Hey beautiful followers, I know this is kind of cheap of me, but I am simply swamped until 1 pm tomorrow, therefore I post you a book review I wrote for my women’s studies class! I hope you enjoy it 
She's Not There: A Life In Two Genders
Jennifer Finney Boylan’s memoir, She’s Not There: A Life In Two Genders provides a comprehensive overview of the transgendered experience. The book documents Boylan’s life from childhood until after the operation Boylan has to become the female she has always been on the inside.
While reading the book, I was struck by how much of an internal struggle Boylan’s life has been. It is interesting to me, what kind of a struggle it must be to have to hide your true self at all times. In the beginning of the book, Boylan refers to the greatest poem of all time, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot, which is rather appropriate since the entire poem centers around a man questioning whether he dares to be himself and to disturb the universe, whether he dares to do something so simple as eat a peach. Clearly, the parallels are there between Boylan and J. Alfred Prufrock, just read the line “Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?” It is clear that both question whether they dare to step outside society’s dictates. Boylan dares to be what she knows she has always been, a woman.
The everyday identity crisis that those who are transgendered go through is disheartening. To continually deny who you are inside, to wake up in the morning and have to question why your identity is based on your genetic genitals must have been such a struggle. Jennifer Finney Boylan documents many issues including the issues of love and marriage and attraction. I felt terrible for Grace, Boylan’s wife, as she had lost her marriage. Clearly, changing genders is not simple and not always a win-win situation. Not everyone is going to be happy, but it seems Boylan had to become a woman in order to find inner-peace. Grace can move on, there isn’t exactly a shortage of men in the world.
Notable Quotes/My Reaction
“It seemed obvious to me that this was something you understood intuitively, not on the basis of what was between your legs, but because of what you felt in your heart. Remember when you woke up this morning –I’d say to my female friends—and you knew you were female? That’s how I felt. That’s how I knew.” – p. 22
This quote grabbed me, because Boylan’s words rang true in my heart. I don’t wake up in the morning and think “I am woman, hear me roar, I am a female.” I’ve never had to question my gender, or think I was born in the wrong body. I feel Boylan makes a wonderful point about intuition, you just know thus this helped me to understand that Boylan just knew she was a female, plain and simple.
“It was a puzzle though—if Jenny was so very much like James, didn’t that mean she was not really female? And if she really was female, didn’t that mean she was someone unknown?” –p. 153
This quote is confusion and conundrum personified. I feel identity is such a confusing thing, otherwise so many people would not have to go through identity crises. Jennifer presents a paradox here, which says, well if I’m Jenny, I’m also still James. How can you be both? However, I see it as no matter the name, Jenny still has the same soul.
“It’s like you get to be happy, and me—well we all just wait for me to get over it. But I can’t get over it. I’m always going to feel betrayed by you, abandoned, like our little family was not enough. You know how I feel? Gypped” – p. 217
This quote just breaks my heart. Grace says this while her and Jenny are discussing Jenny’s transition and surgery. I feel this quote shows being transgendered does not only affect the person who is transgendered, but also loved ones. My heart breaks for Grace, as it seems her marriage dissolves into sexless companionship. I am currently in an incredibly serious relationship and I could not imagine my partner telling me one day he was transgendered. I would feel exactly the same way as Grace. It’s easy to support the one you love when their problem doesn’t affect you. However, it is not so easy when the problem definitely affects your relationship.
Disclosure: I bought this book for my women’s studies class
This post was written by...
April (Books&Wine) – who has written 1064 posts on Good Books And Good Wine.
April is 24 years old. She is an educator. In her free time she can be found reading, working out, or eating junk food. She often wears her sunglasses at night.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
nice review. i've heard of this book. sounds interesting.
-Lauren
Awesome review. This book looks good. Love the cover.
Very insightful piece. Society still has a hard time accepting peoples gender identities if they don't conform to the norm. You are right about Grace. She is a victim of of Jenny's quest for self-fulfillment.
I hope you got a good grade on the paper.
{ 1 trackback }