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A review by zoolmcg
Testo Junkie: Sex, Drugs, and Biopolitics in the Pharmacopornographic Era by Paul B. Preciado
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
wAfter I'd read An Apartment of Uranus, this was an immediate addition to my TBR. Now that I've finished it, I can certainly say I prefer the former, but that this is also an essential text in uncovering the politics behind transition and gender.
I find Preciado to be a very authroitative and definitive writer, which pays off extremely well when the essays are focused, interesting and engaging. I have many favourites in this book, but the ones that jump out to me the most were Testogel, Gender and Hackers (within The Micropolitics of Gender in the Phamacopornagraphic Era), and Packaging Disciplinary Architecture: Dialpak and The Invention of The Edible Panopticon (within Pharmacopower). These dissections of hormones and the history of transgenderism were fascinating and enlightening, presnenting stories and facts that opened my eyes to so many implications behind the capitalist intent of pharmacology.
I also really enjoyed many of personal annecdote slices found in between the more academic essays. Preciado's relationship with Despentes is presented as a whirlwind of love and lust, with testosterone fueling the hightened libido they both share. I thought it was a really beautiful showcase of queer love and sex, and the honesty stuck me as beautiful.
My only note within this is with the consistency and with the focus. I found a few of these essays to be meandering in their topics, where things are stated and expanded over and over again, to the point where I wasn't sure exactly what was being discussed. I know for a fact I'll be rereading this again in my life, so I'm sure there are things that passed me by on the first read that I'll pick up in the second. But at what point does merely 'missing some parts on the first read' become the fault of the text?
Preciado is an astounding writer with brilliant ideas. He's definitaly a role model for me in my own writing, and I love the way he presents trans truths in the most unflinching way possible. Nothing here is sanitised for the cis reader - theories are presented and we are all sat down to be enightened by them. I'd recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn more about the history of hormones, transgenderism, and Preciado's personal philosophy.
I find Preciado to be a very authroitative and definitive writer, which pays off extremely well when the essays are focused, interesting and engaging. I have many favourites in this book, but the ones that jump out to me the most were Testogel, Gender and Hackers (within The Micropolitics of Gender in the Phamacopornagraphic Era), and Packaging Disciplinary Architecture: Dialpak and The Invention of The Edible Panopticon (within Pharmacopower). These dissections of hormones and the history of transgenderism were fascinating and enlightening, presnenting stories and facts that opened my eyes to so many implications behind the capitalist intent of pharmacology.
I also really enjoyed many of personal annecdote slices found in between the more academic essays. Preciado's relationship with Despentes is presented as a whirlwind of love and lust, with testosterone fueling the hightened libido they both share. I thought it was a really beautiful showcase of queer love and sex, and the honesty stuck me as beautiful.
My only note within this is with the consistency and with the focus. I found a few of these essays to be meandering in their topics, where things are stated and expanded over and over again, to the point where I wasn't sure exactly what was being discussed. I know for a fact I'll be rereading this again in my life, so I'm sure there are things that passed me by on the first read that I'll pick up in the second. But at what point does merely 'missing some parts on the first read' become the fault of the text?
Preciado is an astounding writer with brilliant ideas. He's definitaly a role model for me in my own writing, and I love the way he presents trans truths in the most unflinching way possible. Nothing here is sanitised for the cis reader - theories are presented and we are all sat down to be enightened by them. I'd recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn more about the history of hormones, transgenderism, and Preciado's personal philosophy.