Amateur: A Reckoning with Gender, Identity, and Masculinity

*Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction *Shortlisted for the Lambda Literary Award *Shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize One of The Times UK's Best Memoirs of 2018, BuzzFeed's Best Nonfiction of 2018, Autostraddle's Best LGBT Books of 2018, and 52 Insight's Favorite Nonfiction Books of 2018 A "no-holds-barred examination of masculinity" (BuzzFeed) and violence from award-winning author Thomas Page McBee.In this "refreshing and radical" (The Guardian) narrative, Thomas McBee, a trans man, sets out to uncover what makes a man--and what being a "good" man even means--through his experience training for and fighting in a charity boxing match at Madison Square Garden. A self-described "amateur" at masculinity, McBee embarks on a wide-ranging exploration of gender in society, examining sexism, toxic masculinity, and privilege. As he questions the limitations of gender roles and the roots of masculine aggression, he finds intimacy, hope, and even love in the experience of boxing and in his role as a man in the world. Despite personal history and cultural expectations, "Amateur is a reminder that the individual can still come forward and fight" (The A.V. Club). "Sharp and precise, open and honest," (Women's Review of Books), McBee's writing asks questions "relevant to all people, trans or not" (New York Newsday). Through interviews with experts in neuroscience, sociology, and critical race theory, he constructs a deft and thoughtful examination of the role of men in contemporary society. Amateur is a graceful and uncompromising look at gender by a fearless, fiercely honest writer.

Author: Thomas Page McBee
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Published: 05/14/2019
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.40lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.60w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781501168758

About the Author
Thomas Page McBee's Lambda Award-winning debut memoir, Man Alive, was named a best book of the year by NPR Books, BuzzFeed, Kirkus Reviews, and Publishers Weekly. His "refreshing [and] radical" (The Guardian) follow-up, Amateur, was shortlisted for the UK's Baillie-Gifford nonfiction book prize and the Wellcome Book Prize, named a best book of the year by many publications, and translated into multiple languages. In the course of reporting the book, Thomas became the first transgender man to ever fight in Madison Square Garden. His essays and reportage appear in The New York Times, The Atlantic, GQ, Esquire, Vanity Fair, and many other outlets, and his work has been supported by residencies at MacDowell and Yaddo. He is also a television writer/producer, and his recent work architecting the transition story for Elliot Page's character on The Umbrella Academy was nominated for a GLAAD award. He lives outside Los Angeles with his wife and dogs.