The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
studydniowka's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Nikt z taką czułością i szacunkiem nie pisze o radykalnym feminizmie jak Mackay. Świetna historia wojen o seks i wojen o płeć z perspektywy queer butch lesbijki.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia
yolandalin2001's review
4.0
history dense. definitely have to read all the way through with no skipping to get the overarching theme.Â
justgeorgie's review
informative
5.0
such a good book on masculinities, feminine masculinities & gender and sexuality as a whole - if u fancy reading more about gender (specifically masculine feminine identities) this is a fab book for that and really breaks things down in both an accessible and academic way (a lot more than just a basic book about gender for example). rlly made me think a lot & rlly made me think about the way terf is used, and how we should not refer to every woman who is transphobic as a terf, bc guess what? probably not a radical feminist. anyways! good bookÂ
relief's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
This book was a breath of fresh air. It covers so many topics that it feels difficult to summarize in a way. Perhaps the most succinct description would be "a feminist queer butch talks about the gender wars."
This book feels like it has two main parts - the first being about feminism and its history, and how feminism has related to trans people. I knew Finn Mackay as the author behind "Radical Feminism," so I was excited to see they were writing about feminist history and trans people. Mackay makes the important point that radical feminism is not inherently transphobic, that radical feminism has historically included trans women, and at the same time that radical feminism must come to terms with its transphobic elements. They write compellingly about various types of feminism and feminists: cultural feminism, lesbian feminism vs lesbian separatism, Janice Raymond. Mackay is at their best when writing about the history of feminism - they have an amazing knack for putting things into context.
The second part of the book is about butches, the history of female masculinity, and how the status of butches has changed - or not changed. Mackay notes that butches have suddenly become a point of contention in the gender wars, promoted to prominence they were previously denied. Feminists now claim to be on the side of butches, both to protect butches from 'butch flight' (being subsumed into identities like 'trans male' or 'non-binary') and to protect butches in bathrooms (falsely accused of being men). Mackay recounts the troubled history between feminism and butch lesbians, and the ways in which feminism has let butch lesbians down. Mackay also brings much needed historical context to fears about 'butch flight' - that such fears go back to the 70s, that 'butch flight' has been discussed in a trans context since the 90s, and that butch has important signifiers attached to it that make the identity harder (or easier) to adopt.
Mackay includes interviews from self-identified butches (not all necessarily calling themselves women) and talks about their relationship to butchdom, being a woman, being a lesbian, and 'butch flight.' The responses are varied but honest, and worth reading.
Perhaps the most important part of the book, more than any facts about feminism or butch history of trans history, is Mackay's attitude. Mackay is stuck in the middle between what are assumed to be polar attitudes - someone who is a radical feminist and someone who is queer, with an arguably non-cis gender identity, and who believes in the right of trans people to determine their identities and lives. They are not apologetic about either of these stances, and instead move with tremendous empathy. Their version of feminism centers the freedom from male violence, especially sexualized male violence. They recount how trans women and trans men are affected by this violence. But perhaps more surprisingly, they extend this empathy to many of the so-called "gender critical" feminists, who are often violently transphobic. Mackay believes that the gender wars cannot be resolved without understanding where our anxieties come from, and that that involves understanding why people calling themselves feminists may have anxieties about people who were "assigned male at birth."
This does not mean that Mackay thinks there is no choice but to segregate trans people from cis people. Mackay believes that understanding and empathizing is only the first step. For example, when it comes to the bathroom problem, Mackay suggests a solution that would make more people feel safe - multiple unisex cubicles that are disability-friendly, parent-friendly, and carer-friendly. (After all, even if binary trans people are able to use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity, non-binary trans people have no such obvious solution.) Mackay also has the following solution to the issue of women's shelters - the existence of specialty women's shelters focusing on cis women, who may have extreme trauma regarding people assigned male at birth, should not affect women's shelters who are open to all women, trans and cis. There are many such specialty women's shelters (re: race, religious identity) and so long as such shelters do not claim that trans people assigned male at birth are harmful to cis women, they do not have to pose a threat to trans women and other transfeminine people. Mackay notes that many women's shelters have operated for decades being trans-inclusive without issue, so women's shelters as a whole should not be cis-only by default.
Mackay also freely admits to not knowing how they feel about certain issues, or that they do not have solutions. In a world where we often feel pressured to know everything in order to have an opinion (and where we are also pressured to have stances on everything), it is freeing to see someone say, "I don't have a solution for this right now. But I believe if we listen to each other with vulnerability, we can find a solution that does not marginalize anyone."
Overall, as a woman who often feels out-of-place when it comes to my more masculine tendencies, I found Mackay's book refreshing and informative. Mackay's credentials in both feminist and queer communities assured me that they would not be dismissive of trans and queer people, or of problems women (including cis women in particular) face. I knock a quarter of a star off because the book really drags in the middle, and I put off reading it for several months. There are also some areas where it's clear that Mackay is not deeply educated and is mostly repeating a party line (e.g. intersex people). That being said, nobody can know everything, and Mackay doesn't say anything *wrong* - just repetitive and shallow if you're already someone who's read a lot about this stuff already! I came away feeling energized, with a renewed vigor to fight for feminism, queer liberation, and trans liberation; to listen to people with vulnerability and without judgment; to read more about trans-inclusive radical feminists, and learn more about feminist history.
