I do fully offer my apologies for insinuating any particular inside knowledge about the sexual desires of anyone, and I am quite aware that this is deeply personal and different for each individual, regardless of gender expression.

If your references to “this author” is the author of the book, I do share your sentiments, as I was greatly angered as I read this book. I struggled with how to write my review in a way that would be somewhat unbiased, and also still express my upset about the content. If you were talking about myself as “this author,” then I have to admit that I am offended at the insinuation that I am uneducated and ignorant.

I respect your history, experience and knowledge, but just as I do not know the full extent of the experiences of others, you do not know the full extent of my own. I have struggled with my own oppressions in and out of the LGBT community, I have been with differently gendered individuals, and I myself have identified differently at different times of my life.

I am sensitive to these issues, I assure you, but it is difficult to navigate ones way through language when one enters into the language of another, when reviewing a book, for example.

I would like to point out, however, that some individuals are transvestites and do take on that term as an identifier. Transvestite means that a person enjoys the clothes of the opposite gender, but does not wish to be that gender.

Additionally, the book’s section on transsexuals was not innacurate. It was bare bones at best, but did explain the root of the situation and the surgical and hormonal options that some individuals wish to take. It does not delve into the emotional and psychological aspects, as more LGBT friendly books might, and talked nothing of struggles faced by these individuals.

I am making an edit to my post to remove my statements about sexual preference.

carnivalesq´s last blog post..Pleasurists

“The section on transsexuals is not, in itself, bad or inaccurate, but it is nowhere near detailed enough to be helpful to anyone who may be transgendered/transsexual themselves. Moreover, transvestism has NOTHING to do with transsexuality!

RuPaul is NOT a transvestite! But the author seems to think so, judging by the photograph in the “Transvestism” section. RuPaul is a drag queen, and he likes men. Transvestites usually prefer women, so a picture of Eddie Izzard would have been more appropriate here”

*****

Holy fucking crap batgirl – I try very hard to stay away from the comments sections because I know that along this path lies madness but I simply could not allow this quote to go without responding. I am dumfounded by the utter lack of regard for basic understanding of the trans community and its outright expression of prejudice and vicious oppression. The ignorance is mind boggling. The author passes it off as “The section on transsexuals is not, in itself, bad or inaccurate” WTF? I cannot believe that this review does not call the article out for being hopelessly out of touch and filled with such vile references.

Calling a person of transgender history a “transvestite” is precisely equivalent to labeling a Lesbian woman “hysterical” Transvestite is a derogatory, demeaning term used to indicate that being transgender is some sort of mental illness and not the day to day daily experience of a normal human being struggling to get by like all the rest of us. Who is the author anyway – Sigmund Freud?

Pretending that we have some concrete understanding of what sexual orientation preferences one person has for another – as if it’s any of our business or something we ought to know – is again oppressive, privileged bullshit. Sexual orientation is an ever changing kaleidoscope of colors and layers that shifts with time and mood and age. It is unique and precious to every individual. Or perhaps – by this author’s opinion – bi sexual women too should be labeled as “not real lesbians”

The author seeks to link sexual orientation with gender expression. Please get a fucking grip and go back to class. Gender identity and sexual orientation are clearly not linked in any way they are two wholly separate matrices. Some men like women some women like men, some women like women, it has no bearing whatsoever on whether or not a person has undergone a medical treatment or surgery during the course of their life time. It has no bearing whatsoever on the geography of their genital structures. It has no bearing on what clothes they choose to buy.

The author states: “Transvestites usually prefer women” This kind of privileged bullshit is the same as saying – Hysterical women must undergo a hysterectomy in order that they can properly regain their role of serving their husbands brothers and fathers in the natural order.”

(No actually it’s not even close to the same thing – But I am really really fucking pissed off – and it does reflect the same order of privileged thinking.)

How in all the holy universe do you think you have any idea what transgender people like or who they may be attracted to? It appears that you know this so well that you have actually established rules about it.

My sibling struggled all of hir life with hir gender identity only finally finding a place to fit in hir forties. I have had to witness hir oppression at the hands of ignorant people who called themselves gay or lesbian. I have heard the demeaning jokes and the ignorance vomited from the mouths of privileged assholes who fancy themselves as progressive. I cannot sit idly by and let this garbage go unremarked.

I urge you all to educate yourselves on these issues. No one is going to do it for you. Becoming educated on the oppression issues of your own times is vastly superior to utterly embarrassing yourself with your lack of knowledge in a public forum.

Sorry to be so snarky – but this level of demeaning prejudice passed off as educated commentary – makes so angry I could write a nasty comment on a blog site. Oh wait a sec – I already did that.