GenderQueer: Voices From Beyond the Sexual Binary

This is a collection of essays/stories by people who don't fit into the neat packages of 'male' and 'female'. A number of them defy any labels, while others identify by their gender or sexual orientation, but aren't quite what you'd expect from that label.I did find it all interesting, but there was a lot more discussion of sex than I was expecting. It gives the impression that gender is all about (or mostly about) sex. Not a lot of asexual voices in here, for one thing.It's also a little inaccessible (wait, bad term, scratch that term). There are a number of references to people, places, events, and a lot of terms and acronyms that the writers and editors just expect you to know. It seems to be written with the LGB if not even also T show more community in mind. Now, I'm not ignorant, but there were a number of things that went over my head completely. And it took me a minute to figure out what GB meant.There are some really good ones in here. A few I even half-identified with. But even though I didn't identify with any of them fully, you sort of glean that it's okay that you don't. Because most of these writers are trying to carve their own path amongst all the labels.Weirdly, I kept thinking this was published in the early 90's. But it was 2002, I think. I kept having to remind myself that it really wasn't that old. Still, a lot has changed in even 8 years. Resources and information and community are a lot easier to find on the Internet now.I'd like to see another anthology like this, aimed at teens, maybe. More current. Less sex. More diversity of voices. show less

Probably the best gender book I have found. (And I have scoured the HQ sections of multiple academic libraries!) I have to buy this at some point, because I keep finding new ideas in it.

This book is exactly what the subtitle says "voices from beyond the sexual binary." While some of these pieces are well thought-out essays, a large number are more on the level of diary or blog entries, giving voice to the range of genderqueer experience but not much definition. I personally didn't find most of the essays that helpful, but your mileage may vary. There were gems among the voices. I would single out Cheryl Chase's piece on intersex issues, L. Maurer's Story of a Preadolescent Drag King, and Mr. Barb Greve's Courage from Necessity. There are also some real duds, including one piece that reads like a homophobic rant (mostly against lesbians). The seven introductory pieces (one each from editors Joan Nestle and Clare Howell show more and five from Riki Wilchins really bog down the beginning. I skipped some of this material. Wilchins' Epilogue was very useful. show less

Veel te weinig gehoorde verhalen van mensen die effectief leven tussen man en vrouw in, en die een zeer diepgaande visie neerzetten over het (weinige) echte belang van een binair gendersysteem - a frequently ignored collection of life stories of people who live between men and women, who concretize a very deep vision on the (overrated) importance of a binary gender system

some of these essays are terrific, some not so great. there are a few "intro to gender politics and theory" essays that are perfect for parents and friends who are confused and/or enraged by the idea of a continuum.

the essay called "transie" is good for the classroom because it's an intimate, unsentimental personal essay about self and outside perceptions of transgendered folks - set up as question and answer. the writing is tight and focused.

some of these essays are terrific, some not so great. there are a few "intro to gender politics and theory" essays that are perfect for parents and friends who are confused and/or enraged by the idea of a continuum.

the essay called "transie" is good for the classroom because it's an intimate, unsentimental personal essay about self and outside perceptions of transgendered folks - set up as question and answer. the writing is tight and focused.

I'm reading a few books in this subject area at the moment. This one is excellent. Wilchin's closing essay succinctly put forward some beliefs I've been struggling to put down for years.