition
informative
reflective
4.75
Very good analysis on the transfeminine experience and comes up with a lot of relevant theories and explanations for our experiences. Is written in an engaging way. Could use some more non-white or transmasculine perspectives though
innessfree's review against another edition
4.0
Responded to all my questions and challenged every assumption with aplomb. I came away feeling more educated and empathetic, and grateful for it.
klparmley's review against another edition
3.0
This is an excellent book about gender and the privileges that are connected to it. I am not a fan of the author's style of writing. I would have rated the book more highly if it had been easier to read some thing I was truly interested in.