Book Club: “Gender Outlaw” by Kate Bornstein

Kate Bornstein (1948–) is an American transgender playwright, actor, and writer. Kakusareta Jendā (Hidden Gender) is the Japanese translation of Bornstein's book Gender Outlaw (1994), published by Shinsuisha in 2007 in a translation by Makiko Tsutsui. It is an autobiographical and theatrical essay recounting how, through many twists and turns, Bornstein came to identify as "neither a man nor a woman."

Toshima had long cherished this book as one of profound importance. At Nike Tobita's invitation, the idea of reading the text together as a book club became a reality. The sessions were held every other Saturday from July 2022, for a total of four meetings.

This book is often discussed as a trans autobiography or as a challenge to binary views of gender. At the same time, Bornstein is also a theatre practitioner, and a substantial portion of the book is written from that perspective. Indeed, the book includes Bornstein's play Hidden: A Gender, and on the final day of the book club, everyone took turns reading it aloud.

Many of the participants were involved in theatre. Toshima likes to think, perhaps with a little self-satisfaction, that reading and discussing Hidden Gender from a theatrical perspective was an unusual undertaking, one not often attempted.