Body Guards: The Cultural Politics of Gender Ambiguity

by Julia Epstein (Editor), Kristina Straub (Editor), Elizabeth A. Castelli (Contributor)

Why are manifestations of sexuality and ambiguity currently provoking so much interest? This collection of essays uncovers many reasons as it examines ambiguously gendered bodies--bodies that defy ideologically produced gender boundaries. In the course of identifying the social institutions and assumptions that repress or articulate gender ambiguity, Body Guards demonstrates that this ambiguity has a long history and a wide cultural reach.

Genres: LGBT, Queer, Gender, Nonfiction, Gender Studies, Gender and Sexuality, Feminism

382 pages, Paperback

First published October 24, 1991

Reviews

[Stella Metcalf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elizabeth Castelli’s article is good the others not so much

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of interest at least as much as a cultural studies piece on the state of gender studies and queerness in popular, legal, and academic culture in the late 80s/early 90s as for the intended content. Much of the content is out of date, and some of the articles are misguided and/or offensive from a contemporary perspective (ie, persistently using pronouns assigned at birth to discuss historical trans* folks). The pieces at the end of the book were the most relevant and readable, especially Sandy Stone's "The Empire Strikes Back: A Posttranssexual Manifesto" and "The Ambiguities of "Lesbian" Viewing Pleasure: The (Dis)articulations Black Widow" by Valerie Traub, both of which are also anthologized elsewhere. Interestingly, the Publisher's Weekly blurb on Amazon highly praises the most objectionable essay in the book - the one I reference above re: pronoun misuse, replicating said pronoun misuse in the blurb.