Rating: 
Summary: A more dialectical approach to transgender liberation
Review: Amidst all the sound and fury about transgendenderiam and identity politics in contemporary discourse, Feinberg's book is a welcome perspective. With so much emphasis placed on individual actions and consumerism as a mechanism to achieve 'assimilation,' a material analysis of the gender system is desperately needed. Feinberg's autobiography in the introduction serves as an excellent ideological background to the historical analyses that are to follow. By becoming involved in class struggle [via the Workers World Party], she identified the binary gender system [hence transgender oppression] as superstructure to the material base for women's oppression: industrial capitalism. The subsequent historiographies thus reflect that dominant ideology on gender is inextricably bound to the nature of forms of production. The book is not without its contradictions, though. Although Feinberg is indeed Marxist in her analysis of history, she lauds transgenderism in itself as a subversive entity. Furthermore, she places 'trans' as a sex variant outside of male and female. This analysis seems reminiscent of the ninteenth century 'third sex' concept for homosexuals. Nonetheless, her many meticulously researched examples demonstrate how polymorphic human expression really can be.
Rating: 
Summary: Panoramic Sweep on Transgender Issues
Review: As a committed dialogue-oriented queer theorist and socialist, I value any contributions from new voices in social theory. Leslie Feinberg's book is an exemplary work in this regard, and as a pakeha academic in a postcolonial country myself, I am especially impressed by hir respect for indigenous cultures, sovereignty issues, and gender variation as part of that. I recommend this as an important introductory resource that should be in all queer studies curricula.
Rating: 
Summary: Fluff, not history
Review: As someone who has researched the original documents and is currently translating one of the Latin copies of the trial transcript, I can only view this book as a farce. It's clear that neither the author nor her readers have bothered to study the documents about Joan of Arc's case (especially the retrial documents drawn up when the case was appealed and examined by the Inquisition in the 1450s). According to the retrial witnesses Pierre Cusquel, Martin Ladvenu, Isambart de la Pierre, and Guillaume Manchon, Joan said that she wore male clothing as the standard "lawful" defense against the attempted rape that she had endured (i.e., the pants worn by men in that era could be fastened securely to the tunic, making it difficult for an attacker to pull them off, whereas a dress offered no such protection whatsoever), and she resumed male clothing after her abjuration because "a great English lord had entered her cell and tried to rape her" (according to Martin Ladvenu). Another witness, Jean Massieu, added that her guards had switched her dress with male clothing in the night, and she finally put on the latter after a long argument with the guards which "went on until noon", according to Massieu. She indicated at many points that she would have rather worn a dress, had it not been for the circumstances she was in. These are the facts behind the matter, based on the medieval documents. Amazon.com carries a number of books by Regine Pernoud which contain extensive excerpts from both trials, presented with respect and scholarly accuracy. Leslie Feinberg's view, on the other hand, is merely another attempt to repeat the dishonest charges made against Joan of Arc by her political enemies.
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Summary: Trans* people have a history too...
Review: I'm a 20-year-old female-to-male transsexual. Five years ago, I didn't even know other people like me existed. Now, thanks to this book, I know people like me have been around as long as human beings from the more ordinary walks of life. You might think that being transsexual, I'd be pretty open-minded, but I must confess that this book really got me thinking about my own chosen gender and what exactly I want do with my transsexuality. Do I want to blend in with all the genetic XY guys after all, leaving no trace of my 'abnormal' gender? Do I really care if people know I don't have a penis? Must I be 100% male 100% of the time? And what is 'male' anyway? Leslie presents a very personal history of transgenderism. Hir short autobiography echoes that of the many people who don't fit into the male OR female ONLY roles society has pushed us into over the centuries. Being transgendered, I could really emphasise with hir life story, and that of all the other trans* people who have a part in this book. I'd recommend this book not only to other trans* people, but anyone who is interested in something else other than the traditional gender roles we are given. This is such a different prism to look at history and gender through. I want to major in History now. ::grin::
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Summary: A truly liberated look at trans issues across history/politi
Review: Leslie Feinberg balances the immediate/personal with the historical/community in this (marxist) analysis of trans issues. A remarkable book that is innovative in both its style and analysis of the issues from all angles - sociological/political/cultural/historical.
