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A review by lattelibrarian
Trans Power: Own Your Gender by Juno Roche
3.0
Well, I read this. I thought it would be a good idea for me to continue reading current literature on the topic of trans activism and gender and, well, I did. I read it.
Let me begin with some of the things I truly did appreciate about this book. The variety of interviewees left me rather astounded. Roche interviews couples, single folks, people of color, disabled people, and immigrants. Thusly, their views surrounding transness and queerness hinge upon their lived experiences and other kinds of oppression and privilege they might face. This was hugely interesting,m and I appreciated seeing such a huge variety of people being interviewed.
I also think that some of the interview questions were so astute, and the reflection bits afterwards were very well-thought out and equal parts educational and perhaps even philosophical. There was so much to be gleaned from these, especially since this book does not operate within an academic space--it has much more of an allowance to be what it is: unabridged, fresh, real.
But.
A lot of this left me uncomfortable. Now don't get me wrong--some of my discomfort felt appropriate; after all, this is a book that pushes boundaries and asks its readers to rethink what we might have grown up with.
But.
The introduction was filled with some really gross opinions that absolutely made me skin crawl. Sorry, I don't want to hear about your weird fetishization of your "cave", and I definitely don't want to hear about your frustrations with "allies without intimacy" as though "proper" and "successful" activism must include intercourse. I don't want to hear about your introduction to womanly sexuality via pornography, I don't want to hear about the kink games you're just so passionate about. I don't want to hear about how you colored in your penis with your mother's lipstick and then tucked it between your legs (is this supposed to garner sympathy? Because even though I recognize that it happened as a child, I can't shake the picture of using your mother's lip make-up--a symbol of femininity and sexuality of the mouth--to color and enclose a male sexual organ. Ew?)
I get that there is huge power in talking about bodies, sexuality, intercourse. And we need to talk about these topics. But good god, your problems with not having sex are yours and yours alone. Don't blame other activists for your not getting any, and I'm glad that there's discussion of bodies, but there is a thing called nuance and professionality.
Additionally, did Roche's interviewees know that they were going to be so blatantly asked about their genitals? Their sexual life? And in such a crude manner that felt all too personal? I sure hope so, because otherwise....yikes.
Anyways, I read this. Some things were good. A lot was really fucking weird. I wish I liked this book more, I wish that I could say I learned so many incredible insights, but really, I just felt creeped out about 90% of the time I was reading this. Roche might think this book is a success, but I would wonder whether Roche thinks their personal definition of success is better than the one with which we currently operate.
Review cross-listed here!
Let me begin with some of the things I truly did appreciate about this book. The variety of interviewees left me rather astounded. Roche interviews couples, single folks, people of color, disabled people, and immigrants. Thusly, their views surrounding transness and queerness hinge upon their lived experiences and other kinds of oppression and privilege they might face. This was hugely interesting,m and I appreciated seeing such a huge variety of people being interviewed.
I also think that some of the interview questions were so astute, and the reflection bits afterwards were very well-thought out and equal parts educational and perhaps even philosophical. There was so much to be gleaned from these, especially since this book does not operate within an academic space--it has much more of an allowance to be what it is: unabridged, fresh, real.
But.
A lot of this left me uncomfortable. Now don't get me wrong--some of my discomfort felt appropriate; after all, this is a book that pushes boundaries and asks its readers to rethink what we might have grown up with.
But.
The introduction was filled with some really gross opinions that absolutely made me skin crawl. Sorry, I don't want to hear about your weird fetishization of your "cave", and I definitely don't want to hear about your frustrations with "allies without intimacy" as though "proper" and "successful" activism must include intercourse. I don't want to hear about your introduction to womanly sexuality via pornography, I don't want to hear about the kink games you're just so passionate about. I don't want to hear about how you colored in your penis with your mother's lipstick and then tucked it between your legs (is this supposed to garner sympathy? Because even though I recognize that it happened as a child, I can't shake the picture of using your mother's lip make-up--a symbol of femininity and sexuality of the mouth--to color and enclose a male sexual organ. Ew?)
I get that there is huge power in talking about bodies, sexuality, intercourse. And we need to talk about these topics. But good god, your problems with not having sex are yours and yours alone. Don't blame other activists for your not getting any, and I'm glad that there's discussion of bodies, but there is a thing called nuance and professionality.
Additionally, did Roche's interviewees know that they were going to be so blatantly asked about their genitals? Their sexual life? And in such a crude manner that felt all too personal? I sure hope so, because otherwise....yikes.
Anyways, I read this. Some things were good. A lot was really fucking weird. I wish I liked this book more, I wish that I could say I learned so many incredible insights, but really, I just felt creeped out about 90% of the time I was reading this. Roche might think this book is a success, but I would wonder whether Roche thinks their personal definition of success is better than the one with which we currently operate.
Review cross-listed here!