“If Trans* were simply a compressed, learned primer about gender variability for audiences of all kinds, it would be important enough. But Jack Halberstam here offers us something more—a supremely lucid explication of highly complex and controversial ideas, cultural artifacts, and histories that never dumbs down nor gets lost in the weeds. I particularly appreciate its ranginess, perspective, sense of humor, autobiographical anecdotes, and critical dedication to ‘putting pressure on all modes of gendered embodiment.’” (Maggie Nelson, author of The Argonauts)

In the last decade, public discussions of transgender issues have increased exponentially. However, with this increased visibility has come not just power, but regulation, both in favor of and against trans people. What was once regarded as an unusual or even unfortunate disorder has become an accepted articulation of gendered embodiment as well as a new site for political activism and political recognition. What happened in the last few decades to prompt such an extensive rethinking of our understanding of gendered embodiment? How did a stigmatized identity become so central to U.S. and European articulations of self? And how have people responded to the new definitions and understanding of sex and the gendered body? In Trans*, Jack Halberstam explores these recent shifts in the meaning of the gendered body and representation, and explores the possibilities of a nongendered, gender-optional, or gender-queer future.

Jack Halberstam is Professor of English and Gender Studies at Columbia University.

Paperback, 184 pages, published in 2018.

Overview
Preface
1. Trans*: What’s in a Name?
2. Making Trans* Bodies
3. Becoming Trans*
4. Trans* Generations
5. Trans* Representations
6. Trans* Feminisms
Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Notes
On Pronouns
Works Cited