The Making of a Man ─ Notes on Transsexuality

In the autumn of 2012, Maxim Februari, known until then as writer and philosopher Marjolijn Februari, announced his intention to live as a man. InThe Making of a Man he describes how the news was greeted: the unease, the interest, and the slightly too comradely tone in which people suddenly started to address him. Whatever the reaction, there was always an element of ignorance. Hardly anyone seemed to understand what a sex change actually involves or how best to react to it.

Februari analyzes our impressions of effeminate men and butch women, and examines apparent acceptance and actual prejudice. Curiously, to gain access to medical treatment you are required to demonstrate that you are psychologically disturbed—you need to be diagnosed as suffering from a “gender identity disorder”—and the book examines the implications of this requirement. Then there are the far-reaching demands of officialdom that must be met so that, for example, “you can go on holiday with a passport that gives your correct gender.”

Februari’s account of his own transition is fascinating. Although the process of changing sex is of course a lengthy one, the outside world experiences it as a fairly abrupt switch. From one day to the next, as the testosterone took effect, Februari started to find himself addressed as a man rather than as a woman. “What had changed?” he asks himself. “In the intervening twenty-four hours I hadn’t had a haircut, I wasn’t wearing different clothes; it was just that the testosterone had altered the subtle signals by which my body suggested its sex.”

Februari’s characteristically clear, philosophical voice, combined with his intimate, sometimes moving, sometimes funny experiences make this account unique. He analyzes and describes, charts and enquires. Above all, he makes us think.