Jack Halberstam
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Jack Halberstam (; born December 15, 1961) is an American academic and author, best known for his book ''Female Masculinity'' (1998). His work focuses largely on feminism and queer and transgender identities in popular culture. Since 2017, Halberstam has been a professor in the department of English and Comparative Literature and the Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
. Previously, he worked as both director and professor at The Center for Feminist Research at
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
(USC). Halberstam was the associate professor in the Department of Literature at the
University of California at San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Sc ...
before working at USC. Halberstam lectures in the United States and internationally on queer failure, sex and media, subcultures, visual culture, gender variance, popular film and animation. Halberstam is currently working on several projects including a book on
fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
and (homo)sexuality. In Halberstam's most popular piece, ''Female Masculinity'', he attacks the protected status of male masculinity, treating it not as foundational, but the least interesting of a wide number of variants. In addition, he points out the ways in which female masculinities have been pathologized. In the first full length study of its kind, Halberstam traces the presence of female masculinities throughout history, offering it as a viable and ancient option. The text argues for a more nuanced understanding of gender categories, using examples such as “the bathroom problem” to point out every-day ways in which nonbinary people are excluded. The book was nominated for the Lambda Literary Award in Lesbian Studies in 1998 and awarded the Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction in 1999.


Early life, education and gender identity

Halberstam is one of six children.
Assigned female at birth Sex assignment (also known as gender assignment) is the discernment of an infant's sex, typically made at birth based on an examination of the baby's external genitalia by a healthcare provider such as a midwife, nurse, or physician. In the ...
, Jack was born Judith Halberstam to father, Heini Halberstam, and mother, Heather Peacock. The two remained married until Heather's death in a car accident in 1971. Heini died from illness in 2014 at age 87. Halberstam is Jewish, with family history in
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
. He earned a B.A. in English at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
in 1985, an M.A. from the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
in 1989, and a Ph.D. from the same school in 1991. Although nonspecific about gender identity, Halberstam uses the preferred name "Jack" publicly and professionally. A self-proclaimed "free floater", Halberstam has said that "Some people call me Jack, my sisters call me Jude, people I've known forever call me Judith" and "I try not to police any of it. A lot of people call me he, some people call me she, and I let it be a weird mix of things."


Career


''Female Masculinity''

In ''Female Masculinity'' (1998), Halberstam seeks to identify what constitutes masculinity within society and the individual. The text first suggests that masculinity is a construction that promotes particular brands of male-ness while at the same time subordinating "alternative masculinities." The project specifically focuses on the ways female masculinity has been traditionally ignored in academia and society at large. To illustrate a cultural mechanism of subordinating alternative masculinities, Halberstam brings up
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
and ''
GoldenEye ''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond (lit ...
'' as an example, noting that gender performance in this film is far from what is traditional: M is the character who "most convincingly performs masculinity," Bond can only perform masculinity through his suave clothing and gadgets, and Q can be read "as a perfect model of the interpenetration of queer and dominant regimes." This interpretation of these characters challenges long-held ideas about what qualities create masculinity.


''The Queer Art of Failure''

In '' The Queer Art of Failure'' (2011), Halberstam argues that failure can be a productive way of critiquing capitalism and
heteronormativity Heteronormativity is the definition of heterosexuality as the normative human sexuality. It assumes the gender binary (i.e., that there are only two distinct, opposite genders) and that sexual and marital relations are most fitting between peo ...
. Using examples from popular culture, like Pixar animated films, Halberstam explores alternatives to individualism and conformity. L. Ayu Saraswati calls ''The Queer Art of Failure'' "a groundbreaking book that retheorizes failure and its relationship to the process of knowledge production and being in the world."


''Gaga Feminism''

In ''Gaga Feminism'', Halberstam uses
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...
as a symbol for a new kind of feminism during a time in which gender and sex seem to be in crisis. The ways in which Lady Gaga and all the subsequent craziness that comes with her resonates in popular culture suggest an evolving form of gender and sexuality. Gaga feminism does not seek to prescribe a particular version of the future, but presents options. It seeks to undo the category as a whole, rather than neatly round it out. Halberstam uses contemporary pop culture examples, such as
SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...
, ''
Bridesmaids Bridesmaids are members of the bride's party at some Western culture, Western traditional wedding ceremonies. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman and often the bride's close friend or relative. She attends to the bride on the day of a weddi ...
'', and Dory from ''
Finding Nemo ''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Lee Unkrich, and produced by Graham Walters, from ...
'' to explore what he calls the tenets of Gaga Feminism.


