Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Stone Butch Blues


      Have you ever read something that made you question your entire set of thinking? Leslie Feinberg's novel Stone Butch Blues addresses the life of a transgender individual named Jess Goldberg. This novel, in essence, is an exploration on the development of a young person into mid-adulthood. Many questions are brought to light such as whether or not Jess is truly a woman after taking hormones.
      But, honestly, the real questions that the novel tackles is: Who should decide who is a man or a woman? Why should these differences really matter? 
      Society's gender binary has been so deeply rooted into our system that even those who are sworn to protect, those with power feel threatened by the notion of individuals who do not fit into the traditional social, gender roles. I found it sickening and horrifying that Jess and hir friends were subjected to such brutal treatment from all types of figures. I knew that transgender people had suffered, are suffering, but I did not realize to what extent until I was placed in Jess's shoes. I saw through hir eyes the trauma that violent, cruel oppression brought, and I was absolutely disgusted.
      People who are transgender are humans; they want to feel normal and accepted. However, the patriarchal social structure of this modern society has and will continue to be the major division between oppression and personal freedom unless something is done.
      

1 comment:

  1. EXACTLY!! Is there really a true man or woman these days? I am not so sure. This book really changed my outlook on people as a whole. I began to think is there really a need for the word transgender either? People can have multiple genders or just allude to one at a time. There are little strings that attach them all so I think that it is hard to just pinpoint one or the other.

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