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272nd out of 575 books
—
742 voters
My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely
Kate Bornstein brings theory down to Earth and provides a practical guide to living with or without a gender. The workbook includes quizzes and exercises that determine how much of a man or woman you are, and gives you the tools to reach whatever point you desire on the gender continuum. If you don't think you are transgendered when you sit down to read this book, you will...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
December 18th 1997
by Routledge
(first published 1997)
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Was a while ago that I read this, but it was very interesting at the time. There was a lot of quite clear information and thought-provoking material. It's one of the few books about Genderqueer and Trans issues that presents a viable middle-ground.
A fairly charming tour through the world of no gender. This book is certainly not a complete or scholarly guide to ideas about gender, instead representing a single point of view told in a casual, magazine-like fashion, but it's rather pleasant point of view. Kate Bornstein, as she describes throughout the book, was born male and eventually transitioned to female and created an identity for herself as a transgender lesbian. Later one, her partner Catherine became David, isolating her from the le...more
I'll start out this review by saying that this book would probably be a good book for someone who feels like they don't fit into either of the two traditional social genders. With that caveat, the book has some serious problems. Two in particular really stand out:
First, the theory of the book was awfully underdeveloped. The author's basic argument is:
1. Not everyone fits neatly into the traditional bi-polar gender theory. (or that the author didn't fit into it), therefore,
2. There is no such thi...more
First, the theory of the book was awfully underdeveloped. The author's basic argument is:
1. Not everyone fits neatly into the traditional bi-polar gender theory. (or that the author didn't fit into it), therefore,
2. There is no such thi...more
This is so accessible for people who have very limited knowledge of gender dynamics as well as what being genderqueer really means. This was one of the first books I purchased in my college career and it helped to open my eyes. I don't know that I recommend it for the seasoned gender studies student, but for someone exploring themselves and others this is a great, and humorous way to do so.
This book was used as a text for a introductory course in Gender and Sexuality studies by a professor I was a teaching assistant for. I thought it was a great book that was highly accessible for students who were having their first ever experiences with gender studies and also for students who where more advanced in the field. It was thought provoking and fun to read which I think helped keep students engaged. It helped create some great discussion in tutorials.
Some students did seem to get conf...more
Some students did seem to get conf...more
Really not into it to be honest, it bugged me because of the tone and some of the underlying assumptions in the questionnaire. In the end I only read to the end of the questionnaire, and skimmed through the rest and kept being met with stuff that just.... bugged me! The book just wasn't for me I guess. I have thought so extensively and stressfully and analytically about gender, and had my fair share of gender angst also, so for as much as I could find good theory I was also overwhelmed with unde...more
This is a great book for someone exploring their gender or trying to understand gender. I would definitely recommend it for teens.
One thing, though, I kind of think this book and Bornstein's other books create and support the narrative that cisgender folks use to justify their appropriation of trans identities. This really sucks and pretty much drives me crazy and sucks cause I do actually love Kate Bornstein--I just really hate the way that trans people's bodies and lives get used as a this exa...more
One thing, though, I kind of think this book and Bornstein's other books create and support the narrative that cisgender folks use to justify their appropriation of trans identities. This really sucks and pretty much drives me crazy and sucks cause I do actually love Kate Bornstein--I just really hate the way that trans people's bodies and lives get used as a this exa...more
it's been a long time since i read this all the way through, but i always find myself misquoting these bits, so i thought i'd stick them here:
"I've always wanted to be included. I've always been tempted to settle myself into one identity and say "Hey, now I'm one of you, now can I spend time with you?" I like companionship. I like hanging out with folks. I just don't want to lock myself into an identity in order to do it, and what I've done is move on when I no longer have any room to shift and...more
"I've always wanted to be included. I've always been tempted to settle myself into one identity and say "Hey, now I'm one of you, now can I spend time with you?" I like companionship. I like hanging out with folks. I just don't want to lock myself into an identity in order to do it, and what I've done is move on when I no longer have any room to shift and...more
By mimicking the format of a self-help book for a twelve-step program, Bornstein slyly challenges society's binary assumptions about gender. Through a series of quizzes, assignments, testimonies, and her own personal story, Bornstein elaborates the metaphoric aspects of gender, linking them to situations, roles, and relationships. We're reading this in my GLBT Lit class before we read Virginia Woolf's Orlando--I think it sets up the fluidity of identity well.
A superb book of exercises and insights to challenge your gendered brain. Written with wit, insight, theoretical support and political zest, this book fuels rebellion in the best ways. Though a bit too repetitive and leading in places (let us come to our own conclusions), the zeal that inspired it remains a powerful force for degendering the world! Highly recommended, but perhaps wait for the next edition.
Borstein explains gender by metaphorically traveling with you to another continent of the gender concept completely, leaving you there, and daring you to attempt to find your way back to the way you originally conceptualized gender, if at all possible after the numerous stops and detours along the way. Make sense? Neither does most of her book. But it makes a good point in that gender is performative and dynamic.