This book feels like it has two main parts - the first being about feminism and its history, and how feminism has related to trans people. I knew Finn Mackay as the author behind "Radical Feminism," so I was excited to see they were writing about feminist history and trans people. Mackay makes the important point that radical feminism is not inherently transphobic, that radical feminism has historically included trans women, and at the same time that radical feminism must come to terms with its transphobic elements. They write compellingly about various types of feminism and feminists: cultural feminism, lesbian feminism vs lesbian separatism, Janice Raymond. Mackay is at their best when writing about the history of feminism - they have an amazing knack for putting things into context.
The second part of the book is about butches, the history of female masculinity, and how the status of butches has changed - or not changed. Mackay notes that butches have suddenly become a point of contention in the gender wars, promoted to prominence they were previously denied. Feminists now claim to be on the side of butches, both to protect butches from 'butch flight' (being subsumed into identities like 'trans male' or 'non-binary') and to protect butches in bathrooms (falsely accused of being men). Mackay recounts the troubled history between feminism and butch lesbians, and the ways in which feminism has let butch lesbians down. Mackay also brings much needed historical context to fears about 'butch flight' - that such fears go back to the 70s, that 'butch flight' has been discussed in a trans context since the 90s, and that butch has important signifiers attached to it that make the identity harder (or easier) to adopt.
Mackay includes interviews from self-identified butches (not all necessarily calling themselves women) and talks about their relationship to butchdom, being a woman, being a lesbian, and 'butch flight.' The responses are varied but honest, and worth reading.
Perhaps the most important part of the book, more than any facts about feminism or butch history of trans history, is Mackay's attitude. Mackay is stuck in the middle between what are assumed to be polar attitudes - someone who is a radical feminist and someone who is queer, with an arguably non-cis gender identity, and who believes in the right of trans people to determine their identities and lives. They are not apologetic about either of these stances, and instead move with tremendous empathy. Their version of feminism centers the freedom from male violence, especially sexualized male violence. They recount how trans women and trans men are affected by this violence. But perhaps more surprisingly, they extend this empathy to many of the so-called "gender critical" feminists, who are often violently transphobic. Mackay believes that the gender wars cannot be resolved without understanding where our anxieties come from, and that that involves understanding why people calling themselves feminists may have anxieties about people who were "assigned male at birth."
This does not mean that Mackay thinks there is no choice but to segregate trans people from cis people. Mackay believes that understanding and empathizing is only the first step. For example, when it comes to the bathroom problem, Mackay suggests a solution that would make more people feel safe - multiple unisex cubicles that are disability-friendly, parent-friendly, and carer-friendly. (After all, even if binary trans people are able to use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity, non-binary trans people have no such obvious solution.) Mackay also has the following solution to the issue of women's shelters - the existence of specialty women's shelters focusing on cis women, who may have extreme trauma regarding people assigned male at birth, should not affect women's shelters who are open to all women, trans and cis. There are many such specialty women's shelters (re: race, religious identity) and so long as such shelters do not claim that trans people assigned male at birth are harmful to cis women, they do not have to pose a threat to trans women and other transfeminine people. Mackay notes that many women's shelters have operated for decades being trans-inclusive without issue, so women's shelters as a whole should not be cis-only by default.
Mackay also freely admits to not knowing how they feel about certain issues, or that they do not have solutions. In a world where we often feel pressured to know everything in order to have an opinion (and where we are also pressured to have stances on everything), it is freeing to see someone say, "I don't have a solution for this right now. But I believe if we listen to each other with vulnerability, we can find a solution that does not marginalize anyone."
Overall, as a woman who often feels out-of-place when it comes to my more masculine tendencies, I found Mackay's book refreshing and informative. Mackay's credentials in both feminist and queer communities assured me that they would not be dismissive of trans and queer people, or of problems women (including cis women in particular) face. I knock a quarter of a star off because the book really drags in the middle, and I put off reading it for several months. There are also some areas where it's clear that Mackay is not deeply educated and is mostly repeating a party line (e.g. intersex people). That being said, nobody can know everything, and Mackay doesn't say anything *wrong* - just repetitive and shallow if you're already someone who's read a lot about this stuff already! I came away feeling energized, with a renewed vigor to fight for feminism, queer liberation, and trans liberation; to listen to people with vulnerability and without judgment; to read more about trans-inclusive radical feminists, and learn more about feminist history.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual violence, Transphobia, Misogyny, and Homophobia
This book does mention topics like transphobia, misogyny, homophobia, and sexual violence; anyone who is easily affected by these topics may want to proceed with caution. I don't recall any instances of in-depth, graphic depictions, but I also spent three months trying to read this book so I may have forgotten.
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