Analysis Of Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation By Kate Bornstein

If I were to tell my father at this moment that I am a lesbian he will call the school I am at, the school I used to attend, my friends, and anybody else that is in my life. He would be convinced that somebody brought this upon me; that somebody convinced me. He will ask me if I am joking. If I dress like a boy (baggy clothing) he will say, “You are going like that?” My father, along with millions of other parents, and people, think that homosexuals and trans genders are a humiliation to our society. Likewise, society has made me feel that after mentioning being lesbian it is crucial that I say that I am actually not. Maybe these people should read one excerpt from the analogy, Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation by Kate Bornstein. Or maybe,

like my father, they would think it is garbage. Ignorance, in my opinion, is contagious.
Kate Bornstein’s piece of work actually just isn’t her words; the book is composed of an array of voices. As a reader, the excerpts range from gruesome, confusing, depressing, and empowering. Overall, anyone who is confused about what a “tranny” is should read this book. This book will not blatantly describe what anatomy transgender is composed of; instead it will describe what it feels like to be one. As I cannot fully understand what it means to be a transgender, after reading this book, I know that this community is not confused at all. I have interpreted from this book that this community is mediating self-love. The poems within the section titled “Calling for the recognition of self-love as a legitimate relationship in the game of life” speak to me. I too believe that, “…self-love is indeed the only relationships that really matters and anybody that tries to tell you different don’t know shit about love” (206). The takeaway for me is that all these people are trying to do is love and discover who they are. And if loving yourself is considered wrong, then there is a bigger problem.
I searched up an author from an excerpt in the book (out of curiosity), and I was amazed at my findings.

When I searched Sassafras Lowery the first article that appeared used the pronouns “hir” and “ze” to reference Sassafras. I think this is a perfect example, of how I earlier noted, that this community is not confused. Sassafras knows that neither male nor female fit the pciture, or whatever category society is forcing her to choose on an application. Which by the way, is another thing that is unjust, employers claim “equal opportunities” and yet, “…we can be fired from our jobs or evicted from our apartments just for being ourselves,” (205) this was appropriately titled, “Why We Pray”. Also contained within this poem, “…the American Psychiatric Association still labels us mentally ill.” This is a real voice. I would like to concur, that in a college-level psychology class I took, a group of students presented a group project on “Gender Identity Disorder”. So, science has us convinced that there is something mentally wrong with this community. But, at the end of the day, it is just makeup and it is just clothing, and apparently there is a law that a dress is only to be a worn by a woman. I think that people are allowed to dress however they like or look in whatever fashion they want because when it comes down to it, its just cotton or polyester. We have a society that hates on looks, and vise versa will go for something that looks

appealing.
The voices within this book are raw. They have made realize that at any age, you can be a bully. And, that ignorance is engrained in every, “Are you a woman or a man?” To be an outlaw can be thought as to be a fugitive or run-away. I think that Gender Outlaws are exactly that, fugitives and run-aways from the norms of society.