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Lori B. Girshick, Ph.D.Trainer/ConsultantLGBT Domestic and Sexual Violence |
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Lori B. Girshick, Ph.D.Trainer/ConsultantLGBT Domestic and Sexual Violence |
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Transgender Voices: Beyond Women and Men (UPNE, 2008) is based
on interviews with 150 trans-identified people. The book brings together
the voices of sex- and gender-diverse people who speak with absolute candor
about their lives. Readers hear transpeople speaking in their own voices
about identity, coming out, passing, sexual orientation, relationship negotiations
and the dynamics of attraction, homophobia (including internalized fears),
and bullying. I expose the guilt and the shame that ́gender policeî use
in their attempts to exert control and point out the many ways the gender
binary is reinforced in daily life, from filling out identity documents
to gender-segregated bathrooms.
By showing readers a variety of descriptions of diverse real lives and providing a thorough exploration of the embodied experiences of gender variant people, I demonstrate that there is nothing inherently binary about gender, that the way each of us experiences our own gender and our own gender variance is, in fact, normal and natural. My analysis of gender as perceived, experienced, and expressed by study participants shows that the ́common denominatorsî of male/masculine and female/feminine may be illusions. To order Transgender Voices (ISBN 978-1-58465-645-6, cloth) go to UPNE , or call 800-421-1561. |
MY THIRD BOOK:
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Woman-to-Woman Sexual Violence: Does She Call it Rape? (Northeastern
University Press, 2002) is based on a nationwide survey of lesbian and
bisexual women who have been sexually abused by other women. The life experiences
of lesbians and bisexual women are largely absent from public knowledge
and dialog. I sent flyers to thousands of agencies and organizations, to
LGBT community centers, LGBT media, research centers, bookstores, and so
forth. I have chapters on homophobia (the context of our lives),
the myth of the lesbian utopia, the respondents' experiences of sexual
violence, issues of revictimization, legal issues, agency services, and
language (what we call this sexual violence against us). Regrettably, this
is a real problem in many of our relationships (intimate and casual) and
it will remain invisible if sexual violence is only defined in patriarchal
terms of male penetration and intercourse. The sexual violence types reflected
in the women's stories in the book include sexual abuse within battering
relationships, acquaintance rape, co-worker harassment, abuse by professionals,
and sexual abuse of minors. It is my hope that by writing this book survivors
will have their experiences validated, agencies will alter their programs
and outreach, laws will be challenged, and the absolute need to end homophobia,
biphobia, transphobia, and heterosexism will be incorporated into our social
change work as we seek social justice for everyone.
To order Woman-to-Woman Sexual Violence (ISBN: 1-55553-527-5,
paperback; 1-55553-528-3, hardcover): call 800-421-1561 or go to (UPNE).
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MY SECOND BOOK:
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I have a book out on women in prison, No Safe Haven: Stories of
Women in Prison (Northeastern University Press, 1999). I interviewed
40 inmates at the Black Mountain Correctional Center for Women in Black
Mountain, North Carolina, 12 family members, 16 community volunteers, and
nine program providers. Chapters in the book include an overview of women
in prison, a focus on the women's lives as adolescents, a look at their
lives before their arrests, their drug use/abuse histories, relationship
abuse, education and work histories, their lives while in prison, programming
in prison, and policy recommendations. Following a feminist approach, I
use the words of the women extensively throughout the book. My policy recommendations
include addressing the following: sexism in schools, economic marginalization,
racism, domestic violence, and alcohol/drug addiction.
To order No Safe Haven (ISBN:1-55553-467-8, paper): call 800-421-1561
or go to (UPNE).
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| MY FIRST BOOK:
Soledad Women: Wives of Prisoners Speak Out: The first book I published was my dissertation research on women married to inmates at Soledad Prison in California. Based on interviews with 25 women who were wives (one was a girlfriend) of inmates I explore how the fact of incarceration affected their lives. Chapters cover issues such as impact on their relationship, dealing with prison visiting, financial impact, issues with children, the stigma the women experience being associated with someone in prison, and so forth. I found that these women were quite loyal to their husbands and withstood enormous personal challenge to maintain their relationships. The book was published by Praeger in 1996. ISBN: 0-275-95409-9 (hardcover only) |
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