Recognizing Transsexuals and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more

More Buying Choices

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

Sorry, this item is not available in

Image not available for
Colour:

Image not available

Share your own customer images

Search inside this book

Start reading Recognizing Transsexuals on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Recognizing Transsexuals [Hardcover]

Zowie Davy (Author)

5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

RRP:	�55.00
Price:	�50.78 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
Deal Price:
You Save:	�4.22 (8%)
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Only 1 left in stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.

Want it Friday, 21 June? Choose Express delivery at checkout. Details

Formats	Amazon Price		New from	Used from
Kindle Edition	�45.32		--	--
Hardcover	�50.78		--	--

Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Special Offer until June 30, 2013: Receive an additional £5 promotional Gift Certificate, when you trade-in at least £10 worth of books. Learn more.

› See more product promotions

Book Description

Publication Date: 1 Mar 2011 | ISBN-10: 1409405656 | ISBN-13: 978-1409405658 | Edition: 1

"Recognizing Transsexuals" draws on interviews with transsexuals at various stages of transition to offer an original account of transsexual embodiment and bodily aesthetics. Exploring the reasons for which transpeople desire to modify their bodies, it moves away from the focus on gender that characterizes much work on transpeople's embodiment, to investigate the concept of bodily aesthetics. Recent legislation allowing transsexuals to apply for gender recognition provides the context in which transpeople challenge the conventional understandings of what it means to be men and women. The book examines key approaches to recognizing transsexualism from within a variety of fields and considers transsexuals' bodies, body projects and embodiment in relation to personal, political and medicolegal fields. It explores the ways in which transpeople's bodily aesthetics affect social relations - such as sexual relations, acceptance by others and their families - whilst also considering contemporary political trans community organizations and their public representation of trans-bodies. "Recognizing Transsexuals" is the first sociological examination of how the bodies of transpeople are figured and reconfigured in socio, politico and medico-legal contexts and considers the impact of these shifts, and will be of interest to those with interests in embodiment, the sociology of law, sexology, medical sociology and gender theory.

#outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } "Recognizing Transsexuals" draws on interviews with transsexuals at various stages of transition to offer an original account of transsexual embodiment and bodily aesthetics. Exploring the reasons for which transpeople desire to modify their bodies, it moves away from the focus on gender that characterizes much work on transpeople's embodiment, to investigate the concept of bodily aesthetics. Recent legislation allowing transsexuals to apply for gender recognition provides the context in which transpeople challenge the conventional understandings of what it means to be men and women. The book examines key approaches to recognizing transsexualism from within a variety of fields and considers transsexuals' bodies, body projects and embodiment in relation to personal, political and medicolegal fields. It explores the ways in which transpeople's bodily aesthetics affect social relations - such as sexual relations, acceptance by others and their families - whilst also considering contemporary political trans community organizations and their public representation of trans-bodies. "Recognizing Transsexuals" is the first sociological examination of how the bodies of transpeople are figured and reconfigured in socio, politico and medico-legal contexts and considers the impact of these shifts, and will be of interest to those with interests in embodiment, the sociology of law, sexology, medical sociology and gender theory.

Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed

The Transgender Studies Reader
› Susan Stryker

4.0 out of 5 stars (1)

Hardcover

�79.57
Just Add Hormones: An Insider's Guide to the …
Matthew Kailey

5.0 out of 5 stars (2)

Hardcover

�14.48
Transgender 101: A Simple Guide to a Complex Issue
Nicholas Teich

5.0 out of 5 stars (1)

Paperback

�11.99
Transgender History (Seal Studies)
Susan Stryker

Paperback

�7.58
Hung Jury: Testimonies of Genital Surgery by …
Trystan Theosophus Cotten

4.0 out of 5 stars (1)

Paperback

�11.90

Product details

Hardcover: 204 pages
Publisher: Ashgate; 1 edition (1 Mar 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1409405656
ISBN-13: 978-1409405658
Product Dimensions: 15.9 x 23.5 cm

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,418,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

See Complete Table of Contents

More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Zowie Davy Page

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

About the Author

Dr Zowie Davy is Lecturer and Research Assistant in the Department of Sociology at The University of Leeds, UK.

Inside This Book (Learn More)

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Transgender Debate: The Crisis Surrounding Gender Identity (Behind the Headlines) by Stephen Whittle Paperback
5.0 out of 5 stars (3)

�3.50

› Explore similar items

Customer Reviews

5 star

4 star

3 star

2 star

1 star

5.0 out of 5 stars

1 review

5.0 out of 5 stars

Write a customer review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Giving transgender proper analysis: an essential read. 25 Feb 2012

By A. Drummond

Format:Hardcover

Recognising Transsexuals: Personal, Political and Medico-Legal Embodiment.

For anyone working in the field of transsexualism and indeed the broader domain of transgender I would suggest this book is a key text to have on the reading list. It takes a detailed and broad scoping look at the interface of transsexualism as a phenomenon within the individual, society, the medical profession, and law. A real strength of this book is that it is highly relevant to the UK position and more importantly that the author is showing how the definition of transsexualism has moved on, illustrating in the narrative the broad scoping possibilities offered by the more fluid and dynamic definition implicit in 'transgender'.

