"Common sense has dictated that there are two genders--female and male. But this perspective is becoming less accepted and making less sense for many people. Pat Califia's Sex Changes is a frank, forthright, and sometimes funny challenge to the traditional ideas about gender and sexuality. Transgenderism is the term used to describe people who feel they belong to both, or neither, traditional genders. Califia--a vocal sex radical as well as a therapist--explores the worlds of biology, sociology, psychology, and politics and comes to the conclusion that life and personal experience is far more complicated than most people believe and that the simple two-gender system most people accept is more harmful that helpful. Clear-headed writing and enormous empathy for everyone who exists outside of "the norm" make Sex Changes challenging and vital reading." From Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1573440728/ref=lib_rd_btb/002-8644405-4405601?v=glance&s=books

Personally, I loved it, it challenged a lot of what I already felt was wrong with the gender rules in our society and even made me re-evaluate some of my own thoughts on the matter....

Considering a bookring for this one....

What’s a bookring and how does it work?

A bookring is when a book passes from person to person based on the list of members involved. A bookring book is never released into the wild since it should end up back with the person who registered it.

To join this bookring (or any other bookring of mine) please private message me and include your location and shipping preference (US only, international, etc.). I will be glad to add you to the list. New members are added all of the time so be sure to check the list of participants before you mail the book to the next in line just in case it's changed since you got the book.

Once you are a bookring member, you will receive the book from the person listed before you. When you receive the book please make a journal entry stating that you’ve received it. Then read it as soon as you can (no absolute hurry, just be reasonable please), and journal again with your thoughts, ideas, or opinions on it. You’ll then need to private message the person on the list after you for their address. Mail the book by media mail (it’s cheaper!) and make a release note so that we can track it. Then sit back and watch the journey continue!

The members are as follows (mailing order will change as new participants are added):

mrsordonez in Missouri, USA
Soraidh in Missouri, USA
tish2002 in Missouri, USA
tamugrad02 in Virginia, USA
skcreader in Virginia, USA *
gaysocialworker in Texas, USA
fruitbat in Oregon, USA
caligula03 in California, USA
jenvince in California, USA
Lorelei03 in New York, USA
grover3d in West Virginia, USA * <------- on its way!
fio-dagua in Portugal
Annchen in Sweden
Starry-Starry in the UK *
Cpetersky in Washington, USA
OlysMom in Washington, USA
CurtAngel in Okhlahoma, USA
Spark in San Fransisco, USA *
quorcester in Massachusets, USA *
starbytes in Malaysia
veracity in Australia *
TigerCub in Halifax, Canada
gwydionbheag in BC, Canada *
Fly46 in Nashville, TN
gaysocialworker in Texas, USA (for more in-depth reading!)

**then back to me!
* will ship anywhere

Released on Tuesday, August 26, 2003 at SENT TO FELLOW BOOKCROSSER in RABCK, postal release USA.

Starting the bookring with mrsordonez.

I'm so glad this book finally arrived, I was getting a little worried. I don't have any bookring books on my pile at the moment, so this will go to the top. Thank you very much! I will journal again upon finishing with my thoughts.

12/03/2003....

I apologize that I have taken so long with this book! I was about to give up and send it on, but then I saw the movie Boys Don't Cry with Hillary Swank, and I decided I had to give it another try. I find it extremely academic, which makes for slow reading for me, since I am very unfamiliar with the topic. I am learning a great deal, however, and find the whole topic fascinating. I will keep on trucking, and if I don't finish it by Christmas, it will go out to the next reader. Thanks so much for your patience!

Okay, I have tried too many times to finish this book, and in keeping with my last journal entry, it's time to give up. I got through about six chapters, and learned a great deal. This is the first book I've read about transgenderism, and maybe that was the difficulty. Califia seems to basically review and compile the existing literature about the subject, and then offer her opinion of what the authors have written. I think most interesting were the synopses taken from MTF and FTM autobiographies. Most frustrating had to have been the "pseudo-science" that is described and then criticized.

I have to admit, I never really realized that transgenderism is more of an identity issue, and less of a sexual one. I guess I had always assumed that MTF were really gay men who had taken things to the extreme and vice versa. I had never even considered that a MTF could actually end up a "lesbian".

I guess that the descriptions of early childhood of the people mentioned in the book really helps to explain that the difference really does lie in how you perceive your inner self.

Another tidbit I found to be of great interest was the part about the partners of FTM and MTF's and how they were to be seen. What was their sexuality? etc.

I think that Califia does make a great point in that it seems to be antiquated to be characterizing gender into such a restrictive binary system. Perhaps it is more of a continuum, or perhaps there is no way to measure, really, and each of us is unique.

On the other hand, I found Califia very very difficult to read. When describing transgendered individuals, I understand that Califia tries to be very faithful to the gender of preference of the person, but I had to re-read several passages several times just to understand if we were talking about a FTM or a MTF individual.

Also, many of Califia's criticisms of other works seem to be unfounded and based mainly on personal bias. Too much attention is given to the fictional work "Stone Butch Blues", which is an imagined, hypothetical existence, which may, indeed, fail to reflect the reality of the situation.

