I have recently written a novel about life in England during the Second World War. I felt some concern before I tackled this theme — the War...
Continue »
As a survivor of a political cult myself, I was very interested in reading another one's story. Although our groups were different, there was enough fundamental similarity to make it gripping reading -- sometimes in ways that might not apply to a non-survivor. Nonetheless I think anyone who has an interest in biography will find it engaging as well as educational.
This book was sometimes fascinating, frequently maddening. On the up side, the author proposes a number of correlations to exist between paranormal beliefs and experiences on one hand, and seemingly unrelated cultural factors on the other. Some of these have also been posited by more skeptical writers. On the down side, he never proves rigorously that these purported correlations actually exist.
Hansen assumes that they can only be understood in terms of an acausal "trickster constellation," but ignores the fact that more down-to-earth social and cognitive psychology can often be invoked to explain them. He takes for granted that the paranormal is real, rather than actually trying to prove it.
In fact, Hansen actually asserts that the paranormal by its nature can't be scientifically proven, and the book sometimes comes off as one long apologia for this fact. Particularly frustrating is the way he periodically cites some confusing or elusive quality of paranormal claims as "hinting" at something about "the nature of the paranormal," yet never comes out and says what he thinks that is.
Some of the most interesting material in the book for me was unrelated to alleged paranormal phenomena, such as the section concerning the socially provocative origins of the school of research called ethnomethodology.
I read this book a long time ago and it had a considerable, and continuing, impact on me. John Money has done a good deal of research, stemming from his clinical experience as a pediatric sexologist, demonstrating the role sexually repressive upbringings have in contributing to various psychosexual pathologies. Clinical observations, for instance, suggest that violent erotic fixations, such as those typically motivating serial killers, arise from violent adult reactions to children's expressions of sexuality such as masturbation.
It's unfortunate that many people seem to remember Money only for a misguided experiment in which an infant who'd lost its penis to a surgical mishap was, on his recommendation, raised as a girl -- only to develop serious gender dysphoria and ultimately become a transman. But it's clear that he learned from his mistake, as this book represents a decisive repudiation of the sort of cultural reductionism that prompted it.
Money is not quite as radical here as I would like, however, in that he still thinks intersex children need to be raised with a gender. I frankly see no reason for this. In fact, if children in general were raised without having any gender imposed on them, it would surely preclude gender dysphoria and many other problems as well. Could homophobia, for instance, persist in a world where men's identities weren't tied to seeing themselves as different from women in socially prescribed ways?
I just read this book aloud for a book-on-tape, and the ending was moving.
Strictly speaking, I could fault the book for the fact that the viewpoint character describes himself as black even though he's really brown -- unlike the title character, who really is black. But since Squizzy can't understand what the word "black" even means, that distinction might have been difficult to fit into the story -- whose point is that such distinctions don't matter.
Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.
Don't Miss
Customer Comments
Eric Hamell has commented on (15) products.
Inside Out: A Memoir of Entering and Breaking Out of a Minneapolis Political Cult by Alexandra Stein
Eric Hamell, October 15, 2009
As a survivor of a political cult myself, I was very interested in reading another one's story. Although our groups were different, there was enough fundamental similarity to make it gripping reading -- sometimes in ways that might not apply to a non-survivor. Nonetheless I think anyone who has an interest in biography will find it engaging as well as educational.The Trickster and the Paranormal by George P. Hansen
Eric Hamell, October 3, 2009
This book was sometimes fascinating, frequently maddening. On the up side, the author proposes a number of correlations to exist between paranormal beliefs and experiences on one hand, and seemingly unrelated cultural factors on the other. Some of these have also been posited by more skeptical writers. On the down side, he never proves rigorously that these purported correlations actually exist.Hansen assumes that they can only be understood in terms of an acausal "trickster constellation," but ignores the fact that more down-to-earth social and cognitive psychology can often be invoked to explain them. He takes for granted that the paranormal is real, rather than actually trying to prove it.
In fact, Hansen actually asserts that the paranormal by its nature can't be scientifically proven, and the book sometimes comes off as one long apologia for this fact. Particularly frustrating is the way he periodically cites some confusing or elusive quality of paranormal claims as "hinting" at something about "the nature of the paranormal," yet never comes out and says what he thinks that is.
Some of the most interesting material in the book for me was unrelated to alleged paranormal phenomena, such as the section concerning the socially provocative origins of the school of research called ethnomethodology.
Bound and Gagged by Laura Kipnis
Eric Hamell, August 9, 2009
Fascinating and scary. I'm adding it to my Bookshelf.Lovemaps: Sexual/Erotic Health and Pathology, Paraphilia, and Gender Transposition In... by John Money
Eric Hamell, March 21, 2009
I read this book a long time ago and it had a considerable, and continuing, impact on me. John Money has done a good deal of research, stemming from his clinical experience as a pediatric sexologist, demonstrating the role sexually repressive upbringings have in contributing to various psychosexual pathologies. Clinical observations, for instance, suggest that violent erotic fixations, such as those typically motivating serial killers, arise from violent adult reactions to children's expressions of sexuality such as masturbation.It's unfortunate that many people seem to remember Money only for a misguided experiment in which an infant who'd lost its penis to a surgical mishap was, on his recommendation, raised as a girl -- only to develop serious gender dysphoria and ultimately become a transman. But it's clear that he learned from his mistake, as this book represents a decisive repudiation of the sort of cultural reductionism that prompted it.
Money is not quite as radical here as I would like, however, in that he still thinks intersex children need to be raised with a gender. I frankly see no reason for this. In fact, if children in general were raised without having any gender imposed on them, it would surely preclude gender dysphoria and many other problems as well. Could homophobia, for instance, persist in a world where men's identities weren't tied to seeing themselves as different from women in socially prescribed ways?
Squizzy the Black Squirrel a Fabulous by Chuck Stone
Eric Hamell, March 17, 2009
I just read this book aloud for a book-on-tape, and the ending was moving.Strictly speaking, I could fault the book for the fact that the viewpoint character describes himself as black even though he's really brown -- unlike the title character, who really is black. But since Squizzy can't understand what the word "black" even means, that distinction might have been difficult to fit into the story -- whose point is that such distinctions don't matter.
1-5 of 15next