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A review by sp1derfairy
Female Husbands: A Trans History by Jen Manion
2.5
I wasn't entirely immersed, but I enjoyed how informative this was. I didn't love the structure and I found in the audiobook format that I was thrown around a bit and had a difficult time keeping track of the era and location I was in. This book may be better suited for a physical read.
I did enjoy seeing how people of the past treated those who did not conform to gender roles and how hard people would try to fit people into boxes. I particularly loved seeing how ideas of what makes a man or a woman have changed over time. I love the fluidity of gender and how arbitrary it all is. One sequence stood out: a man is called a female husband by his newly wedded wife because he is poor and disabled and she wishes to cause a stir to divorce him. He wasn't AFAB, but his lack of characteristic "male" traits made him "female".
I love how this book emphasizes that the stories we have are not based upon the true feelings and words of its subjects, but rather the words and newspapers created after a female husband was outed. The reception and its variety was fascinating, and I particularly loved the part with the (https://static.cambridge.org/binary/version/id/urn:cambridge.org:id:binary:20210430062007869-0936:9781108652834:48380fig8_1.png?pub-status=live) National Police Gazette and Samuel Pollard. It's meant to be shocking, but Pollard just looks so sexy LMAO. Love how art and its interpretation changes over time. I found it especially interesting that in the hierarchy of power, a female wife had more leverage and power than she did in most other occasions. A fascinating exploration of power and gender.
The demographic is very limited in this study--ie poor and middle class UK/US white people--and I want to seek out more information. It's not really on the fault of the writer, more attributed to the racism of history, but disappointing nonetheless. Stories became very repetitive.
I did enjoy seeing how people of the past treated those who did not conform to gender roles and how hard people would try to fit people into boxes. I particularly loved seeing how ideas of what makes a man or a woman have changed over time. I love the fluidity of gender and how arbitrary it all is. One sequence stood out: a man is called a female husband by his newly wedded wife because he is poor and disabled and she wishes to cause a stir to divorce him. He wasn't AFAB, but his lack of characteristic "male" traits made him "female".
I love how this book emphasizes that the stories we have are not based upon the true feelings and words of its subjects, but rather the words and newspapers created after a female husband was outed. The reception and its variety was fascinating, and I particularly loved the part with the (https://static.cambridge.org/binary/version/id/urn:cambridge.org:id:binary:20210430062007869-0936:9781108652834:48380fig8_1.png?pub-status=live) National Police Gazette and Samuel Pollard. It's meant to be shocking, but Pollard just looks so sexy LMAO. Love how art and its interpretation changes over time. I found it especially interesting that in the hierarchy of power, a female wife had more leverage and power than she did in most other occasions. A fascinating exploration of power and gender.
The demographic is very limited in this study--ie poor and middle class UK/US white people--and I want to seek out more information. It's not really on the fault of the writer, more attributed to the racism of history, but disappointing nonetheless. Stories became very repetitive.