Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man


Thomas Page McBee - 2018
    A self-described “amateur” at masculinity, McBee embarks on a wide-ranging exploration of gender in society, examining sexism, toxic masculinity, and privilege. As he questions the limitations of gender roles and the roots of masculine aggression, he finds intimacy, hope, and even love in the experience of boxing and in his role as a man in the world. Despite personal history and cultural expectations, “Amateur is a reminder that the individual can still come forward and fight” (The A.V. Club). “Sharp and precise, open and honest,” (Women’s Review of Books), McBee’s writing asks questions “relevant to all people, trans or not” (New York Newsday). Through interviews with experts in neuroscience, sociology, and critical race theory, he constructs a deft and thoughtful examination of the role of men in contemporary society. Amateur is a graceful and uncompromising look at gender by a fearless, fiercely honest writer.Runtime: 3 hours and 38 minutes

Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Kinship


Kath Weston - 1991
    This classic text, originally published in 1991 and now revised and updated to include a new preface, draws upon fieldwork and interviews to explore the ways gay men and lesbians are constructing their own notions of kinship by drawing on the symbolism of love, friendship, and biology.

Media, Gender and Identity: An Introduction


David Gauntlett - 2000
    What impact do these images and ideas have on people's identities?The new edition of Media, Gender and Identity is a highly readable introduction to the relationship between media and gender identities today. Fully revised and updated, including new case studies and a new chapter, it considers a wide range of research and provides new ways for thinking about the media's influence on gender and sexuality.David Gauntlett discusses movies such as Knocked Up and Spiderman 3, men's and women's magazines, TV shows, self-help books, YouTube videos, and more, to show how the media play a role in the shaping of individual self-identities.The book includes:a comparison of gender representations in the past and today, from James Bond to Ugly Bettyan introduction to key theorists such as Judith Butler, Anthony Giddens and Michel Foucault an outline of creative approaches, where identities are explored with video, drawing, or Lego bricks a Companion Website with extra articles, interviews and selected links, at: www.theoryhead.com.

The Sadeian Woman: And the Ideology of Pornography


Angela Carter - 1978
    So says the Marquis de Sade, philosopher and pornographer. His virtuous Justine, who keeps to the rules, is rewarded with rape and humiliation; his Juliette, Justine's triumphantly monstrous antithesis, viciously exploits her sexuality.With brilliance and wit, Angela Carter takes on these outrageous figments of de Sade's extreme imagination and transforms them into symbols of our time: The Hollywood sex goddesses, mothers and daughters, pornography, even the sacred shrines of sex and marriage lie devastatingly exposed before our eyes.Author Bio: Angela Carter (1940-1992) was best known for her subversive short stories, including her most famous collection, The Bloody Chamber. Carter translated the fairy tales of Charles Perrault, and wrote the screenplay for Neil Jordan's 1984 film, The Company of Wolves, based on her short story.

