Making of a Man

In the autumn of 2012, Maxim Februari-known until then as writer and philosopher Marjolijn Februari-announced his intention to live as a man. The news was greeted with a diversity of reactions, from curiosity to unease. These responses made it absolutely clear to Februari that most of us don't know how to think about transsexuality. The Making of a Man explores this lacuna through a deeply personal meditation on a profoundly universal aspect of our identities.Februari contemplates the many questions that sexual transitions entail: the clinical effects of testosterone, the alteration of sexual organs, and its effects on sexual intimacy; how transsexuality figures in the law; and how it challenges the way we talk about sex and gender, such as the seemingly minor-but crucially important-difference between the terms &quote;transsexual&quote; and &quote;transgender.&quote; He analyzes our impressions of effeminate men and butch women, separating apparent acceptance from actual prejudice, and critically examines the curious requirement in many countries that one must demonstrate a psychological disturbance-a &quote;gender identity disorder&quote;-in order to be granted sex change therapies. From there he explores the seemingly endless minutiae changing genders or sex effect, from the little box with an M or an F on passports to the shockingly sudden way testosterone can adjust physical features.With his characteristically clear voice combined with intimate-sometimes moving, sometimes funny-ruminations, Februari wakes readers up to all the ways, big and small, our world is structured by sex and gender.