Hi All--
DJ-Anonyme@webtv.net wrote:
>
> This raises a question -- are there any transgender
protagonists (not
> just walk-ons) in noir or hardboiled lit? I'm aware
of plenty of gay
> and lesbian (I've often wondered why lesbian has to
be added -- isn't
> gay gender neutral?) protagonists, but no
transgendered. I bet a pretty
> interesting book could be done from such an outsider
perspective.
>
I haven't read them, but T.C. Van Adler has two books with
Father Brocard Curtis and Zinka Pavlic that feature an MTF
lesbian (Pavlic). The books are _St. Agatha's Breast_ (2001)
and _The Evil that Boys Do_
(2003). My understanding is that they're humorous ("an
over-the-top, often macabre sense of humor"), so they might
not come under either noir or hardboiled rubrics, but they're
as close as you're going to get. Jenny Roberts, an MTF
author, has written three books featuring Cameron McGill, a
lesbian protagonist: _Needlepoint_ (2000), _Breaking
Point_
(2001) and _Dead Reckoning_ (2005). They are
semi-hardboiled.
"Outsider perspectives" can be found in narratives of
transsexuals such as _She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders_
by Jennifer Finney Boylan;
_The Last Time I Wore a Dress_, by Daphne (now Dylan)
Scholinski; and
_Dress Codes: Of Three Girlhoods - My Mother's, My Father's,
and Mine_, by _Noelle Howey_. It's entirely possible that the
outsider experience may be so overwhelming to those
undergoing it that there is neither need nor compulsion to
translate it into the world of noir or hardboiled crime
fiction.
As far as the word "lesbian" goes, while "gay" does indeed
refer to homosexuals in general, the more common usage now is
for it to refer to gay men. In lesbian crime fiction from the
UK, however, there is more usage of "gay" to mean "gay men
and lesbians" (see Val McDermid's Lindsey Gordon series
especially). And while categories such as "gay,"
"lesbian," "transsexual" and "bisexual" (among others) may be
problematic for many reasons, those concerned would seem to
prefer to have a category to put themselves in, in the
interests of group solidarity (which again, might be
problematic). Certainly heteronormative society wants to put
"deviants" (_highly_ problematic!) into neat little boxes,
and the more of them the better, usually for oppressive
purposes.
Marilyn Frye has an excellent essay on the word "lesbian"; I
don't have the exact reference right now, but if there is
interest I can post the title and the book of hers it's in.
Frye may not be the most transparent of authors, but her
essays are always thought-provoking and rewarding, and _I_
like her style.
Metta, Ivan
---------------------------------------------- Ivan Van
Laningham God N Locomotive Works http://www.andi-holmes.com/
http://www.foretec.com/python/workshops/1998-11/proceedings.html
Army Signal Corps: Cu Chi, Class of '70 Author: Teach
Yourself Python in 24 Hours
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