"A major contribution to the understanding of gender." -- Anne Bolin "Its readable style achieves a unique balance of the personal with scientific rigor." -- Contemporary Sociology "Holly Devor's Gender Blending is a pathfinding study that creates a new frontier in sex and gender research." -- Journal of the History of Sexuality "... a fascinating study... " -- Choice Fifteen women who have to varying degrees rejected traditional femininity, but not their femaleness, discuss their lives with Devor. These women, sometimes mistaken for men, choose to minimize their female vulnerability in a patriarchal world by minimizing their femininity.

First published in 1995, the book describes personal experiences of those who cross-dress and sex change, how they organise themselves socially - in both `outsider' and `respectable' communities. The contributors consider the dominant medical framework through which gender blending is so often seen and look at the treatment afforded gender blending in literature, the press and the recently emerged telephone sex lines. The book concludes with a discussion of the lively debates that have taken place concerning the politics of transgenderism in recent years, and examines its prominence in recent contributions to contemporary cultural theory and queer theory.

A diverse collection of some 50 papers discussing cross-gender behavior, from cross-dressing to altering one's sex through hormones and surgery. Topics range from the emergence of the transgender phenomenon to literary treatments of cross- dressing and legal issues. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This collection of essays is an interdisciplinary work bringing together an internationally acclaimed group of transgender writers. Informed by both academic and street experiences, it considers the practical issues faced in changing the world view of gender as well as the limitations of queer, feminism and post-modernism. In a wide-ranging set of contributions, it addresses our engendered places now and what we can aim for in the future. It evaluates the mechanisms we can use to galvanize both the micro theories of gender as a personal experience of oppression and the macro theories of gender as a site of social regulation. The collection aims to take identity politics and reclaim identity for the self.

First published in 1998. This meaningful study looks at the transsexual experience from the point of view of those that are living experts, those that live transsexualism or cross-dressing and have been directly affected.

Revealing Male Bodies is the first scholarly collection to directly confront male lived experience. There has been an explosion of work in men's studies, masculinity issues, and male sexuality, in addition to a growing literature exploring female embodiment. Missing from the current literature, however, is a sustained analysis of the phenomenology of male-gendered bodies. Revealing Male Bodies addresses this omission by examining how male bodies are physically and experientially constituted by the economic, theoretical, and social practices in which men are immersed. Contributors include Susan Bordo, William Cowling, Terry Goldie, Maurice Hamington, Don Ihde, Greg Johnson, Björn Krondorfer, Alphonso Lingis, Patrick McGann, Paul McIlvenny, Terrance MacMullan, Jim Perkinson, Steven P. Schacht, Richard Schmitt, Nancy Tuana, Craig L. Wilkins, and John Zuern.

Get the latest on the controversies of the sexual and gender diagnoses contained in the current DSM The revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) is an ongoing process, and changes in criteria or terminology can have significant implications for diagnosis and treatment. Sexual and Gender Diagnoses of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM): A Reevaluation provides a range of viewpoints from noted authorities on gender and sexuality issues presently included in the DSM. Arguments for or against revisions of various gender and sexual diagnoses are presented-some may have repercussions regarding insurance reimbursement and patient access to care. This book is certain to raise questions for mental health professionals interested in how cultural influences affect psychiatric diagnoses. Sexual and Gender Diagnoses of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) reviews those controversial gender issues previously seen as being a disorder. The book critically evaluates the medical, psychotherapeutic, and civil rights issues in the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of GID in children, adolescents, and adults, and presents evidence and debates for its exclusion from the next DSM. Arguments for and against removal of paraphilias from the DSM are explored in detail. Finally, sexual pain criteria for diagnoses are examined, reviewing the latest studies that support or criticize the view that dyspareunia and vaginismus may be better classified as a pain disorder. Sexual and Gender Diagnoses of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) presents controversial debate from experts such as: Robert Spitzer, MD Charles Moser, MD, and Peggy J. Kleinplatz, PhD Walter O. Bockting, PhD, and Randall Ehrbar, PsyD Kelley Winters, PhD Arlene Istar Lev, CSW-R, CASAC Paul Jay Fink, MD and other respected authorities! Sexual and Gender Diagnoses of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) is thought-provoking, enlightening reading for psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health workers, epidemiologists, researchers, educators, and students.