Reconstructing Gender: A Multicultural Anthology


Estelle Disch - 1996
    Drawing from a wide range of sources including research articles, essays, and personal narratives, Disch has chosen accessible, engaging, and provocative readings that represent a plurality of perspectives and experiences. Eleven part introductions briefly identify important issues in the general eld of study, describe the readings, identify the central themes emerging throughout the book, and raise questions for students to consider.Contents:Part I: It's not just about Gender 1. The Puerto Rican Dummy and the Merciful Son, Marti;n Espada2. From Nothing, A Consciousness, Helen Zia3. The Past is Ever Present: Recognizing the New Racism, Patricia Hill Collins4. Angry Women Are Building: Issues and Struggles Facing American Indian Women Today, Paula Gunn Allen5. “J.A.P.”-Slapping: The Politics of Scapegoating, Ruth Atkin and Adrienne Rich6. White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, Peggy McIntosh7. Controlled or Autonomous: Identity and the Experience of the Network, Women Living Under Muslim Laws, Farida Shaheed8. Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism, Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill9. Patriarchy, Allan Johnson10. Reflections on Global Governance and Transnational Feminist Movements in an Era of Infinite War, Rosalind PetcheskyPart II: Gender Socialization11. The Social Construction of Gender, Judith Lorber12. Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities, Michael A. Messner13. Who's the Fairest of Them All?, Jill Nelson14. The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Mari;a, Judith Ortiz Cofer15. He Defies You Still: The Memoirs of a Sissy, Tommi Avicolli16. Growing Up Hidden, Linnea DuePart III: Embodiment17. Beauty Is the Beast: Psychological Effects of the Pursuit of the Perfect Female Body, Elayne A. Saltzberg and Joan C. Chrisler18. Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit, Leslie Marmon Silko19. “A Way Outa No Way”: Eating Problems among African-American, Latina, and White Women, Becky W. Thompson20. Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space, Brent Staples21. Taking It, Leonard Kriegel22. Do You Remember Me?, Barbara Macdonald23. I’m Not Fat, I’m Latina, Christy Haubegger24. The Tyranny of the Esthetic: Surgery’s Most Intimate Violation, Martha A. CoventryPart IV: Communication25. For the White Person Who Wants to Know How to Be My Friend, Pat Parker26. You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation, Deborah Tannen27. Real Men Don’t Cry . . . and Other “Uncool” Myths, Phil W. Petrie28. The New Momism, Susan J. Douglas and Meredith W. Michaels29. Claiming Jezebel: Black Female Subjectivity and Sexual Expressions in Hip-Hop, Ayana Byrd30. Virtual Organizing, Global Activism, Shireen Lee31. Where are the women? The strange case of the missing feminists. When was the last time you saw one on TV?, Laura ZimmermanPart V: Sexuality32. How Men Have (a) Sex, Jon Stoltenberg33. The Myth of the Sexual Athlete, Don Sabo34. Reproductive Rights: A Disability Rights Issue, Marsha Saxton35. The Impact of Multiple Marginalization, Paula C. Rust36. Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power, Audre Lorde Part VI: Families37. The Transformation of Family Life, Lillian B. Rubin38. Bloodmothers, Othermothers, and Women-Centered Networks, Patricia Hill Collins39. Dilemmas of Involved Fatherhood, Kathleen Gerson40. Man Child: A Black Lesbian Feminist’s Response, Audre Lorde41. I Am a Man, Raul E. Ybarra42. What is marriage for?, E.J. Graff Part VII: Education43. Missing in Interaction, Myra and David Sadker44. "What About the Boys?" What the Current Debates Tell Us--and Don't Tell Us--About Boys in Schools, Michael S. Kimmel45. Conflict within the Ivory Tower, Ruth Sidel46. Black and Female: Reflections on Graduate School, bell hooksPart VIII: Paid Work and Unemployment47. The "Success" of Welfare Reform, Sharon Hays48. Sixty Cents to a Man’s Dollar, Ann Crittenden49. Why Are There No Male Asian Anchormen on TV?, Ben Fong-Torres50. The Effects of Affirmative Action on Other Stakeholders, Barbara Reskin51. "Global Woman" by Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Russell Hochschild52. America's Dirty Work: Migrant Maids and Modern-Day Slavery, Joy M. Zarembka53. The Globetrotting Sneaker, Cynthia EnloePart IX: Violence54. Women, Violence, and Resistance, Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz55. The Ultimate Growth Industry: Trafficking in Women and Girls, Jan Goodwin56. Where Race and Gender Meet: Racism, Hate Crimes, and Pornography, Helen Zia57. Homophobia in Straight Men, Terry A. Kupers58. Stopping Sexual Harassment: A Challenge for Community Education, Robert L. Allen59. How Safe Is America?, Desiree Taylor60. Wielding Masculinity inside Abu Ghraib: Making Feminist Sense of an American Military Scandal, Cynthia Enloe61. Gender in a Time of Holy War, Stephen DucatPart X: Health and Illness62. Masculinities and Men’s Health: Moving toward Post—Superman Era Prevention, Don Sabo63. Health, Social Class and African-American Women, Evelyn L. Barbee and Marilyn Little64. Reproductive Issues Are Essential Survival Issues for the Asian-American Communities, Connie S. Chan65. Why the Precautionary Principle? A Meditation on Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and the Breasts of Mothers, Sandra Steingraber66. Does Silencio = Muerte? Notes on Translating the AIDS Epidemic, Rafael Campo67. To Be Poor and Transgender, Kai Wright Part XI: A World That Is Truly Human68. Statement of Principles, National Organization for Men Against Sexism69. The Blow Up…A Clash of Realities, Gloria Anzaldúa70. American Indian Women: At the Center of Indigenous Resistance in Contemporary North America, M. Annette Jaimes with Theresa Halsey71. Toward a New Civic Leadership: The Africana Criminal Justice Project, Geoff K. Ward and Manning Marable72. Organizing for Peace in Israel: Why Israeli Women Want a Peace Movement of Their Own, Gila Svirsky73. Women and Human Rights, Rita Arditti

