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Trans America

A Counter-History
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( 15 ratings, 5 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Trans America traces the complex history of transgender identities in the United States, spanning from the nineteenth century through the transsexual visibility of the 1960s and 1970s to the transgender surge of the 1990s and beyond. Barry Reay uncovers earlier periods of gender fluidity and explores the cultural, medical, and psychiatric contexts that shaped and often constrained trans experiences. The book highlights the interplay of same-sex desires, cross-dressing, and evolving gender identities, offering a richly detailed narrative that challenges simplistic understandings of trans history in America.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Trans America is essential reading for the trans community, historians, and anyone interested in the intersections of medicine, sexuality, psychology, and gender studies. Its depth and clarity also make it suitable for general readers seeking to understand the evolution of transgender identities and culture in the US.

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"A history of trans before the "trans moment"--

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Trans seems to be everywhere in American culture. Yet there is little understanding of how this came about. Are people aware that there were earlier periods of gender flexibility and contestability in American history? How well known is it that a previous period of trans visibility in the 1960s and early 1970s faced a vehement backlash right at the time that trans, in the form of what was then termed transvestism and transsexuality, seemed to be so ascendant? Was there transness before transsexuality was named in the 1950s and transgender emerged in the 1990s?

Barry Reay explores this history: from a time before trans in the nineteenth century to the transsexual moment of the 1960s and 1970s, the transgender turn of the 1990s, and the so-called tipping point of current culture. It is a rich and varied history, where same-sex desires and identities, cross-dressing, and transsexual and transgender identities jostled for recognition. It is a history that is not at all flattering to US psychiatric and surgical practices.

Arguing for the complexity of a trans past and present, Trans America will be a groundbreaking work for the trans community, as well as anyone interested in the history of medicine, sexuality, psychology and psychiatry.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Esteemed voices praise Trans America for its comprehensive and accessible historical perspective. Juliet Jacques commends it as an impressive guide to the developments before the so-called β€œTransgender Tipping Point.” Fayette Hauser calls it a pleasure to read, noting the beautiful exploration of the diversity within the trans movement. Jeffrey Weeks describes it as a major achievement and a narrative of agency, with trans people pushing and redefining limiting, medicalized categories. This work is recognised as a highly respected and groundbreaking contribution to trans history.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781509511792

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 22 May 2020

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Polity Press

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 25.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 226.0mm

Weight: 522g

Pages: 256

About the Author

Barry ReayΒ is Professor Emeritus of History and former Keith Sinclair Chair at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. AΒ leadingΒ historian of the social and cultural history of sex and gender, his books include the Polity publicationsΒ Sex Before SexualityΒ andΒ Sex Addiction: A Critical History.

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