Self-Made Man(book)
 | |
| Author | Norah Vincent |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Gender stereotypes |
Publication date | 2006 |
| Publication place | United States |
Self-Made Man: My Year Disguised as a Manis a 2006 book by journalistNorah Vincent,recounting an 18-month experiment in which shedisguised herself as a manand then integrated into traditionallymale-only venues,such as a bowling league and a monastery. She described this as "a human project" about learning. She states at the beginning that she is alesbianbut nottransgender.
Content
[edit]In order to effectively pose as a man, Vincent acquired abuzz cutandflattened her chestusing a small sports bra. She also hired a makeup artist to fake afive o'clock shadowand trained for months to imitate a deeper male voice. She changed her diet and exercise regime to "bulk up" with more upper-body muscle.
She describes her experiences as a man in strip clubs, on dates, and as part of a man's support group.[1][2][3]
She joined a men's bowling team, where she says, "[the men] just took me in... no questions asked." She eventually became friends with them, even coming along to strip clubs and dating presumably straight women who had no idea of her true gender. She later revealed her true identity to the men, who "took it well".[4]
She wrote about how the only time she had ever been considered excessively feminine was during her stint as a man: heralter ego,Ned, was assumed to be gay on several occasions. Features of herself that had before been seen asbutchwere seen as oddly effeminate. Vincent stated that, after the experiment, she gained more sympathy for the male condition: "Men are suffering. They have different problems than women have, but they don't have it better. They need our sympathy, they need our love, and they need each other more than anything else. They need to be together."[2][3]
Audiobook
[edit]Vincent also recordedSelf-Made Manas anaudiobookfor Penguin Highbridge.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^The Guardian - Double Agent
- ^abChang, JuJu (2006-01-20)."A Self-Made Man: Woman Goes Undercover to Experience Life as a man".20/20.United States: ABC news.Retrieved2007-11-07.
- ^abChang, JuJu (2006-01-20)."A Self-Made Man: Woman Goes Undercover to Experience Life as a man (video)".20/20.United States: ABC news.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-19.Retrieved2016-03-17.
- ^Self-Made Man: My Year Disguised as a ManISBN0-670-03466-5
- ^Self Made Man Penguin Highbridge (Audio) (January 19, 2006)ISBN978-0786564088
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