Going Gaga: Judith Halberstam
Written by Kate O'Halloran | 27 January 2011
Academic 'Judith' Jack Halberstam spoke with CHERRIE writer Kate O'Halloran.
http://cherrie.com.au/feature/going-gaga-judith-halberstam-003240.htmlYou may know her as Judith Halberstam, the academic of Female Masculinity fame, but these days she goes by Jack (although says she is "not fussy about pronouns..."). Halberstam's book, Female Masculinity, has arguably become somewhat of a bible within the queer (particularly lesbian and trans) community, with its attention to a range of topics such as the 'stone butch', female-to-male ->-bleeped-<- and drag kings. While such terms and embodiments of what Halberstam terms 'female masculinity' are well known and loved within the queer community, Halberstam's work is notable for bringing these terms and experiences into academic as well as public discourse. Despite the dense nature of the work itself, Halberstam's book has found its way onto the bookshelves of many within the queer community; even to readers without any prior interest in academia.
This unique success is sure to be a source of pride for Halberstam:
"Academia can never afford to cut itself off from popular culture and trends," she says. "Disciplinary training in universities teaches academics to write and think in ways that are not always easily translated into popular idioms and this is no less true of cultural studies than of science.
