genre: non-fiction, gender, feminism, transexuality, psychology, human sexuality

This book opens your eyes to numerous mind-blowing social processes you were probably unaware of. Find out why I gave it 5 out of 5 stars!

Summary

(Taken from Goodreads)

A provocative manifesto, Whipping Girl tells the powerful story of Julia Serano, a transsexual woman whose supremely intelligent writing reflects her diverse background as a lesbian transgender activist and professional biologist. Serano shares her experiences and observations—both pre- and post-transition—to reveal the ways in which fear, suspicion, and dismissiveness toward femininity shape our societal attitudes toward trans women, as well as gender and sexuality as a whole.

Serano’s well-honed arguments stem from her ability to bridge the gap between the often-disparate biological and social perspectives on gender. She exposes how deep-rooted the cultural belief is that femininity is frivolous, weak, and passive, and how this “feminine” weakness exists only to attract and appease male desire.

In addition to debunking popular misconceptions about transsexuality, Serano makes the case that today’s feminists and transgender activist must work to embrace and empower femininity—in all of its wondrous forms.

Review

I have been particularly interested in transgender issues for a while now. I’ve watched lots of YouTube videos of transgender people sharing their experiences, talking about discrimination they face, and how to be respectful towards them (appropriate terms to use, questioning etc). I became intrigued by transgender people simply because I had never been exposed to anyone who identified so. My parents, while not hateful people, always found sexual minorities strange and unnatural. Their little comments about gay people or cross-dressers or some other sexual minority snuck into my mind somewhat. It snuck in my mind in the sense that until I exposed myself to numerous homosexual couples on YouTube, I found it strange to watch two people of the same sex kiss even though I passionately believed in their equal rights. Now it looks as natural as a man and a woman kissing. As I tried to become as socially aware of sexual minorities as I could, I noticed that a particular sexual minority seemed to garner more hate than the others, even though attitudes towards homo/bi-sexual people were improving by so much. Transgender people, particularly MTF transgender individuals (male-to-female). Hence, my desire to expose myself to some great transgender YouTubers. Continue reading →