Authors: Judith Halberstam
ISBN-13: 9780822322436, ISBN-10: 0822322439
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Duke University Press Books
Date Published: January 1998
Edition: (Non-applicable)
Judith Halberstam is Professor of Literature at the University of California in San Diego. She is the author of Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters, also published by Duke University Press, and writes a regular film review column for Girlfriends magazine.
A major intervention into the study of masculinity and how it relates to femaleespecially lesbianidentity.
Halberstam (literature, Univ. of California, San Diego; Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters, Duke Univ., 1995) presents a unique offering in queer studies: a study of the masculine lesbian woman. Halberstam makes a compelling argument for a more flexible taxonomy of masculinity, including not only men, who have historically held the power in society, but also women who embody qualities that are usually associated with maleness, such as strength, authority, and independence. Fleshing out her argument by drawing on a variety of sources--fiction, films, court documents, and diaries--Halberstam calls for society to acknowledge masculine lesbian women and value them. A dense work that requires some knowledge of gay studies, this is recommended for academic libraries and will appeal to scholars in gay studies, gender studies, women's studies, film studies, and sociology.--Kimberly L. Clarke, Univ. of Minnesota Lib., Minneapolis
Illustrations | ||
Preface | ||
1 | An Introduction to Female Masculinity: Masculinity without Men | 1 |
2 | Perverse Presentism: The Androgyne, the Tribade, the Female Husband, and Other Pre-Twentieth-Century Genders | 45 |
3 | "A Writer of Misfits": John Radclyffe Hall and the Discourse of Inversion | 75 |
4 | Lesbian Masculinity: Even Stone Butches Get the Blues | 111 |
5 | Transgender Butch: Butch/FTM Border Wars and the Masculine Continuum | 141 |
6 | Looking Butch: A Rough Guide to Butches on Film | 175 |
7 | Drag Kings: Masculinity and Performance | 231 |
8 | Raging Bull (Dyke): New Masculinities | 267 |
Notes | 279 | |
Bibliography | 307 | |
Filmography | 319 | |
Index | 323 |