We Have Never Been Modern


Bruno Latour - 1991
    But if we were to let go of this fond conviction, Bruno Latour asks, what would the world look like? His book, an anthropology of science, shows us how much of modernity is actually a matter of faith.What does it mean to be modern? What difference does the scientific method make? The difference, Latour explains, is in our careful distinctions between nature and society, between human and thing, distinctions that our benighted ancestors, in their world of alchemy, astrology, and phrenology, never made. But alongside this purifying practice that defines modernity, there exists another seemingly contrary one: the construction of systems that mix politics, science, technology, and nature. The ozone debate is such a hybrid, in Latour’s analysis, as are global warming, deforestation, even the idea of black holes. As these hybrids proliferate, the prospect of keeping nature and culture in their separate mental chambers becomes overwhelming—and rather than try, Latour suggests, we should rethink our distinctions, rethink the definition and constitution of modernity itself. His book offers a new explanation of science that finally recognizes the connections between nature and culture—and so, between our culture and others, past and present.Nothing short of a reworking of our mental landscape, We Have Never Been Modern blurs the boundaries among science, the humanities, and the social sciences to enhance understanding on all sides. A summation of the work of one of the most influential and provocative interpreters of science, it aims at saving what is good and valuable in modernity and replacing the rest with a broader, fairer, and finer sense of possibility.

Homophobia: A Weapon of Sexism


Suzanne Pharr - 1988
    Author Susanne Pharr poses the idea that homophobia is a construct used by the dominant system in our society.

Feminist Thought: A More Comprehensive Introduction


Rosemarie Tong - 1988
    Besides providing up-to-date coverage of liberal, radical (libertarian and cultural), and Marxist-socialist schools of feminism, she covers psychoanalytic, existentialist, and postmodern feminism. All the chapters have been rethought and new chapters on ecofeminism and multicultural and global feminism have been added.In the clear-sighted and accessible style for which has become known, Tong guides the reader through the complexities of even the most notoriously difficult thinkers. Students will become familiar with many of the essential figures in the feminist tradition as well as some of the issues that have been of special concern to women (e.g., pornography, reproductive technology, housework, the environment, and militarism). Moreover, students are repeatedly urged to consider the many differences that separate women (class, race, ethnicity, age, nationality, religion) as well as the sameness that continue to unite women.Tong treats all views with respect and encourages the reader to think both sympathetically and critically about what feminism is and what relevance it has to their own lives. As valuable as the first edition of Feminist Thought, this second edition surpasses its predecessor in depth and breadth. Clearly, Tong believes that feminist thought is still developing even as it approaches the millennium.

Seeing Gender: An Illustrated Guide to Identity and Expression


Iris Gottlieb - 2019
    Deeply researched and fully illustrated, this book demystifies an intensely personal—yet universal—facet of humanity. Illustrating a different concept on each spread, queer author and artist Iris Gottlieb touches on history, science, sociology, and her own experience. This book is an essential tool for understanding and contributing to a necessary cultural conversation, bringing clarity and reassurance to the sometimes confusing process of navigating ones' identity. Whether LGBTQ+, cisgender, or nonbinary, Seeing Gender is a must-read for intelligent, curious, want-to-be woke people who care about how we see and talk about gender and sexuality in the 21st century.

The Erotic Life of Racism


Sharon Patricia Holland - 2012
    If racism has an everyday life, how does it remain so powerful and yet mask its very presence? To answer this question, Sharon Patricia Holland moves into the territory of the erotic, understanding racism's practice as constitutive to the practice of racial being and erotic choice.Reemphasizing the black/white binary, Holland reinvigorates critical engagement with race and racism. She argues that only by bringing critical race theory, queer theory, and black feminist thought into conversation with each other can we fully envision the relationship between racism and the personal and political dimensions of our desire. The Erotic Life of Racism provocatively redirects our attention to a desire no longer independent of racism but rather embedded within it.

Beyond Trans: Does Gender Matter?


Heath Fogg Davis - 2017
    Whether on birth certificates or college admissions applications or on bathroom doors, why do we need to mark people and places with sex categories? Do they serve a real purpose or are these places and forms just mechanisms of exclusion? Heath Fogg Davis offers an impassioned call to rethink the usefulness of dividing the world into not just Male and Female categories but even additional categories of Transgender and gender fluid. Davis, himself a transgender man, explores the underlying gender-enforcing policies and customs in American life that have led to transgender bathroom bills, college admissions controversies, and more, arguing that it is necessary for our society to take real steps to challenge the assumption that gender matters.He examines four areas where we need to re-think our sex-classification systems: sex-marked identity documents such as birth certificates, driver's licenses and passports; sex-segregated public restrooms; single-sex colleges; and sex-segregated sports. Speaking from his own experience and drawing upon major cases of sex discrimination in the news and in the courts, Davis presents a persuasive case for challenging how individuals are classified according to sex and offers concrete recommendations for alleviating sex identity discrimination and sex-based disadvantage.For anyone in search of pragmatic ways to make our world more inclusive, Davis' recommendations provide much-needed practical guidance about how to work through this complex issue. A provocative call to action, Beyond Trans pushes us to think how we can work to make America truly inclusive of all people.

