Gender outlaw : on men, women, and the rest of us

“I know I’m not a man ... and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m probably not a woman, either.... The trouble is, we’re living in a world that insists we be one or the other.” With these words, Kate Bornstein ushers readers on a funny, fearless, and wonderfully scenic journey across the terrains of gender and identity. With a new introduction by the author On one level, Gender Outlaw details Bornstein’s transformation from heterosexual male to lesbian woman, from a one-time IBM salesperson to a playwright and performance artist. But this particular coming-of-age story is also a provocative investigation into our notions of male and female, from a self-described nonbinary transfeminine diesel femme dyke who never stops questioning our cultural assumptions. Gender Outlaw was decades ahead of its time when it was first published in 1994. Now, some twenty-odd years later, this book stands as both a classic and a still-revolutionary work—one that continues to push us gently but profoundly to the furthest borders of the gender frontier. Part Coming-of-age Story, Part Mind-altering Manifesto On Gender And Sexuality, Coming Directly To You From The Life Experiences Of A Transsexual Woman, Gender Outlaw Breaks All The Rules And Leaves The Reader Forever Changed. 26 Black-and-white Illustrations. First Things First. Transgender Style : Some Fashion Tips -- Sorting Seeds. The Hard Part -- Interlude : Nuts And Bolts -- Naming All The Parts -- Interlude : The Lesbian Thing -- Abandon Your Tedious Search! The Rulebook Has Been Found! -- Claiming Power. Which Outlaws? Or, Who Was That Masked Man? -- Gender Terror, Gender Rage -- Send In The Clowns -- First You Die, And Then You Get Their Attention -- A Gender Interrogatory. The First Question, Or, They Have Those Funny, Staring Eyes -- The Other Questions -- Creating A Third Space. Transsexual Lesbian Playwright Tells All! -- Queer Life/queer Theater -- Hidden : A Gender, A Play In Two Acts -- The Punchline. The Seven Year Itch (what Goes Around, Comes Around). Kate Bornstein. Originally Published: New York : Routledge, 1994, With A New Afterword. Includes The Text Of The Play, Hidden: A Gender. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [251]-253). Part coming-of-age story, part mind-altering manifesto on gender and sexuality, coming directly to you from the life experiences of a transgender woman, Gender Outlaw breaks all the rules and leaves the reader forever changed.26 black-and-white illustrations.