Description
Berghahn Books Changing Sex and Bending Gender 2005 Edition by Alison Shaw, Shirley Ardener
Anthropologists and historians have shown us that 'male' and 'female' are variously defined historically and cross-culturally. The contributions to this volume focus on the voluntary and involuntary, temporary or permanent transformation of gender identity. Overall, this volume provides powerful and compelling illustrations of how, across a wide range of cultures, processes of gender transformation are shaped within, and ultimately constrained by, social and political context. From medical responses to biological ambiguity, legal responses to cases brought by transsexuals, the historical role of the eunuch in Byzantium, the social transformation of gender in Northern Albania and in the Southern Philippines, to North American 'drag' shows, English pantomime and Japanese kabuki theatre, this volume offers revealing insights into the ambiguities and limitations of gender transformation. Table of contents : - List of illustrationsPrefaceShirley ArdenerChapter 1. Changing sex and bending gender: an introduction Alison ShawDefining sex and genderChanging bodily sexLong-term gender transformationsWomen in transformed gender rolesWomen disguised as menWomen with 'manly' attributes, and the issue of sexualityMen in transformed gender rolesTemporary gender transformationsWomen playing men on the stageMen playing women on the stageConclusionChapter 2. Is it a boy, or a girl? The challenges of genital ambiguity Alison ShawIntersex conditionsReactions to intersex birthsBotched pots, unnatural horrors and supernatural blessings'Correcting' intersex infantsLessons from the Dominican RepublicConclusions and implicationsChapter 3. Why should biological sex be decisive? Transsexualism before the European Court of Human Rights Marie-Benedicte DembourThe ConventionThe casesTypical factsThe Court's reasoning in transsexual casesJudge Martens' critique of 'Biological Sex is Decisive'A false positiveThe denial of legal fatherhoodA tightening majorityVictory at lastThe 'normalisation' of transsexual human rights issuesConclusionChapter 4. Two views on the gender identity of Byzantine eunuchsShaun TougherEunuchsEunuchs in ByzantiumThe Image of eunuchsThe texts: Claudian and TheophylactThe negative view: Claudian's In Eutropium (I and II)The positive answer: Theophylact's In Defence of EunuchsA comparisonConclusionChapter 5. The third sex in Albania: an ethnographic noteRoland Littlewood and Antonia YoungThe historical setting'A woman is a sack made to endure': gender and the customary lawSworn virginsThree into twoChapter 6. Living like men, loving like women: tomboi in the Southern PhilippinesMark JohnsonThe localityEthnographic encounters with tomboi in the Southern PhilippinesLiving 'like men'Loving 'like women''Women who do bad things': hegemonic masculinity and compulsory heterogender/sexualityThe question of tomboi likeness and beingChapter 7. One of the gals who's one of the guys: men, masculinity and drag performance in North America Fiona MooreDrag as an expression of masculinityDragged up on deck: the settingMore man than you'll ever be: drag as gay male art formRocky Horror? Straight men and dragPassing women: the views of performersMasculinity, sexuality and liminality: discussion and conclusionChapter 8. Male dames and female boys: cross-dressing in the English pantomimeShirley ArdenerEnglish vulgar comedyA potted history of pantomimeStory linesDamesDress and make-upWomen, drag and female impersonatorsPrincipal BoysCommentaryChapter 9. Cross-dressing on the Japanese stageBrian PowellFemale actorsMale actorsTwo contrasting onnagataTakarazukaEmergence of the actress in Japanese theatre cultureChange and changelessnessNotes on contributorsIndex