Gender Reversals and Gender Cultures: Anthropological and Historical Perspectives

Gender Reversals and Gender Culturesis a collection of specially commissioned essays taking a cross-cultural and cross-historical look at the phenomenon of gender change. The contributors document the universality of gender reversals, with chapters ranging from early Christianity, Hindu mythology, ancient Greek rites of Dionysos to Native American traditions and Western theatre. They examine how gender reversals are bound up with taboo, and how this underlies religious and ritual activity. Contributors include Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer, Judith Ochshorn, Winfried Schleiner, and Karen Jo Torjesen.