Normal: Transsexual Ceos, Crossdressing Cops, and Hermaphrodites with Attitude

This book was my introduction to Amy Bloom. She is an extraordinarily gifted writer. This book arrived quickly and in good shape.

Bloom, Amy. "Normal: Transsexual CEOs, Crossdressing Cops and Hermaphrodites with Attitude", Vintage. 2003. An Intimate Journey Amos Lassen Amy Bloom takes us on a provocative and intimate journey to visit with people who are transgender and they are willing to either reveal or talk about it. The live with variegated gender and they are male to female transsexuals, heterosexual crossdressers and intersexed. Lyle Monelle's mother, Jesse realized early that her little girl was in reality a boy and Jesse used her life savings to help Lyle make the transgender transition. Peggy Rudd and her husband, Melanie are met on a Carnival cruise ship where they are with a group of crossdressers and their spouses. These two devote their lives to the cause of ordinary heterosexual men with a "feminine dimension". Then there is Hale Hawbecker who is a regular, middle-of-the road guy with a wife and kids and a medical condition that if he had it taken care of, both his life and gender would be changed. Bloom shows us the people and also their humanity thereby allowing us to appreciate them for who they really are. They are both alike and unlike everyone else. She takes us into their worlds and then to the larger world in which they live with the rest of us. We see that our assumptions about sex, gender and identity and what it means to be male and female may not be what they should be and that even the most liberal of us have preconceived notions about what is "normal". After reading this it is hard to look at happiness, personality and character in the same way. Bloom has a great deal to say about the concept of "normal" and does so in a way that is easily understood.

After a popular novel and two stunning collections of short stories, psychotherapist and fiction writer Amy Bloom turns an eye toward gender, and her new non-fiction book is a knockout. Made up of three individual essays and an Afterword called "On Nature," Bloom examines issues of gender that are outside what most of society calls "normal." In "The Body Lies: Female-to-Male Transsexuals," we are introduced to a number of people born genetically male who are living as women (with or without sex reassignment surgery); in the section on "Heterosexual Crossdressers," we learn about manly men who, at times, enjoy dressing in feminine garb; the last segment, "Hermaphrodites with Attitude," is about people born with ambiguous "genital anomalies." The author interviewed numerous transsexuals, crossdressers, and intersexed people as well as doctors, educators, sex researchers, and others to give readers an engrossing glimpse at the confusion, prejudice, and misunderstanding that occurs when people are not so easily boxed into categories of "male" or "female." With a deft touch and a wry sense of humor, Bloom makes a cogent argument for acceptance and understanding. In a segment that will no doubt be much quoted, she writes, "(O)ur mistake is in thinking that the wide range of humanity represents aberration when in fact it represents just what it is: range. Nature is not two little notes on a child's flute; Nature is more like Aretha Franklin: vast, magnificent, capricious-occasionally hilarious-and infinitely varied" (p. 149) Anyone interested in a combination of delightful writing style and keen insight about issues of gender will find this book fascinating. I highly recommend it.

This lucid book surprised me twice: first, when it exposed me to valuable information I'd never seen before despite a lifetime of study of sexual deviance and, second, when it entertained me with a quality of writing rarely seen. Amy Bloom is, without doubt, an extraordinary writer capable of graceful prose.Her inquiry into the three subjects of transexualism, transvestism and intersexuality mirrors that of an investigative journalist or probing sociologist: Bloom went into the field, conducted extensive first- and secondhand research and brought home interesting and unexpected insights. No matter how familiar you are with any of these subjects, you will learn something new and useful from this book.And the pleasure of reading it makes the book doubly enjoyable.

Amy Bloom's latest book, Normal, gives those of us who are familiar with her fiction another opportunity to luxuriate in her distinctive, elegant prose. Those not familiar with Bloom's work are in for a rare treat: a book which employs this writer's considerable talents (as both a psychotherapist and an artist) for an attentive and comprehensive examination of people whose lives include (but are not limited by) transgender, crossdressing and intersex issues. Bloom doesn't create "characters" in her exploration of these people; instead, she puts her artistry to work in giving voice to the living, breathing human beings who have the same range of responses as there are fascinating situations in this book.Normal is compassionate, compelling and relevant.Buy it and read it.