Redoing Gender

Redoing Gender demonstrates how difficult it is to be anything other than a man or a woman in a society that selectively acknowledges those two genders. Gender nonbinary people—who identify as other genders besides simply “man” or “woman”—have begun to disrupt this binary system, but the limited progress they have made has required significant everyday labor. Through interviews with 47 nonbinary people, this book offers rich description of these forms of labor, including “rethinking sex and gender,” “resignifying gender,” “redoing relationships,” and “resisting erasure.” The final chapter interrogates the lasting impact of this labor through follow-up interviews with participants four years later. Although nonbinary people are finally managing to achieve some recognition, it is clear that this change has not happened without a fight that continues to this day.

The diverse experiences of nonbinary people in this book will help cisgender people relate to gender minorities with more compassion, and may also appeal to those questioning their own gender. This text will also be of keen interest to academics across Sociology and Gender Studies. 

 

 

"In this, one of the first studies of people who identify as non-binary, Helana Darwin masterfully balances the voices of her participants with an astute sociological analysis.  Not only does this book provide important insight into how people who identify as non-binary understand their identities and navigate social relationships, it also has much to say about doing, undoing, and redoing gender for everyone regardless of gender identity. This book is an important contribution to our sociological understanding of gender." 
Mimi Schippers, Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program, Tulane University, USA



"At a time when we are simultaneously experiencing increasing visibility of nonbinary genders and legal and physical violence against gender non-conforming people, Redoing Gender provides a timely exploration of changing conceptions of gender beyond the cis/trans binary. Darwin asks key questions, like how nonbinary people achieve their gender in a society that denies and erases their existence through accountability structures. In doing this, she reengages the foundational doing gender theory in an accessible manner, allowing us to reimagine the possibilities of gender in the first place. This text is an invaluable resource to scholars, policy makers, activists, and the public alike."
Megan Nanney, East Carolina University, USA, and Chair of Sociologists for Trans Justice

“Redoing Gender boldly shines a spotlight on nonbinary experiences in what is a significant contribution to trans studies. Darwin’s Redoing Gender is a necessary addition to the literature on gender and sex in the current era. Our interactions and institutions must shift in order to make room for nonbinary bodies, identities, and experiences. Darwin carves out a space for doing gender theory to grow inways that expect rather than accommodate gender diversity. Darwin has proven herself to be an astute contender in the theoretical arena. This book offers us a new paradigm for understanding gender, and our relationship to and experience of it, while lifting up the experiences of nonbinary people who perhaps have the most at stake in this gender revolution. Academics, cisgender and binary trans allies, and those working with trans and nonbinary populations are sure to benefit from engaging with this text.”
Austin Johnson, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Kenyon College, USA

Helana Darwin is an award-winning sociologist with a PhD in Sociology whose research focuses on social inequality and abuses of power. She has published articles in Gender & Society; Gender, Place, & Culture; Social Currents; Sociology of Religion; Contemporary Jewry; Symbolic Interaction; and Feminist Media Studies. See www.HelanaDarwin.com for more about her research.