Female Masculinity

"Female Masculinity is a full-on attack on the idea that masculinity is exclusively or even primarily the property of men. On the contrary, says Judith Halberstam, women have been practising their own, alternative, masculinities for at least two hundred years... Female Masculinity aims to help restore a sense of butch pride, and to validate the entitlement of women to their own masculinity. There's much to debate and disagree with in Female Masculinity ... But the book's the first full-length study in a crucial area and it's a great starting-point." DIVA "Thank goodness for the dashing Judith Halberstam! Her new book is a smart, entertaining and informed tour of that most threatening of cultural identities: the masculine female. Oh, yum!" Kate Bornstein, author of My Gender Workbook "Female Masculinity is a very important work. Nothing like it exists, period." Esther Newton, author of Cherry Grove, Fire Island "In this landmark study, Halberstam consolidates her position as a key theoriest within Queer scholarship. Female Masculinity is an immensely persuasive, powerfully-written text that imparts exciting and important theoretical ideas... I do not hesitate in locating this book at the forefront of contemporary gender theory."--Maria Antoniou, Feminist Theory, 1(3) 2001