This is an informative book then, with its research and focus based predominantly in the UK but with direct relevance to Europe and other Western cultures. The author leads us through an exploration of the phenomenon of transsexualism, highlighting the way traditional medical and legal conceptualisations of gender were caught up in 'hegemonic and stereotypical cultural ascriptions of masculinity and femininity'. Diagnostic psychiatric manuals have themselves previously been framed from within the essentialist hetero-normative assumptions of the past, and thus historically, atypical gender identifiers were seen as some form of sexual inversion. However, new scientific knowledge and contemporary philosophical understandings are offering new ways of conceptualising the phenomenon, and, as an emerging generation of transgender and gender-queer individuals challenging the status quo we find the old medical models are simply no longer fit for purpose....

The book considers the interplay of political, legal and medical systems of sexual and gender regulation, and looks at the ways that transpeople themselves have been interactive (and increasingly proactive) in shaping specific pathways and potentials. The book gives careful consideration to the social currency of the physical body - as humans within a social society we are all subject to visual-aesthetic judgement by others and it is naive to dismiss the importance (in terms of its impact on our social relations) of the physicality we present to others. This is of course particularly significant for a transperson in terms of how one is read and or understood by others. I felt a particular strength of this book is that it devoted a decent amount of space to drawing some distinctions between the relative importance of specific body surgeries between transman and transwoman. Another strength is that it also draws attention to the recent emergence of genderqueering - the deliberate deconstruction and troubling of gender norms by a new generation of predominantly younger transgender individuals who refuse to be constrained by old school definitions of how they should express their gender identity. These are exciting times.

This book comes at a time when new knowledge and information about transgender and gender-queering is increasingly shared over the internet as gender-queer individuals find connections with others who can validate their unique experiences and create new ways of knowing and defining their experiences. Outdated medical models no longer reflect the new diversity of this group as finally we escape the legacy of the early gatekeepers of transsexual realisation. In the past it is acknowledged that one needed to become a 'proper' or convincing 'man or woman' post surgery and to offer an a priori 'unambiguous developmental story'. Variously referred to as 'learning the script' these carefully rehearsed narratives reflected an anxiety about failing to convince the gatekeepers and therefore losing access to treatment: but this undoubtedly led to the distortion and indeed corruption of data, and increasingly now we are recognising that different developmental stories exist- each valid in their own ways. And equally significant, in terms of desired outcomes, there is increasing acknowledgement that there are differing stopping points with regard to transition.

In summary then, within the pages of this book, we find a well researched and neatly presented discourse on the phenomenology of queer genders that considers not only the historical contexts from which diagnosis such as transsexualism and transvestism were derived, but moves on to give the reader a more balanced and informed position of contemporary understandings of gender queering. It highlights the way in which the conceptualisation of these identities is continually evolving as a result of a complex interplay of scientific breakthrough, social activism within the queer community, and political evolution in legal systems (for example the Gender Recognition Act and Single Equality Act ). These factors are all influential in the way in which people may inhabit and embody gendered identities that are at variance with one denoted at birth.

If I had a criticism of the book, (asides from the cost which sadly will put it outside the reach of many who would benefit from reading it) it is that like so many in this field, the language structure is in places somewhat complex and the writing style leans heavily towards the academic genre, performing and reiterating an academic elitism that may afford it respect in that milieu, but then runs the risk of leaving it less accessible to others who would really benefit from the insights and observations. That said, I'd not wish to put potential readers off - even if you have to re-read the odd paragraph a couple of times, the effort really is worth it.

In conclusion then, I'd say this is an intelligently written, well researched and thoughtfully considered text that I believe will add very usefully to current understandings and thinking in this fascinating field. It would be fair to say that this book certainly has the potential to achieve its aim of affording a better recognition to the broad diversity of transsexual experiences and can therefore enhance the understanding within the psychiatric and psychology professions of this particular client group - a minority who have been so seldom properly researched in such depth or with such careful consideration.

People who are interested in this subject may also wish to consider "The Lives of Transgender People" The Lives of Transgender People Read more ›

Comment |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

› See the customer review

Write a customer review

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jqOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jqOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jqOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; }

Customer Discussions

This product's forum

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight

Start a new discussion

Topic:

First post:

Receive e-mail when new posts are made

Prompts for sign-in

Guidelines

Active discussions in related forums

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
politics discussion forum The UK should just accept the inevitable and embrace Islam	137	55 minutes ago
politics discussion forum we need to stop living in ignorance and ask questions such as who created us and what for?	99	4 hours ago
politics discussion forum Stuart Hall - Is 15 months too lenient?	9	7 hours ago
politics discussion forum Is the EU worth �50 000 000 a day?	177	9 hours ago
politics discussion forum Should the whereabouts of the body of April Jones be tortured out of Mark Bridger	254	13 hours ago
politics discussion forum Insurance...is there a bigger con?	88	1 day ago
politics discussion forum Insurance.....why I love it.	9	2 days ago
politics discussion forum How do we sort out the young "fatties"?	29	2 days ago