Imagining transgender : an ethnography of a category

by David Valentine

Paper Book, 2007

LCC

HQ77 .V35

Status

Available

Call number

HQ77 .V35

Genres

Publication

Durham : Duke University Press, 2007.

Description

An ethnography in which the author's fieldwork with transgendered and transsexual individuals in New York City demonstrates the creation and confusion of gender identity labels.

Media reviews

American Journal of Sociology

“Valentine. . . does an excellent job in showing just how messy the category ‘transgender’ is; how it was born of a variety of discursive practices; how those discursive practices had little to do with the lived realities of many of the people the term ‘transgender’ claims to represent;

and how taking the time to think critically about transgender as a category can create space, literal and symbolic, for those whose lives most thoroughly blur the neat distinctions between some of the foundational categories of our time: male/female, straight/gay, represented/not represented.”

Show Less

— 8 more

Sexualities

“Valentine’s writing manages to be both theoretically insightful and accessible. Whether musing on his bicycle as he travels between fieldwork sites of the street and the drag ball, or reflecting on conversations with clients and staff at GIP, Valentine presents a humorous, touching and very

relevant political tale of the state of play of ‘transgender’. This is an extremely valuable contribution to work on gender and sexual diversities, and, importantly, a very enjoyable read.”

Show Less

Canadian Journal of Sociology

“Undoubtedly, the book will become a base from which many others will be able to take up similar questions, and that is a significant contribution to the field. “

Journal of Anthropological Research

“In questioning the theoretical separation of sexuality and gender that has become a requirement for doing ethnographic research in women’s and gender studies, Valentine opens a path for a more complex understanding of the relationship between the two but also implicates the gender/sexuality

debate in obscuring other positional factors, namely class and race.”

Show Less

GLQ

“Highly accessible. . .”

Journal of Homosexuality

“David Valentine’s Imagining Transgender is a well-written and well-executed ethnography that is able to balance a critical take on the category of transgender while not denigrating those most affected by rethinking the term. . . . Imagining Transgender is an example of what we as ethnographers

should be doing and is a must read not only for those in transgender studies, gay and lesbian studies, or queer studies, but throughout the field of anthropology.”

Show Less

Lambda Book Report

“[Valentine’s] text brilliantly encapsulates the present thinking around ‘transgender’ . . . [you] will be hard-pressed to find a better, more comprehensive articulation of these struggles.”

Sex Roles

“[A]n important read for activists, scholars, teachers, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates. . . . It will also be an eye-opening read for case workers, counselors, therapists, and clinical psychologists. . . . It is, in any case, a compelling example for ethnographers and qualitative

researchers. . .”

Show Less

NWSA Journal

“Imagining Transgender proceeds through sophisticated and multilayered analysis. It offers a new way to approach gender and the institutions that name and manage it, and this is a provocative contribution. . . . Scholars will find this readable and engaging book well worth their time, as it will

allow them to develop a nuanced understanding of transgender and its social ramifications.”

Show Less

User reviews

LibraryThing member caedocyon

2011-01-12

The one that got me into this mess. Fascinating sociology (even if I still don't get the exact differences between a butch queen up in drags and... all the other ones), and some other interesting ideas. Not remotely a primer (oops).

Falls prey to a very typical problem with trans

sociology: there's way more focus on (approximately) 'transfeminine' than (approximately) 'transmasculine' people. To his credit, Valentine talks to about two who could be classified as the latter. You have to wonder why the disparity in numbers happens, though.

I honestly haven't read this in a while so I'm not remembering much and perhaps not doing it justice here.

Show Less