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Wondrous Transformations: A Maverick Physician, the Science of Hormones, and the Birth of the Transgender Revolution
Wondrous Transformations: A Maverick Physician, the Science of Hormones, and the Birth of the Transgender Revolution
Wondrous Transformations: A Maverick Physician, the Science of Hormones, and the Birth of the Transgender Revolution
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Wondrous Transformations: A Maverick Physician, the Science of Hormones, and the Birth of the Transgender Revolution

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Harry Benjamin (1885–1986), a German-born endocrinologist, was a pivotal figure in the development of transgender medicine. He was physician to transgender pioneers such as Christine Jorgensen, the 1950s "Ex-GI" turned "Blonde Beauty" media sensation, and in turn, she and other collaborators helped to shape Benjamin's influential 1966 book, The Transsexual Phenomenon. Alison Li's much-needed biography of Benjamin chronicles his passion for hormones and his lifelong interest in sexology.

Drawing from extensive research in archival documents, secondary sources, and interviews, Li tells the story of Benjamin's early ventures in gerontology and his later work with over a thousand transgender patients. Benjamin's contributions to treatment, education, research, and networking helped to create the institutional foundations of transgender medicine. Moreover, they set the stage for a radical reconsideration of gender identity, challenging us to reflect upon what it is to be male or female and to envision moving beyond these long-held categories.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 14, 2023
ISBN9781469674865
Wondrous Transformations: A Maverick Physician, the Science of Hormones, and the Birth of the Transgender Revolution
Author

Alison Li

Alison Li is a historian of science and medicine who writes about hormones, medical research, and the culture in which they are shaped. She is coeditor of Women, Health, and Nation: Canada and the United States since 1945.

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Isn't this a great cover? This little history is a biography of Harry Benjamin, one of the first doctors to prescribe hormonal replacement therapy to transgender people. It charts the life of Dr. Benjamin, from his youth in Berlin (what a wonderful soul he was!) to his early years in New York attempting to cure tuberculosis, to his middle-aged celebrity involved with the "rejuvenation cure", to finally his later life, where he helped some of the first transgender people access hormonal treatments.I found myself really connecting to Mr. Benjamin through the pages and I grew to also wish to have known the man myself. Several sections were an absolute treat: I loved his early years and the passages around the first world war, as well as his celebrity connection to Gertrude Atherton and the his first interactions with gender-diverse patients. The book lagged a bit in the middle; I believe this probably from a lack of interesting source material, and at times it felt a bit like a who's who of Harry Benjamin's circle.In a related way, the book only begins to talk about transgender topics in depth around 2/3 into it. I'm worried the advertising for this book will leave some people frustrated—This is not a book on transgender history but a biography of a man associated with its history. I loved it because I love history and biographies, but I don't know if everyone will.The minutiae of transgender topics also inspire a lot of passion (both good and bad) and I found the author's tone wonderfully balanced for the subject matter. I have a very fraught relationship with more modern conceptions of gender identity (in an appropriate metaphor, I lived a few years as a Benjamin Scale 4, I'm now at a 2) and nowadays I find a lot of solace in historical concepts of gender and sexuality. The world is not always kind to me about it, but this book felt like a comfortable little blanket to wrap around myself in the meantime. Rather than try to make excuses for ideas or terminology, the book relates the history as it was while reminding the reader to be sympathetic through anecdotes of the literal life-saving care he could give his patients. I love that. The love from his transgender clients is palpable in their stories, and I am so so so glad we have this biography of this man now.Anyways, I love Harry Benjamin and I loved this book. Pick it up (or better yet, go bug your library to get it)!Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

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Wondrous Transformations - Alison Li

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