Rating:
Summary: A Wide-Ranging Informative Work
Review: Leslie Feinberg has created a fascinating compilation of transgender history. This book "works" in that it engages the reader and stimulates thought, questioning and debate. Even the highly negative reviews that appear here reinforce this. The review authors are inflamed by a book of substance, one which presents a consistent theoretical underpinning as it provides a wealth of historical data. A lot of political statements are made on all sides about the natural order of things. Look at the debate over same-sex marriage in which the debate is framed in terms of traditional values. Feinberg, in this work, does the field of gender studies a great service in expanding our awareness of just how much diversity is historically encompassed in our common tradition. Read this book, then reflect, then challenge both it and yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Transgendered Agenda
Review: Leslie Feinberg has written a well put together synthesis ofinteresting theories, some of which are self-generated. TRANSGENDERWARRIORS tells a story of human history as a tale of androgeny in which all men/women acted in concert and cooperation to solve all of life's problems until the rise of capitalism and patriarchy. When these two "evils" arose, they divided people against themselves by class and gender. Feinberg shows a smattering of knowledge of history but much of her book is feminist and genderist rhetoric. It is also a personal cry of outrage at how many people still treat those who are different and those who lack power. As a work of history it appears to fall short. As a personal statement, as an expression of FEELING of the author's pain and longing for justice it hits the mark. As the webmaster of a transgender website I looked forward to reading the book. I found it interesting more from a human point of view than from a particularistic self-interest group view. The biographical sections of the book were moving. I found Feinberg's "solutions" to the social problems of alternate lifestyle people somewhat sophmoric. END
Rating: 
Summary: The Politicization of Gender
Review: Leslie Feinberg is a radical trans in men's clothing. This book is written with the typical radical political slant. Her statements and "facts" are called into question by her bias. Would you believe a book about Hitler's Germany written by a right wing fascist? In a similar fashion one has to take Feinberg's book with many grains of salt. Her objective is to justify any and all types of transsexual, transgender BEHAVIOR. Yes, it's a BEHAVIOR. No one forces this type of BEHAVIOR on those that would obsess themselves with trying to become the opposite sex.
The theme of the book is that transsexuals have always fought, that they are fierce; they have an attitude of rebellion. We can still see that today with the Gay Pride parades that shove their BEHAVIOR in your face! Unfortunately, you can't have it both ways. When you have an attitude and you shove it in someone's face many times they shove back. Stop trying to justify your BEHAVIOR by desperately searching through history and rewriting stories like Joan of Arc to justify your BEHAVIOR.
Rating:
Summary: Worthwhile Beginning to a Complex Subject
Review: Leslie lays some important groundwork with this piece. However, it is important to know where she is coming from, so I suggest you read Stone Butch Blues before reading TG Warriors. The notion of gender becoming an issue when our society moved from matriarchal to patriarchal is most fascinating and explains much. This is a worthwhile read for the investigator, officienado, or TG
Rating:
Summary: A history of trans-ness written BY a trans person
Review: Of course this book is personal. Of course it is passionate. It is an important attempt by a recognized trans author and amateur historian to catalyze a larger project of tracing authentic patterns of gender expression that don't conform to the binary that has been forced upon society since the rise of class divisions (i.e., since the collapse of "primitive" or "tribal" collectivism). And the book thereby contributes to efforts to demystify the notion that "two sexes" are a scientific fact and historical truth. Hopefully others will pick up where Feinberg leaves off and apply other methodologies to uncover what has really been going on throughout human history where it comes to gender. What the book lacks in traditional academic rigor it more than makes up for with its first-person self-consciousness, originality and plausibility in the interpretation of historical data. It is richly illustrated, literate, contemporary and very relevant to today's discourse.
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