The concept of gender is one that is static for many and malleable for some. Many mistakenly interchange gender with sexuality. Some argue that it is cultural/environmental, while other say that it is genetic. What is gender? The answer continues to elude. Tarynn Whitten’s introspective work seeks to explore the mystery of gender identity through an integration of various principles of Taoism. The Tao of Gender grew out of a personal need to provide peaceful reading for those who seek “The Way” on their journey through life, in a world where transgenderism and transsexuality are all too often misunderstood. The author hopes to help those on this journey to find balance by tapping into their infinite capacity for resourcefulness and wisdom within. What readers are saying This book is a gift of inspiration and insight for those who experience gender fluidity or want to explore the nature of trans-genderism. Tarynn artfully weaves the personal and the philosophical, creating a tapestry of gender and Taoism with threads of self-discovery and renewal.—Randi Ettner, Ph.D., author of Gender Loving Care; and Confessions of a Gender Defender

The Tao of Islam is a rich and diverse anthology of Islamic teachings on the nature of the relationships between God and the world, the world and the human being, and the human being and God. Focusing on gender symbolism, Sachiko Murata shows that Muslim authors frequently analyze the divine reality and its connections with the cosmic and human domains with a view toward a complementarity or polarity of principles that is analogous to the Chinese idea of yin/yang. Murata believes that the unity of Islamic thought is found, not so much in the ideas discussed, as in the types of relationships that are set up among realities. She pays particular attention to the views of various figures commonly known as "Sufis" and "philosophers," since they approach these topics with a flexibility and subtlety not found in other schools of thought. She translates several hundred pages, most for the first time, from more than thirty important Muslims including the Ikhwan al-Safa', Avicenna, and Ibn al-'Arabi.

The Tao Te Ching, attributed to Lao Tzu, is considered a foundational text of Taoism.The following version of The Tao Te Ching is based upon a translation from Lionel Giles, The Wisdom of the East: The Sayings of Lao Tzu (The Orient Press, 1904). This adaptation replaces masculine pronouns and references with the feminine, providing a text that speaks directly to women in the female voice. No longer do women have to infer that a text is meant to be inclusive when reading. It now addresses women directly. This publication is part of the Feminine Sacred Texts Project, which aims to add the female voice to traditional works by reversing male gender pronouns and wording to the feminine, rather than simply providing gender neutral translations. Written in the feminine, these traditional sacred texts speak directly to the sisterhood of women.

• Restores the feminine essence of the Tao Te Ching as well as the simplicity and poetic undertones of the chapters • Offers commentary for each of the 81 chapters and key Chinese characters to reveal their profound wisdom • Translated from ancient silk and bamboo slip manuscripts, the oldest known copies of the Tao Te Ching • Paper with French flaps In this book, Rosemarie Anderson shares her discoveries of the Divine Feminine Tao alongside her original translation of the Tao Te Ching. Working from ancient silk and bamboo slip manuscripts, the oldest known copies of the Tao Te Ching, the author slowly translated all 81 chapters over the course of two years, allowing each section to reveal its intimate poetic and spiritual nature. To her surprise, she discovered that the Tao was unmistakably feminine, consistently referred to as “mother,” “virgin,” and the “womb” of creation. Anderson explains how the Tao is a feminine force, the Dark Womb of Creation, the Immortal Void renewing life again and again in ordinary times and in times of crisis. She offers commentary for each of the 81 chapters to help reveal their profound wisdom. The author also restores the chapters’ simplicity and musical undertones, explaining how, in the original Chinese manuscripts, the text is poetic and rhymed because the Tao Te Ching was often recited or sung--yet most English translations are written in scholarly prose with long sentences and complex syntax. She shows how the great Tao’s message of wei wu wei--“act without acting” and “do without doing”--offers a path of peace and well-being for ourselves and for our relationships with others and the earth, a path that arises from spontaneous action that seeks no gain for the self. Capturing the original feminine nature of this ancient text, Anderson’s translation sheds new light on the esoteric wisdom contained within the Tao Te Ching and on the mystical feminine essence of the Tao.

Immortal Sisters presents life stories and teachings of distinguished female Taoist adepts who lived from the third to twelfth centuries. Among them is the poet and mystic Sun Bu-er, who passed into folklore as one of the famous Seven Immortals and appears as a character in countless popular novels of China. These accomplished women, renowned in their own day and in history, represent a uniquely female heritage of spiritual mastery. Through poems, stories, teachings, and commentaries, Immortal Sisters sheds light on the spiritual methods taught and practiced by these women and illustrates the importance of the feminine in Taoism.

This book analyses the critical reception of Pai Hsien-yung'sCrystal Boys, one of Taiwan's first recognized gay novels and one which has played an important role in redefining sexual modernity and linking this to ongoing cultural dialogues on state-building. It examines the deployment of sexuality over the past five decades in Taiwan by paying particular attention to male homosexuality and prostitution. In addition to literary and film material, the study engages a number of relevant legal cases and media reports. Through Hans Huang's primary research and historical investigations, the book not only illuminates the construction of gendered sexual identities in Taiwanese culture but also, in a reflexive fashion, critiques the culture that produces them. Hans Tao-Ming Huangis assistant professor in the English Department, National Central University, Taiwan.