As RuPaul has said, this is the Golden Age of Drag-and that's chiefly the achievement of RuPaul's Drag Race, which in its eleventh year is more popular than ever, and has now become fully mainstream in its appeal. The show has an irresistible allure for folks of all persuasions and proclivities. Yet serious or philosophical discussion of its exponential success has been rare. Now at last we have RuPaul's Drag Race and Philosophy, shining the light on all dimensions of this amazing phenomenon: theories of gender construction and identity, interpretations of RuPaul's famous quotes and phrases, the paradoxes of reality shows, the phenomenology of the drag queen, and how the fake becomes the truly authentic. The book includes a Foreword by the original "Gender Outlaw" Kate Bornstein. Among the thought-provoking issues examined in this path-breaking and innovative volume: What Should a Queen Do? Marta Sznajder looks at RuPaul's Drag Race from the perspective of rationality. Where contestants have to eliminate each other, the prisoner's dilemma and other well-known situations emerge. Reading Is Fundamental! Lucy McAdams analyzes two different, important speech acts that regularly appear on Drag Race-reading and throwing shade. The Values of Drag Race. Guilel Treiber observes two competing sets of values being presented in Drag Race. The more openly advertised "charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent," advancing the skills of every single contender, are opposed by the fading set of "acceptance, support, solidarity, and empowerment," which has historically been the cornerstone of the LGBTI+ community. The Importance of Being Fabulous. Holly Onclin challenges the preconceived notion that drag queens are mainly about female impersonation and instead proposes to understand drag queens as impersonators of celebrity. RuPaul Is a Better Warhol. Megan Volpert compares RuPaul and Andy Warhol in their shared pursuit of realness. Is Reading Someone to Filth Allowed? Rutger Birnie asks whether there are ethical restrictions on reading someone, since reads are ultimately insults and could cause harm. Serving Realness? Dawn Gilpin and Peter Nagy approach the concept of realness in Drag Race, to discuss the differences between realness, authenticity and the nature of being. Death Becomes Her. Hendrik Kempt explores the topic of death both in philosophy and in Drag Race, starting from the claim that "Philosophy is training for death." We're All Born Naked. Oliver Norman follows up on Ru's mantra, "We are all born naked and the rest is drag." Fire Werk with Me. Carolina Are looks into the fan-subcultures of Drag Race and Twin Peaks, which have come together to form a unique sub-subculture, in which members of both fan-subcultures create memes and idiosyncrasies. Towards a Healthier Subjectivity? Ben Glaister looks at the way Drag Race contestants adopt their drag personae almost as second selves, without finding themselves violating their other self. RuPaul versus Zarathustra. Julie and Alice van der Wielen ask the question, Who would win an intellectual lip-sync battle-RuPaul or Nietzsche's Zarathustra? Playing with Glitter? Fernando Pagnoni and pals explore the game and play elements of Drag Race. The Origins of Self-Love. Anna Fennell expounds upon RuPaul's question, "If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?" The Sublime. Sandra Ryan thinks about Kant's concept of the sublime and explores how we find its applications in Drag Race. You Want to Be Anonymous? You Better Work! Alice Fox watches Drag Race through the lens of criminal law and the problem of decreasing anonymity through ubiquitous data surveillance. Drag Race can teach us how to create misleading patterns of online behavior and public presentation to render the blackbox persona useless. Drag and Vulnerability. Anneliese Cooper contrasts Drag Race's demand for vulnerability and perceived authenticity with the inherent inauthenticity of creating a new persona.

Sexuality researcher, Jane Fleishman, shares the stories of nine fearless elders in the LGBTQ community who came of age around the time of Stonewall. In candid interviews, they lay bare their struggles, their strengths, their activism and their sexual liberation in the context of the political movements of the 1960s, 1970s and today. Each has spent a lifetime fighting for liberation, for the right to live, love and be free. Each has faced challenges arising from their sexual orientation, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, politics, disabilities, kinkiness, nonmonogamy and other identities. With unflinching directness, the elders interviewed explore their struggles within the LGBTQ community: Were they the "right" kind of lesbians or gay men? Were they scrutinised more critically because they came out as bi? Was there insidious racism or classism keeping them down just when they thought they'd finally come home? Were they called names or looked down upon for choosing to be paid for sex, for being fat, for having kinky sexual practices? Were their political credentials dissected when they wore the "wrong" kinds of clothes or lived in the "wrong" kinds of places? What political movements made an impact on them? How did their sexual lives as young people inform their sexual lives as adults? These are the stories of those whose lives were changed forever by Stonewall and who became agents of change themselves. We need to hear these voices.