Let's make this clear, Kate Borenstein is a genius! I know this book should be informative on gender and the construction of gender, but I had a hard time staying engaged with this text. I'm sure if you're new to the whole world of gender this book is a great read. However, this book is fun, but not too serious of a read in my opinion.
Kate Bornstein will crack you wide open, take you on a wild journey of self-discovery through some taboo territories and you'll have a blast in the process. This book will dramatically deepen understanding of your personal gender identity. Great for both shy folks and those of us who are ready to let our freak flags fly.
This is one of the most exciting, helpful, challenging, hilarious, moving, [insert enthusiastic adjective here:] books I've ever read of all time. Golly, I learned so much… about myself, the culture, humanity, and that Kate Bornstein is totally HOTTT. And smart.
Kate is able to wrangle big messy scary ideas, rumors, facts, experiences, gossip, and visions, percolate them in hir magnificent brain, then produce a written interpretation so clear and concise that you can't help but learn, be inspired...more
Kate is able to wrangle big messy scary ideas, rumors, facts, experiences, gossip, and visions, percolate them in hir magnificent brain, then produce a written interpretation so clear and concise that you can't help but learn, be inspired...more
This book is very interesting and is in many ways a manual for exploring whether or not you are transgendered. It doesn't give practical advice, like make-up tips, but it does help you to explore that side of you that you might be hiding from the world.
When I came out as a lesbian in college, I thought I was required to become trans... this book really helped me to understand gender in my rightful place in my body.
Okay, I didn't really read all of it, but I didn't really need to read all of it, okay? I like the way it lays out the basics in the beginning, but the constant questionnaires were tiresome. It's a workbook, I get it. And I'm glad this books exists. A great book for beginner gender questioners!
Felt like the questions were manipulative, and sometimes the writer seemed closed-minded themselves.
Yes. Very good. Will make you question your gender as you know it... or as you think you might!
Should be a required reading for every high schooler in America.
Exellent introduction to questioning/exploring your own assumptions and ideas about gender (your own/in relation to others/in abstract).. ever so slightly annoying style (i spose i just prefer dry theory or rousing rhetoric to chatty friendlyness), and the theoretical analysis should be supplemented with other ideas, but that's made up for with loads of other goodness in the form of people explaining their own experiences on the margins of gender, and the Kate Bornstein's inclusion of bits of hi...more
Clever interactive assault on binary gender!
meh
"Autobiographical theory"! I love that! I love genre hybrids, as anybody who knows me and pays attention to what I read (which, probably, constitutes a crowd of 2, tops) knows that. Anyway, this book blew my mind when I was 18 and I highly suggest it for anybody but especially gender essentialist. I even got this for my mom years ago. Bornstein is an amazing mind - she went to Brown and clearly not in a legacy kind of way - and she makes theory not only digestible but thoroughly entertaining.
While I love Kate Bornstein, I do have to say that as student of gender and queer theory, I found this book lacking. I think that it would probably be great for newbies who are looking for a critical, but not dry, way of re-evaluating gender and one's place in the oppressive, socially imposed gender binary. To me, it came off a little fluffy, but I loved the anecdotes and so would probably have been better served reading some of Kate's original material.
Half way through this book my truth and hir truth became two valid but opposite truths. There was no reason to continue reading it. 'nuff said I fall into the binary system at the moment.
3 out of 5 because ze has hir opinion and isn't afraid to speak out. I like when someone is challenging me to think outside the box. But I probably will not buy new version because I come from somewhere else than ze.
3 out of 5 because ze has hir opinion and isn't afraid to speak out. I like when someone is challenging me to think outside the box. But I probably will not buy new version because I come from somewhere else than ze.
What I thought in Fall 2010: I absolutely adore this book, despite having come across a lot of the content before. Kate's approach and underlying theory is delightful and thought-provoking. I am about halfway through the book, but I will be setting it down for a while, simply to fully absorb what I've read and thought about so far.
What I think in 2013: ???
What I think in 2013: ???
a chatty, friendly guide to gender although alot of this was familiar to me, having attended a genderqueer/genderfuck-friendly women's university.
What I learned from this book, "you can do it."
I love kate bornstein, she's an amazing writer, an anarchist but not an overly ideological one and she's openly someone willing to experiment with being, to really experiment in the deepest sense of the word. She is a huge inspiration to me.
I love kate bornstein, she's an amazing writer, an anarchist but not an overly ideological one and she's openly someone willing to experiment with being, to really experiment in the deepest sense of the word. She is a huge inspiration to me.
My Gender Workbook is an excellent primer to understanding the fluidity of gender identity and expression. Filled with amusing, insightful anecdotes and activities, this book proves Bornstein's point of view over and over again: gender can be and is both complex and fun.
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Kate Bornstein is a Jewish-American author, playwright, performance artist, and gender theorist.
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Gender renegade, escapee from Scietology, theorist, you name it she's awesome.
Dec 30, 2007 04:41pm