Below is the promotional material on the National Academies Press website about
J. Michael Bailey's The Man Who Would Be Queen, retrieved in June 2003.
A reader noted "It is more and more feeling like the spirit of William
Shockley lives on to haunt the National Academy." Shockley fathered the
transistor and brought the silicon to Silicon Valley but is remembered by many
only for his noxious racial views. During the late 1960s Shockley made controversial
statements about the intellectual differences between races. He held that standardized
intelligence tests showed a genetic factor in intellectual capacity and that
tests for IQ reveal that Africian-Americans are inferior to Causasian-Americans.
He further stated that the higher rate of reproduction among African-Americans
had a retrogressive effect on evolution.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10530.html
Gay. Straight. Or lying. It’s as simple and straightforward as black
or white, right? Or is there a gray area, where the definitions of sex and
gender become blurred or entirely refocused with the deft and practiced use
of a surgeon’s knife? For some, the concept of gender – the very
idea we have of ourselves as either male or female beings – is neither
simple nor straightforward.
Written by cutting-edge researcher and sex expert J. Michael Bailey, The
Man Who Would Be Queen is a frankly controversial, intensely poignant, and
boldly forthright book about sex and gender. Based on his original research,
Bailey’s book is grounded firmly in science. But as he demonstrates,
science doesn’t always deliver predictable or even comfortable answers.
Indeed, much of what he has to say will be sure to generate as many questions
as it does answers.
Are gay men genuinely more feminine than other men? And do they really prefer
to be hairdressers rather than lumberjacks? Are all male transsexuals women
trapped in men’s bodies – or are some of them men who are just plain
turned on by the idea of becoming a woman? And how much of a role do biology
and genetics play in sexual orientation?
But while Bailey’s science is provocative, it is the portraits of the
boys and men who struggle with these questions – and often with anger,
fear, and hurt feelings – that will move you. You will meet Danny, an
eight-year old boy whose favorite game is playing house and who yearns to
dress up as a princess for Halloween. And Martin, an expert makeup artist
who was plagued by inner turmoil as a youth but is now openly homosexual and
has had many men as sex partners. And Kim, a strikingly sexy transsexual who
still has a penis and works as a dancer and a call girl for men who like she-males
while she awaits sex reassignment surgery.
These and other stories make it clear that there are men – and men who
become women – who want only to understand themselves and the society
that makes them feel like outsiders. That there are parents, friends, and
families that seek answers to confusing and complicated questions. And that
there are researchers who hope one day to grasp the very nature of human sexuality.
As the striking cover image – a distinctly muscular and obviously male
pair of legs posed in a pair of low-heeled pumps – makes clear, the concept
of gender, the very idea we have of ourselves as either male or female beings,
is neither simple nor straightforward for some.
"...recommended reading for anyone interested in the study of gender
identity and sexual orientation. ... Bailey has produced a thoughtful book
that cites recent scientific studies on homosexuality and transsexuality.
It is written, however, in a style that makes it easily accessible to any
reader."
-- Out Magazine, March 2003
"All of Bailey's musings are interesting and provocative, and his evidence
is often powerful... Bailey has written a book worth reading. ...it will have
its readers, both pro and con, thinking and talking..."
-- Frontiers, March 14, 2003
"...a highly readable and well-researched book... Most interesting:
his differentiation of the autogynephilic and homosexual transsexual; and
his examination of the latest theories of the roles biology and genetics may
play in gender determination. Detailed, but never dry. A fascinating book."
-- Lavender Magazine
"...fascinating revelations... In a personable and straightforward manner,
[Bailey] describes his research techniques and reproduces the questionnaires
given to his subjects. ... Despite its provocative title, a scientific yet
superbly compassionate exposition."
-- Kirkus Reviews, January 2003
"Bailey writes with assuredness that often makes difficult, abstract
material--the relationship between sexual orientation and gender affect, the
origins of homosexuality and the theoretical basis of how we discuss sexuality--comprehensible.
He also, especially in his portraits of the women and men he writes about,
displays a deep empathy that is frequently missing from scientific studies
of sexuality."
-- Publishers Weekly, April 1, 2003
"You may not agree, but you need to know what it says."
-- Alpha Omega Society
"This is a wonderful book on an important subject."
-- Anne Lawrence, M.D., Ph.D., sexual medicine and transgender medicine
practitioner
"With a mixture science, humanity, and fine writing, J. Michael Bailey
illuminates the mysteries of sexual orientation and identity in the best book
yet written on the subject. The Man Who Would Be Queen may upset the guardians
of political correctness on both the left and the right, but it will be welcomed
by intellectually curious people of all sexes and sexual orientations. A truly
fascinating book."
-- Steven Pinker, Peter de Florez Professor, MIT, and author of How the
Mind Works and The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature
"Bailey is one of a rare breed of writers who manages to combine first-rate
science with deep psychological understanding, resulting in great breadth
of vision. He takes us on an unforgettable journey into the minds and lives
of feminine men. Bailey skillfully interweaves vivid case studies with cutting-edge
scientific findings, placing both in a deep historical context from the sexual
playground of ancient Greece to the dilemmas of gender in the modern world.
Refreshingly candid, remarkably free of ideology, this book is destined to
become a modern classic in the field. But readers should be prepared to have
some cherished assumptions about human nature shattered."
-- David M. Buss, author of The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human
Mating and Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind
"...a real page-turner of a popular science book on male homosexuals
and transsexuals. I finished it in a 24 hour period... Lots of fascinating
individual profiles along with summaries of scientific studies by Mike and
others in the field."
-- iSteve.com
"[Bailey uses] chatty, lay readers' terms and anecdotes from his own
personal life and research... Recommended for comprehensive collections in
sexuality, psychology, and social science."
-- Library Journal, May 15, 2003