"Gender Outlaw" is the work of a woman who has been through some changes - a former heterosexual male and one-time Scientologist and IBM salesperson, Kate Bornstein is now a lesbian woman writer and actress who makes regular rounds on the TV talk shows. This book covers: the "mechanics" of her surgery; everything you've always wanted to know about gender (but were too confused to ask); the place and politics of the transgendered; and the questions of those who give the subject little thought. It takes on various communities: gay, lesbian, straight, S/M and transgender, along with society at large. This work also includes Bornstein's play, "Hidden: A Gender".

"This updated edition of Bornstein's formative My Gender Workbook (1997) provides an invigorating introduction to contemporary theory around gender, sexuality, and power. The original is a classic of modern transgender theory and literature and, alongside Bornstein's other work, has influenced an entire generation of trans writers and artists. This revised and expanded edition extends that legacy, offering an accessible foundation for examining gender in the reader's life and in the broader culture while arguing for the dismantling of all forms of oppression. For fans of the original, Bornstein's new material merits a fresh read..."--Publishers Weekly, starred review Cultural theorists have written loads of smart but difficult-to-fathom texts on gender theory, but most fail to provide a hands-on, accessible guide for those trying to sort out their own sexual identities. In My Gender Workbook, transgender activist Kate Bornstein brings theory down to Earth and provides a practical approach to living with or without a gender. Bornstein starts from the premise that there are not just two genders performed in today's world, but countless genders lumped under the two-gender framework. Using a unique, deceptively simple and always entertaining workbook format, complete with quizzes, exercises, and puzzles, Bornstein gently but firmly guides readers toward discovering their own unique gender identity. Since its first publication in 1997, My Gender Workbook has been challenging, encouraging, questioning, and helping those trying to figure out how to become a "real man," a "real woman," or "something else entirely." In this exciting new edition of her classic text, Bornstein re-examines gender in light of issues like race, class, sexuality, and language. With new quizzes, new puzzles, new exercises, and plenty of Kate's playful and provocative style, My New Gender Workbook promises to help a new generation create their own unique place on the gender spectrum.

"This updated edition of Bornstein's formative My Gender Workbook (1997) provides an invigorating introduction to contemporary theory around gender, sexuality, and power. The original is a classic of modern transgender theory and literature and, alongside Bornstein's other work, has influenced an entire generation of trans writers and artists. This revised and expanded edition extends that legacy, offering an accessible foundation for examining gender in the reader's life and in the broader culture while arguing for the dismantling of all forms of oppression. For fans of the original, Bornstein's new material merits a fresh read..."--Publishers Weekly, starred review Cultural theorists have written loads of smart but difficult-to-fathom texts on gender theory, but most fail to provide a hands-on, accessible guide for those trying to sort out their own sexual identities. In My Gender Workbook, transgender activist Kate Bornstein brings theory down to Earth and provides a practical approach to living with or without a gender. Bornstein starts from the premise that there are not just two genders performed in today's world, but countless genders lumped under the two-gender framework. Using a unique, deceptively simple and always entertaining workbook format, complete with quizzes, exercises, and puzzles, Bornstein gently but firmly guides readers toward discovering their own unique gender identity. Since its first publication in 1997, My Gender Workbook has been challenging, encouraging, questioning, and helping those trying to figure out how to become a "real man," a "real woman," or "something else entirely." In this exciting new edition of her classic text, Bornstein re-examines gender in light of issues like race, class, sexuality, and language. With new quizzes, new puzzles, new exercises, and plenty of Kate's playful and provocative style, My New Gender Workbook promises to help a new generation create their own unique place on the gender spectrum.

In the 15 years since the release of Gender Outlaw, Kate Bornstein's ground-breaking challenge to gender ideology, transgender narratives have made their way from the margins to the mainstream and back again. Today's transgenders and other sex/gender radicals are writing a drastically new world into being. In Gender Outlaws, Bornstein, together with writer, raconteur, and theatre artist S. Bear Bergman, collects and contextualizes the work of this generation's trans and genderqueer forward thinkers , new voices from the stage, on the streets, in the workplace, in the bedroom, and on the pages and websites of the world's most respected mainstream news sources. Gender Outlaws includes essays, commentary, comic art, and conversations from a diverse group of trans-spectrum people who live and believe in barrier-breaking lives.

This self-help manual centres on real and difficult issues experienced by teenagers on the margins of society today and offers alternatives to suicide that range from the playful (moisturise) to the irreverent (shatter family values).

A specialist book for mental health professionals, sex therapists and educators to develop and improve their clinical work with trans clients with regards to their sexual relationships and sexuality. It provides an interdisciplinary exploration of the subject, and relates to both clinical practice and theory. Topics explored include the shifting of sexual orientation during or following gender transition; gender dysphoria and co-occurring autism spectrum disorder; negotiating issues of sexuality with partners during transition; eating disorders; and an exploration of the intersection of trans identities and disability. It uniquely touches on perspectives from the field of sex therapy, featuring chapter authors from disciplines including social work, marriage and family counseling, early childhood education, sex therapy, sex education, psychology, and women's studies.