I also became frustrated that while reading the book, every one of my co-workers had to ask "What is THAT you are reading? WHY?" as if I don't have the freedom to read about topics that interest me, even if I, myself, am not a transgendered individual. Since there are two transgendered people who work with me, I also felt I had to be somewhat discreet, not because what I was reading was wrong, but because of ALL the comments my co-workers proceeded to make a bout "them". (Transgendered people in general, and about the people who work with us).

I have two more books on my TBR pile about transgendered people, so I am going to let this one move on. I do appreciate the opportunity to participate in the bookring, and I apologize that it took me so long to pass it on. Like I said earlier, it was extremely difficult reading for me, because I was constantly interrupted, and because I just felt like Califia's text and writing didn't have much flow or consistancy in stream-of-thought.

That said, I rated the book a 6 because it had some very interesting and valuable information, but it just wasn't something that was easy to read. Perhaps I should have started with something a little more basic.

Thanks! I'll be sending off to Soriadh soon.

Oh joy! I'm so thrilled to have this book in my hands. It arrived in the mail today and I'm contemplating taking it to work with me tonight so I can start it. I'm probably going to decide against that depending on where I'm working since I don't want to end up in a discussion about this book with the charge nurse on the unit I normally work (not because of the incessant questions I might get). I would also probably not get any other work done if I took it!

Pat Califia's writing can be difficult to read at times. I'm hopeful that having read some of his previous works, both fiction and nonfiction, I won't have similar problems to mrsordonez.

Update that I read in the news recently:

Former Jethro Tull keyboard player David Palmer is now a woman named Dee Palmer. The 66-year old waited until his wife had died before going ahead with his long-time desire for a sex change. "There's something I need to get off my increasingly ample chest," Palmer told singer Ian Anderson. "I found it difficult to understand at first, but I fully suspport his decision," Anderson said.

--The Week February 6, 2004.

P.S. -- Soriadh, I saw you recently nabbed "She's Not There". You, and everyone else, can check out what I though of that book, in comparison to Califa's work, here.

Okay, I'm sad to admit this. I agree with mrsordonez. In fact, I'm giving up on this book. I'd love to read it and digest it but I know I'm not going to fully appreciate it. Califia has an academic overtone with too many personal observances to make it strictly an academic work. Nothing wrong with personal observances but in this one it grates on the nerves.

I'm sending this off to tish2002 as soon as I get to the post office.

I received this today. It's going right to the top of my TBR pile. Thanks!

I enjoyed reading the various life stories of transgendered individuals. I found the chapters about transphobia in feminism and cross-gendered Native Americans kind of boring. I found most of the book interesting.
I will be sending this book on to tamugrad02 this week.

Got this in the mail today. I have one book ahead of it. Will journal again when I'm through reading it.

I made it about three chapters into this book before I decided to give up. The book is very informative, and I learned alot, but I just don't see myself being able to finish it in a decent amount of time. This book is very academic, and books like that are hard for me to read because I feel like I'm back in school. Thanks for the opportunity fanclub. I will PM the next person in line and get this moving.

received today - will journal again after I read.

I have read much on this topic - Califia is difficult to read at times, I will agree with that! Posting to the next bxer on the list....thanks for the opportunity to read this book.

Received today from skcreader in Roanoke. I was also please to receive a couple of other gender/sexuality-related books as RABCK. Thanks!

I'm amused to see that several other familiar Bookcrossing names, people with whom I've exchanged before. Bookcrossing friends from back home are also on the list!

I'll get to this one ASAP since there are lots of others who are waiting.

While I won't disagree that Sex Changes is a slightly difficult academic read, I found myself rather amused how Califia chastises other noted gender theorists throughout the book for failing to provide any legitimate, original thought while Califia herself/himself spends an inordinate amount of time paraphrasing these texts. On several occasions, I thought to myself, I'll read these books for myself--stop the paraphrasing!. Nevertheless, I agreed with the premise of the text, that differently-gendered people/transgenderism are a normal on the continuum of human sexuality, and that differently gendered people have the inherent right to live in their gender of choice (incidentally, I hate to use the word choice or preference because I think these words ultimately communicate bias). Nonetheless, even after a shared experience in living in heterosexist society, I agree with Califia's assertion that the LGBTQ community has much to learn about transphobia. I'd like to spend some time re-reading Sex Changes, but I'll consider purchasing a copy for my own collection and sending this copy along, in the interest of keeping the bookring moving.

Sending on to fruitbat upon receiving her mailing address.

Skipping fruitbat, per no response. Waiting for caligula03's address.

Sex Changes arrived yesterday. I will read it as soon as I can. :)

While I enjoyed the book throughly and learned a great deal I felt at times that the author's personal agenda clouded some of her discussions, especially those involving women (whether straight, lesbian, transgendered or otherwise). While I agree that women have been and in some places still are dominated and or repressed by men, I cannot agree that the experiences are as uniform and unilateral as she insists they are. Chapter three is the worst offender and quickly goes from being an academic essay to being a long winded rant.

RELEASE NOTES:

Mailing to jenvince on October 23.

This has safely arrived. I have to finish some rings ahead of this first. Will have on its way soon.

Started this and just could not get into it. Will be mailing today.

just rcvd! will journal again when read.

This book appears to be MIA, as it was mailed out some time ago. :(