Masculinities Without Men?: Female Masculinity In Twentieth-century Fictions Female Masculinity In Twentieth-century Fictions Female Masculinity In 20th Century Fictions

In this groundbreaking study, Jean Bobby Nobel maps historical similarities in fictional, cultural, and representational practices between the periods of modernism and postmodernism -- from 1918 to 1999. Noble looks at nineteenth-century sexology, drama, and trial transcripts, and at late twenthieth-century counter-cultural texts, popular film and documentaries, and theoretical texts. Arguing that the masculine female figure that appears in the late twentieth-century culture and fiction has much in common with that of the late nineteenth century, she illustrates the ways in which both are represented through the same types of narratives, structures, and thematic techniques. Among the twentieth-century fictions Noble analyzes most closely are texts that have been the focus of lesbian, queer, and feminist analysis: Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness (1928), Leslie Feinberg's Stone Butch Blues (1993), and the film Boys Don't Cry (1999). In addition, her study includes an analysis of Rose Tremain's Sacred Country, a text that has never before been studies with the context of female masculinity. Of interest to scholars and students with an interest in sexuality and gender studies, this book also makes a vital contribution to both literary criticism and cultural studies. This Groundbreaking Study Maps Historical Similarities In Fictional, Cultural, And Representational Practices Between The Periods Of Modernism And Postmodernism. Noble Examines Nineteenth-century Sexology, Drama, And Trial Transcripts, And Late Twentieth-century Counter-cultural Fiction, Popular Film And Documentaries, And Theoretical Texts. Among The Works Analyzed Closely Are Texts That Have Been The Focus Of Lesbian, Queer, And Feminist Theory: Radclyffe Hall's The Well Of Loneliness, Leslie Feinberg's Stone Butch Blues, And The Film Boys Don't Cry. These, As Noble Illustrates, Make Use Of Similar Types Of Narratives, Structures, And Thematic Techniques To Articulate Female Masculinity. Also Included Is An Exploration Of Rose Tremain's Sacred Country, Which Has Never Before Been Studied Within This Context. Through A Critical Examination Of These Texts, Noble Demonstrates That Trans-gendered And Trans-sexual Masculinity Began To Emerge As A Unique Category In Late Twentieth-century Fiction, Distinct From Lesbian Or Female Masculinity.--jacket. Alibis Of Essence And Enemies Within : At The Well Of Obscenity -- Passionate Fictions : Radclyffe Hall's The Well Of Loneliness -- Impressions Of The Man : Sacred Countries And The Stone Butch Blues -- Boys Do Cry : Hilary Swank And The Politics Of A Pronoun -- Postscript : Notes Towards A Radical (re)thinking Of The Politics Of Gender. Jean Bobby Noble. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [168]-176) And Index. Conventional ideas about gender and sexuality dictate that people born with male bodies naturally possess both a man's identity and a man's right to authority. Recent scholarship in the field of gender studies, however, exposes the complex political technologies that construct gender as a supposedly unchanging biological essence with self-evident links to physicality, identity, and power. In Masculinities without Men? Jean Bobby Noble explores how the construction of gender was thrown into crisis during the twentieth century, resulting in a permanent rupture in the sex/gender system, and how masculinity became an unstable category, altered across time, region, social class, and ethnicity. Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgments......Page 8 Introduction: The New Men of 1998......Page 10 1 Alibis of Essence and Enemies Within: At the Well of Obscenity......Page 46 2 Passionate Fictions: Radclyffe Hall’s The Well Of Loneliness......Page 84 3 Impressions of the Man: Sacred Countries and the Stone Butch Blues......Page 135 4 Boys Do Cry: Hilary Swank and the Politics of a Pronoun......Page 187 5 Postscript: Notes Towards a Radical (Re)Thinking of the Politics of Gender......Page 200 Notes......Page 204 References......Page 213 F......Page 222 O......Page 223 W......Page 224 Z......Page 225