Changing Sex: Transsexualism, Technology, and the Idea of Gender

by Bernice L. Hausman

Paperback, 1995

Status

Available

Call number

RC560.G45H38 1995

Genres

LGBTQ+

History

Nonfiction

Collections

Your library, University of Pittsburgh

Publication

Duke University Press Books (1995), Paperback, 264 pages

Description

Changing Sex takes a bold new approach to the study of transsexualism in the twentieth century. By addressing the significance of medical technology to the phenomenon of transsexualism, Bernice L. Hausman transforms current conceptions of transsexuality as a disorder of gender identity by showing how developments in medical knowledge and technology make possible the emergence of new subjectivities.

Media reviews

Women's Review of Books

“Bernice L. Hauseman brings meticulous research and close, scholarly argument to an investigation of transsexuality. The book focuses on the twentieth century’s medical fashioning of ‘male’ and (especially) ‘female’ bodies through endocrinology and cosmetic surgery, and the

psychological theorizing that has accompanied it.”

Show Less

— 1 more

International Gay and Lesbian Review

“[P]rovides a valuable account of the modern history of transsexuality and the concept of gender. . . . Hausman raises many serious questions and caveats. . . . Congratulations to Hausman for providing this accessible and fascinating insight on a complex and generally misunderstood aspect of

human nature. [H]ighly recommend[ed] to students and gender theorists alike.”

Show Less

User reviews

LibraryThing member aulsmith

Hausman sets out to explore the development of the idea of gender identity out of the treatment protocols for the intersexed in the middle of the 20th century and how those ideas were appropriated by transsexuals for their own use. The facts are fascinating, but the analysis, which relies very

heavily on post-structuralism, especially Judith Butler, ends up not saying anything except that bodies don't fall neatly into categories and gender is a problematic category. This is stuff that anyone paying even remote attention to these issues already knows.

I've given up thinking that post-structural texts are going to be able to advance the politics of gender, so I wasn't as disappointed in this book as I might have been. It does present some very interesting historical facts about sexualized bodies and the idea of gender. What we do with those in the long run is going to require another book.

Show Less