Product Description

Halberstam catalogs the diversity of gender expressions among masculine women from 19th-century pre-lesbian practices to contemporary drag king performances. "Thank goodness for the dashing Judith Halberstam! Her new book is a smart, entertaining, and informed tour of that most threatening of cultural identities: the masculine female. Oh yum!"--Kate Bornstein, author of "My Gender Workbook". 38 photos.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #117093 in Books
• Published on: 1998-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 344 pages

Amazon.com Review
Readers who have followed the postmodern gender debate in the university presses (ranging from Thais Morgan's sedately twisted analyses of Victorian male lesbianism to Judith Butler's acclaimed Gender Trouble) will delight in the latest little earthquake: Judith Halberstam's deft separation of masculinity from the male body in Female Masculinity. If what we call "masculinity" is taken to be "a naturalized relation between maleness and power," Halberstam argues, "then it makes little sense to examine men for the contours of that masculinity's social construction." We can learn more from other embodiments of masculinity, like those found in drag-king performances, in the sexual stance of the stone butch, and in female-to-male transgenderism. Halberstam's subject is so new to critical discourse that her approach can be somewhat scattershot--there is simply too much to say--but her prose is lucid and deliberate, and her attitude refreshingly relaxed. Essential reading for gender studies and a lively contribution to cultural studies in general. --Regina Marler

From Library Journal
Halberstam (literature, Univ. of California, San Diego; Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters, Duke Univ., 1995) presents a unique offering in queer studies: a study of the masculine lesbian woman. Halberstam makes a compelling argument for a more flexible taxonomy of masculinity, including not only men, who have historically held the power in society, but also women who embody qualities that are usually associated with maleness, such as strength, authority, and independence. Fleshing out her argument by drawing on a variety of sources?fiction, films, court documents, and diaries?Halberstam calls for society to acknowledge masculine lesbian women and value them. A dense work that requires some knowledge of gay studies, this is recommended for academic libraries and will appeal to scholars in gay studies, gender studies, women's studies, film studies, and sociology.?Kimberly L. Clarke, Univ. of Minnesota Lib., Minneapolis
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Female Masculinity is a full-on attack on the idea that masculinity is exclusively or even primarily the property of men. On the contrary, says Judith Halberstam, women have been practising their own, alternative, masculinities for at least two hundred years... Female Masculinity aims to help restore a sense of butch pride, and to validate the entitlement of women to their own masculinity. There's much to debate and disagree with in Female Masculinity ... But the book's the first full-length study in a crucial area and it's a great starting-point." DIVA "Thank goodness for the dashing Judith Halberstam! Her new book is a smart, entertaining and informed tour of that most threatening of cultural identities: the masculine female. Oh, yum!" Kate Bornstein, author of My Gender Workbook "Female Masculinity is a very important work. Nothing like it exists, period." Esther Newton, author of Cherry Grove, Fire Island "In this landmark study, Halberstam consolidates her position as a key theoriest within Queer scholarship. Female Masculinity is an immensely persuasive, powerfully-written text that imparts exciting and important theoretical ideas... I do not hesitate in locating this book at the forefront of contemporary gender theory."--Maria Antoniou, Feminist Theory, 1(3) 2001

Customer Reviews

radical---and dashing!
I know this book takes a lot of flak, but I adore it. Halberstam rips through transhistorical definitions of lesbianism to reveal a multitude of queer 'masculinities,' from female husbands, FTMs, butches...She's been accused of fetishizing masculinity and not critiquing it at all, but I find this to be untrue. I think that, in separating so-called masculinity from maleness, she reclaims what can be striking and powerful about the genders we've labelled "masculine" and in doing so critiques the ways domination has been embedded in traditional male masculinity. This book is truly breakthrough, and I urge you to buy it, and read it, and mull it over. Amazing.

Great ideas, but something is lacking.
Halberstam's ideas around being a masculine female have helped me gain acceptance of my own masculinty. For this reason, the book was groundbreaking for me. However, it's a difficult book to find pleasure in reading because of the hyper academic language and its emotional distance from anything personal or of human interest. The books that are close to my heart about gender and that have been pleasureable to read are Persistent Desire and Stone Butch Blues because they tell a story about the human side of being a masculine female. I'm glad someone's picking apart gender in 1950's film, but it doesn't do to much for me.

Insightful analysis of female masculinity
When picking up a book that does not purport to be anything other than academic, one must be prepared for the contents to be just that - academic. Halberstam writes well, her ideas are important, and she adds complexity and insight into several areas of scholarly research and debate. I would strongly recomend this to anyone interested in feminism, gender, difference and social justice.