Intercourse


Andrea Dworkin - 1987
    The power of her writing, the passion of her ideals, and the ferocity of her intellect have spurred the arguments and activism of two generations of feminists. Now the book that she’s best known for-in which she provoked the argument that ultimately split apart the feminist movement-is being reissued for the young women and men of the twenty-first century. Intercourse enraged as many readers as it inspired when it was first published in 1987. In it, Dworkin argues that in a male supremacist society, sex between men and women constitutes a central part of women’s subordination to men. (This argument was quickly-and falsely-simplified to “all sex is rape” in the public arena, adding fire to Dworkin’s already radical persona.) In her introduction to this twentieth-anniversary edition of Intercourse, Ariel Levy, the author of Female Chauvinist Pigs, discusses the circumstances of Dworkin’s untimely death in the spring of 2005, and the enormous impact of her life and work. Dworkin’s argument, she points out, is the stickiest question of feminism: Can a woman fight the power when he shares her bed?

Indecent Theology: Theological Perversions in Sex, Gender and Politics


Marcella Althaus-Reid - 2000
    Grounded in actual examples from Latin America, Marcella Althaus-Reid's highly provocative, but immaculately researched book reworks three distinct areas of theology - sexual, political and systematic. It exposes the connections between theology, sexuality and politics, whilst initiating a dramatic sexual rereading of systematic theology.Groundbreaking, intriguing and scholarly, Indecent Theology broadens the debate on sexuality and theology as never before.

Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man


Susan Faludi - 1999
    With Backlash in 1991, Susan Faludi broke new ground when she put her finger directly on the problem bedeviling women, and the light of recognition dawned on millions of her readers: what's making women miserable isn't something they're doing to themselves in the name of independence. It's something our society is doing to women. The book was nothing less than a landmark.Now in Stiffed, the author turns her attention to the masculinity crisis plaguing our culture at the end of the '90s, an era of massive layoffs, "Angry White Male" politics, and Million Man marches. As much as the culture wants to proclaim that men are made miserable—or brutal or violent or irresponsible—by their inner nature and their hormones, Faludi finds that even in the world they supposedly own and run, men are at the mercy of cultural forces that disfigure their lives and destroy their chance at happiness. As traditional masculinity continues to collapse, the once-valued male attributes of craft, loyalty, and social utility are no longer honored, much less rewarded.Faludi's journey through the modern masculine landscape takes her into the lives of individual men whose accounts reveal the heart of the male dilemma. Stiffed brings us into the world of industrial workers, sports fans, combat veterans, evangelical husbands, militiamen, astronauts, and troubled "bad" boys—whose sense that they've lost their skills, jobs, civic roles, wives, teams, and a secure future is only one symptom of a larger and historic betrayal.

The Deviant's War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America


Eric Cervini - 2020
    Defense Department in Hawaii, received a summons to report immediately to Washington, D.C. The Pentagon had reason to believe he was a homosexual, and after a series of humiliating interviews, Kameny, like countless gay men and women before him, was promptly dismissed from his government job. Unlike many others, though, Kameny fought back.Eric Cervini's The Deviant's War is the story of what followed. This book is an assiduously researched history of an early champion of gay liberation, one who fought for the right to follow his passion and serve his country in the wake of Joseph McCarthy's Lavender Scare. We follow Kameny as he explores the underground gay scenes of Boston and Washington, D.C., where he formulates his arguments against the U.S. Government's classification of gay men and women as "sexual perverts." At a time when staying in the closet remained the default, he exposed the hypocrisies of the American establishment, accelerated a broader revolution in sexual morals, and invented what we now know as Gay Pride.Based on firsthand accounts, recently declassified FBI records, and forty thousand personal documents, The Deviant's War unfolds over the course of the 1960s, as the Mattachine Society of Washington, the group Kameny founded, became the first organization to protest the systematic persecution of gay federal employees. It traces the forgotten ties that bound gay rights to the Black Freedom Movement, the New Left, lesbian activism, and trans resistance. Above all, it is a story of America (and Washington) at a cultural and sexual crossroads; of public battles with Congress; of FBI informants; murder; betrayal; sex; love; and ultimately victory.