[lbo-talk] Norah Vincent's "Self-Made Man" book

B. docile_body at yahoo.com
Tue Jan 24 01:28:00 PST 2006


Has anyone read Norah Vincent's 'undercover' investigation wherein for a year and a half she was disguised as/lived as a man? Is it any good, or is it a bunch of crap?

This is from Booklist, but it's among the featured Amazon.com editorial reviews at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0670034665/ref=dp_proddesc_0/102-6179930-8647357?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=507846

"Vincent's first experiment in cross-dressing came on a dare from an acquaintance who was a drag king. When she experienced the intoxicating invisibility and safety that came from wearing the disguise, she wanted to learn more. For 18 months, she disguised herself as a man, renamed herself Ned, joined a men's bowling league, visited strip bars, and dated women. Along the way, she found that the freedom and privileges enjoyed by men were counterbalanced by a constant testing and severe limits on emotions. She also found women to be distrustful, ever ready to criticize men for being emotionally distant yet clearly preferring men who met stereotypical images of strength and virility. Vincent is frank about her experiences--the hard business of sexual transactions devoid of emotions, the easy bonding between men, fear of sexual attraction among men, and, ultimately, the explosion of her own notions of sex roles. She also explores the guilt she feels about her deception. Writing from the perspective of a gay woman who had a view of the male world that women don't get to see, Vincent finds unexpected complexities in the men she meets and in herself as well. --- Vanessa Bush"



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