The Last Time I Wore a Dress

Rating:
Summary: Memoir of Denial
Review: Scholinski attempts to attack the mental health field in her memoir "The Last Time I Wore a Dress." She asserts that she was held through her teenage years because she was not feminine enough in the eyes of idiot doctors. However, I found little evidence of her tomboy nature contributing to her hospitalization. Scholinski never considers the consequences of her actions, she is dishonest, histrionic, and self-absorbed. It is a lack of maturity, not femininity that causes Scholinski's downfall. Amazingly, Scholinski never sees her actions as having anything to do with the state of her existence. This short, simple, and repetitive novel is a memoir of denial.

Rating:
Summary: A very important novel
Review: The fighto to take homosexuality out of the DSM happended in the seventies. Gender Identity Disorder remains in it. The DSM states that sexual orientation is not even a marker for GID. Yet from reading books like these and even my own abnormal pscyh textbook, I learn that the psychological community is still preoccuppied with the concept of homosexuality and how to "fix" it. The homophobia and transphobia of the psychological community disgusts me. It is so important that books like this be written so that the general public understands that despite its claims to be on top of things pschology can be a remarkably archaic subject. It is also import that books like this be written to point out that it is inane, dangerous, and ignorant that a condition exists in which not fitting into rigid gender roles or being attracted to anyone but the opposite sex can be the criteria for slapping a mental disorder on someone. If my parents hadn't been accepting of my own tomboyishness, I could have been Daphne or anyone of hundreds of other kids subject to terrible treatments for their identity disorders. Thank you for writing this book Daphne. You voice needs to be heard.

Rating:
Summary: You can't protect a kid from sorry parenting!
Review: The text was very funny in places and very sad. While the author tries to indict the mental health system, it seems as if she had parents who did not wish to put forth the effort required to manage a very willful child. They had good insurance so she went to the mental hospital. She was the family scapegoat. She was depressed (had good reason to be) and grew into an adult lesbian woman. I had a hard time figuring out why she was fighting so hard against being a lesbian. One - there is nothing wrong with it. Two - she talks of present day female lovers. The author does make the point that she could have been worse places. Her parents rejected her. The only other alternatives might have been to live on the streets. It appears as if the author expected the mental health system to "mother" and "parent" her. That is really all (and everything) she needed. However, it is a job that you cannot pay others to do. The book was disjointed for me and was possibly intended to be so. I do not know if it intended to make a case or tell a story. It did tell a story and criticized a system but made no solid suggestions for improvment. I am, admittedly, getting "compassion fatigued."

Rating:
Summary: Not as riveting as I'd hoped
Review: This book had an interesting premise, and the author certainly went through a lot that could have been avoided had it not been for her neglectful parents and ignorant "care" providers. However, the reading was very disjointed and at times I felt like I was reading passages that were VERY similar to ones I had read earlier--that is, it often felt repetitive. I would have preferred either a book chronicling Daphne's experience in much greater detail, or not to have read the book at all--sometimes the $23 dollars I paid for it seemed like way too much money for such a short book.

Rating:
Summary: one of my favorites
Review: this book rings true in a society that cannot accept the notion or idea of gender diversity. daphne is brave and sad, true to herself but forced to be someone else. No matter who you are, reading this book will change the way you feel about the medicalization of social "norms"- the ways in which society treats people who do not live inside a socially constructed box created by people in society.

Rating:
Summary: It was interesting and keot me on my toes
Review: This book was one of the ones where I wanted to sit back and say,"This really happened to this person." I couldn't put it down at anypoint. This book is one for all to read

Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: This entire book had me on edge the entire time I read it. I too, spent years in psych hospitals, in the same years, around the same age. The tales she tells are horrific, but so sadly true, and I felt like she was telling my story. I am so emotional about this book I can barely type right. My own emotions are so tightly wound around this book and the issues raised that it just leapt off the page at me. This is truly inspiring for me. Daphne tells my story as she tells her own, and her courage and strength are exceptional.

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put this book down-fascinating and terrible
Review: This is a fascinating book about how society imposes gender roles on (in this case) young girls. I couldn't put it down. As I read I felt I knew the author, although her life is nothing like mine. I found the book thought provoking, and a great read.

Rating:
Summary: A great read for those with gender issues
Review: This is a must read with anyone who is struggling with gender identity. This book dealt with gender issues openly and honestly, in an otherwise taboo subject. Three cheers for Daphine and Jane!