Other works

''In a Queer Time and Place: Transgender Bodies, Subcultural Lives'', published in 2005, looks at queer subculture, and proposes a conception of time and space independent of the influence of normative heterosexual/familial lifestyle. Halberstam coedits the book series "Perverse Modernities" with Lisa Lowe. ''Trans*: A Quick and Quirky Account of Gender Variability'', published in 2018, examines recent developments in the meanings of gender and gendered bodies. Through dissecting gendered language and creations of popular culture, Halberstam presents a complex view of the trans* body and its place in the modern world.


Personal life

After a relationship of 12 years, Halberstam has been romantically involved with a female sociology professor from Los Angeles, since 2008. Halberstam has said that he feels no pressure to marry, viewing marriage as a patriarchal institution that should not be a prerequisite for obtaining health care and deeming children "legitimate". Halberstam believes that "the couple form is failing".


Honors and awards

Halberstam was awarded a
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
in 2024 for Theatre Arts and Performance Studies. Halberstam has been nominated three times for
Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...
s, twice for the non-fiction book ''Female Masculinity''. Halberstam was awarded the Arcus/Places Prize in 2018 from Places Journal for innovative public scholarship on the relationship between gender, sexuality and the built environment. In 2022, Halberstam delivered the
Gifford Lectures The Gifford Lectures () are an annual series of lectures which were established in 1887 by the will of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford at the four ancient universities of Scotland: St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Their purpose is to "pro ...
on ''Collapse, Demolition, and the Queer Geographies and Unworlding: An Aesthetics of Collapse'' at the
University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
.


Books

* *Halberstam, Judith and Ira Livingston, Eds. ''Posthuman Bodies.'' Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995. & 0253209706 *Halberstam, Judith. ''Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters.'' Durham: Duke University Press, 1995. & 0822316633 * *Halberstam, Judith and Del LaGrace Volcano. ''The Drag King Book.'' London: Serpent's Tale, 1999. *Halberstam, Judith. ''In a Queer Time and Place: Transgender Bodies, Subcultural Lives.'' New York: New York University Press, 2005. & 0814735851 *Halberstam, Judith, David Eng &
José Esteban Muñoz José Esteban Muñoz (August 9, 1967 – December 3, 2013) was a Cuban American academic in the fields of performance studies, visual culture, queer theory, cultural studies, and critical theory. His first book, ''Disidentifications: Queers of ...
, Eds. ''What's Queer about Queer Studies Now?'' Durham: Duke University Press, 2005. *Halberstam, Judith. ''The Queer Art of Failure''. Durham: Duke University Press, 2011. & 978-0822350453 *Halberstam, J. Jack. ''Gaga Feminism.'' Boston:
Beacon Press Beacon Press is an American left-wing non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is known for publishing authors such as Jame ...
, 2012. *Halberstam, Jack. ''Trans*: A Quick and Quirky Account of Gender Variability.'' Oakland: University of California Press, 2018. *Halberstam, Jack. ''Wild Things: The Disorder of Desire.'' Durham:
Duke University Press Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 ...
, 2020.


Interviews

*Damon R. Young,
Public Thinker: Jack Halberstam on Wildness, Anarchy, and Growing Up Punk.
''Public Books,'' March 26, 2019. *Mathias Danbolt

in Trikster – Nordic Queer Journal #1, 2008.
Interview with Halberstam by Sinclair Sexsmith February 1, 2012

Interview with Halberstam by Elizabeth Heineman on Feb 3, 2012
(archived)


References


External links

*
Interview with Peter Shea at the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota, June 2010

500 Words essay in Art Forum October 17, 2011
*
Trans* Bodies
' Lecture by Jack Halberstam at
Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona The Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (also known by its acronym, CCCB) is an arts centre in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Situated in the El Raval, Raval district, the centre's core theme is the city and urban culture. The CCCB organi ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halberstam, Jack 1961 births 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American non-fiction writers American people of Czech-Jewish descent American LGBTQ academics American LGBTQ writers American academics of English literature American gender studies academics American non-binary writers Columbia University faculty Duke University faculty Jewish American academics Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish American feminists Jewish philosophers Transgender Jews LGBTQ educators LGBTQ philosophers Living people Non-binary scholars and academics Postmodern feminists Queer feminists Queer theorists Transgender studies academics University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Minnesota alumni University of Southern California faculty