That Guy in Our Women’s Studies Class
by Allan D. Hunter
In this nonfiction memoir, Derek, a genderqueer sissy male, decides that a women’s studies class in college would be a good place to engage people in discussions about gender. Derek has reason to worry that he’s invading women’s space by attending women’s studies classes. At the same time, he’s a minority within that space, and, as a gender-nonconforming sissy in the 1980s, a person with a gender identity that wasn’t acknowledged and recognized yet, he’s been somewhat marginalized by gender himself. This narrative tale illustrates the complexities of intersectionality, the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender. The main character is male, the privileged sex in the patriarchal context.
*That Guy in Our Women’s Studies Class* is a somewhat rare thing in autobiographical nonfiction: a sequel! It picks up where Hunter’s first book, *GenderQueer: A Story From a Different Closet* (2020: Sunstone Press) left off: Derek has just come out as a self-described sissy and seeks to be an activist in 1980, an era long before modern LGBTQ identity politics, and decides academic women’s studies is the ideal place to discuss such matters and meet other people wanting to do the same.
5 out of 5 fairies
I LOVED this book. Hunter really dives into a lot of issues – not just gender ones. I loved following Hunter’s journey through college (undergrad and graduate). Getting to meet the different teachers and students that came from a wide range of backgrounds and beliefs was wonderful. They were so diverse, and Hunter did a great job of bringing their essence to the page. Hunter doesn’t gloss over students who have opposing POVs, but instead includes their differing views along with the debates that arose over them. I cannot recommend this enough for members of the LGBTQIA+ community and anyone interested in gender studies.
That Guy in Our Women’s Studies Class
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Genderqueer
Lily’s Review
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Allan D. Hunter came out as a heterosexual sissy and gender invert in 1980, long before the word “genderqueer” was in use.
Allan received his BA in American Studies with a concentration in Women’s Studies from the State University of New York (SUNY)/Old Westbury and an MSW in Social Welfare and an MA in Sociology from SUNY/Stony Brook.
Sunstone Press is publishing his book, GenderQueer: A Story from a Differently Gendered Closet, with a release date is anticipated to be early 2020. It is the story of his growing awareness of his own gender identity and how it affected him, his family, classmates, and friends. It begins with his elementary-school years and continues into adulthood.
He is a resident of New Hyde Park, New York.
Allan has published the following articles:
1. “Same Door, Different Closet: A Heterosexual Sissy’s Coming-Out Party,” in the journal Feminism and Psychology 2 (3), 1992. It has been reprinted twice in subsequent anthologies, including the book-length expansion of this journal’s special issue, titled HETEROSEXUALITY: A Feminism and Psychology Reader, which was published soon after the first appearance of his article, and in Sexual Lives: A Reader on the Theories and Realities of Human Sexualities, Heasley & Crane, eds., McGraw-Hill, 2002.
2. “The Radical Feminist Perspective in (and/or on) the Field of Sociology,” in Readings in Feminist Theory, edited by S.M. Channa, Cosmo Publications, 2006. This article began as a paper in his undergraduate days and was critiqued favorably by Verta Taylor of The Ohio State University’s Sociology Department and Sheila Ruth, professor at Southern Illinois University, and author of the reader, Issues in Feminism.
3. “Sexual Objectification and Visual Aspects of Sexuality,” Sheffield Electronic Press, 1994
His work has been cited in the following:
“Masculinities and Affective Equality,” proceedings from GEXcel Theme 2: Deconstructing the Hegemony of Men and Masculinities Conference, 27– 29 April 2009, edited by Alp Biricik and Jeff Hearn
Chapter 12: Analyzing Discursive Constructions of “Metrosexual” Masculinity Online: “What does it matter, anyway?,” Matthew Hall,
Trent University, Nottingham, England
“Policing Gender at Work: Intersections of Harassment Based on Sex and Sexuality,” Julie Konik and Lilia M. Cortina, Social Justice Research (2008), 21: 313-337
Allan has given the following lectures:
– Feminist reading group, Boston College, discussing gender issues introduced in “Same Door, Different Closet,” 2011
– LIFE (Long Island Fetish Exchange), Nassau County Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Center, Woodbury, Long Island, New York, on the topic, “Gender Inversion, Being Genderqueer, and How Kink Facilitates Stepping Away from Gendered Assumptions,” 2015
– Baltimore Playhouse, Baltimore, MD, “Gender Inversion, Being Genderqueer, and Living in a World of Gender Assumptions,” 2016
– EPIC Lifestyle Conference, Lake Harmony, PA, same topic, 2016
– Long Island Leather and Roses, West Babylon, NY, same topic, spring 2017
– Podcast, OffTheCuffs (http:/offthecuffs.libsyn.com/), 2017
– Mars Hill University, 2017
– Castleton University, 2017
– 20Something, LGBTQ Center, New York City, 2017
During his undergraduate days, he was an active participant at the campus Women’s Center, edited the student newspaper, and wrote many articles about sex roles, gender, and feminism; he also did a psychology research project on sex-role nonconformity, where he profiled male sissies (male girls) and female tomboys (female boys), differentiating them from either sexual orientation or studies of transsexual people seeking sex reassignment.
Allan has often been at odds with other academics with his views on gender identity and on feminism. He has brought a fresh perspective to these discussions, which have not always been favorably received, yet they have added to the scholarship in an area that has been greatly lacking in researching and writing. Beginning in 1996, Allan began offering his own theory papers on his own website, http://www.genderkitten.com. He is in the process of moving that content to his new website, www.genderkitten.com. He blogs at http://ahunter3.livejournal.com. He has also participated in various internet-based and small-group volunteer counseling services for people exploring their gender identity and sexuality.
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