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6th out of 51 books
—
16 voters
Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics and the Limits of Law
by
Dean Spade
Wait—what’s wrong with rights?
Much of the legal advocacy for trans and gender nonconforming people in the US has reflected the civil rights and �equality” strategies of mainstream gay and lesbian organizations—agitating for legal reforms that would ostensibly guarantee equal access, nondiscrimination, and equal protection under the law. This approach assumes that the state...more
Much of the legal advocacy for trans and gender nonconforming people in the US has reflected the civil rights and �equality” strategies of mainstream gay and lesbian organizations—agitating for legal reforms that would ostensibly guarantee equal access, nondiscrimination, and equal protection under the law. This approach assumes that the state...more
Paperback, 248 pages
Published
December 6th 2011
by South End Press
(first published November 1st 2011)
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three stars for quality, four for value. (would be five, but my main quibble - see below - feels too significant to warrant inflating the rating that far.)
very clear and articulate without getting too bogged down in academic contortionism - though i say this speaking as someone fluent in academic, so others might disagree. (but there's no doubt that some of his earlier essays veer quite close to impenetrability.)
there was a good deal of preaching to the choir in this reading experience because i...more
very clear and articulate without getting too bogged down in academic contortionism - though i say this speaking as someone fluent in academic, so others might disagree. (but there's no doubt that some of his earlier essays veer quite close to impenetrability.)
there was a good deal of preaching to the choir in this reading experience because i...more
Thanks to my brother for dropping this in my lap before I headed out for the summer. This is my first real exploration in to both trans studies and critical politics, both of which Spade does an incredible job of presenting.
Normal Life bars no holds as it attacks the neo-liberal landscape of a rights-based approach to law reform for vulnerable communities. In critique best-practices, Spade then turns around and offers a solid framework through which to re-approach trans-politics. The comparisons...more
Normal Life bars no holds as it attacks the neo-liberal landscape of a rights-based approach to law reform for vulnerable communities. In critique best-practices, Spade then turns around and offers a solid framework through which to re-approach trans-politics. The comparisons...more
Jul 21, 2012
Caty
marked it as to-read
I first saw Dean Spade speak at Hampshire college about ten years ago, at the very beginning of my awareness as a trans ally. His nonchalant, expert breakdown of bathroom issues just whacked my cis priviliged obliviousness out of the water. Since then, he's always been an important big name at the periphery of my community as a sex workers' rights activist and a trans ally. So, I was delighted to see he'd come out with a book that was praised to the skies in Bitch magazine, overjoyed to know tha...more
"Normal Life" critiques the mainstream LGBT rights movement -- challenging its agenda as based in a white supremacist and homonormative framework.
An excellent work that explains how justice efforts allow and even support systems of power. Spade offers concrete strategies for developing a framework that challenges power and develops the leadership capacity of those most brutalized in our society.
Spade offers strategies for resistance that provide direct impact on the lives of transgender people...more
An excellent work that explains how justice efforts allow and even support systems of power. Spade offers concrete strategies for developing a framework that challenges power and develops the leadership capacity of those most brutalized in our society.
Spade offers strategies for resistance that provide direct impact on the lives of transgender people...more
A good book, but less than I was hoping for. Perhaps I was simply expecting more from Spade than zie intended to deliver.
Yes, agreed, a legislative approach to trans identity "fundamentally misunderstand[s] the nature of power and control" (p. 101). But does Spade propose alternative strategies beyond grass-roots activism that includes non-priviledged trans people? Or is that the final conclusion of the book?
I guess I see this more as a statement of the current position rather than a manifesto...more
Yes, agreed, a legislative approach to trans identity "fundamentally misunderstand[s] the nature of power and control" (p. 101). But does Spade propose alternative strategies beyond grass-roots activism that includes non-priviledged trans people? Or is that the final conclusion of the book?
I guess I see this more as a statement of the current position rather than a manifesto...more
this is required reading, just as the angela davis quote says on the cover of this edition. being with dean on book tours and panels and such i have been exposed to dean's genius, this book gives you all the basics of critical trans studies, the book itself is an intervention, dean is awesome and brilliant! i'm excited for my association with this project of creating a culture of radical queer and trans politics that is relevant to life under state terror. dean is really good at offering strateg...more
"In this urgently needed analysis, Dean Spade challenges those of us who are concerned with trans and queer liberation to go beyond the limits of legal reform efforts intent on achieving formal equality to build social justice movements focused on a radical redistribution of resources and power. By providing examples of on-the-ground strategies to challenge transphobia and gender-based violence, Spade articulates a critical trans politics and powerfully demonstrates the liberatory possibilities...more
This book is an excellent summary of critical trans politics -- if you ignore the fact that Spade seems unable to utter the words "trans woman" throughout the book, leaving us to assume that all trans people face the same kinds and intensity of oppression. While there's nothing new here, it's a pretty good summary overall.
Dean Spade is a wonderful writer, bringing diverse issues together and connecting them concisely with trans-politics. However, he also makes broad statements with very little back-up (references are there but they don't back up his arguments convincingly). It's a great beginner book into queer theory and trans-politics.
this book put together a lot of pieces for me. The limits of law are something I often think about; this book makes it even more difficult to ignore the uncomfortable dynamics of non-profit work. Also, accessible and coherent queer theory. A must-read for social activists.
i havent read it all but i started getting frustrated with dean spade, like i respect his work and ideas, but it jsut kinda reads to me like a white man re-explaining what women of colour, especially trans women of colour, and trans sex workers have been saying for like a billion years, but now he is saying it and its all revolutionary. And while he does credit these communities frequently i dunno i just cbf reading it all...but its probably a good introduction to these politics and explains bas...more
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it's a good primer, but it needs better editing and really repetitive at times, especially if you've read a lot of dean spade and thus have seen similar arguments made before by him. i'd recommend as an intro to dean spade's work.
Brilliant.
I've read some other books on the limits of law reforms & institutionalized means for social justice, and (comparatively speaking) Spade does a particularly great job laying out the ways in which discrimination laws are not only extremely limited in their scope, but can actually further marginalize or harm subjugated groups. I highly recommend this read if you're interested in the shortcomings of rights-based approaches to addressing inequality.
Nothing here should be revelatory, but it will be for many readers if they're willing and able to read domain-independently enough. I stopped reading about 3/4 through partially because of my distaste for the language of theory, which tends to aim at science with less efficacy than science offers, and partially because I'm not who this book needs to convince -- and it was due back at the library.
brilliant book! the only thing i wish spade would have addressed is the urbancentrism and metronormativity of queer and trans politics (both liberal and radical).
1 like · like · see review
Amazing So far!
Jun 18, 2013
Cathy
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Dean Spade is an Associate Professor at Seattle University School of Law. He teaches Administrative Law, Poverty Law, and Law and Social Movements. Prior to joining the faculty of Seattle University, Dean was a Williams Institute Law Teaching Fellow at UCLA Law School and Harvard Law School, teaching classes related to sexual orientation and gender identity law and law and social movements.
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