Summarizer: Linda Lee

Chapter one: Getting Started

Norah Vincent’s initiative of the book “Self-made Man; One Woman’s Year Disguised As A Man” took place in seven years ago. Vincent had acquainted with a drag king whom dared Vincent to try passing as a man in public which Vincent agreed on doing willingly. The drag king friend of Vincent specialized in creating a beard which filled a big part of the transformation of becoming a man that night which stunned Vincent. Vincent confessed she was too afraid to interact with anyone. She was too scared to be recognized and fooled by people for the disguise. The major difference Vincent noticed between the opposite sexes when she walked by bodegas where a group of men who did not look at them as they did when Vincent was not disguised. Vincent had a realization of her anger for such disrespectful treatment for women in a society from men’s gaze on the street. Vincent was clearly offended and the incident inspired her to be on this project.
Vincent, then, approached to steps to build a man in herself. Naming herself ‘Ned’ was “the starting point for a male identity.” Vincent also talked about the reason behind her made-name ‘Ned’ which were greatly affected by her childhood with her three brothers and a tomboy Vincent. Vincent hired a makeup artist, fitness trainer and a tutor from the Julliard School to fake a five o'clock shadow and trained for months to imitate more likely a deeper male voice who all helped Vincent qualified to be a real ‘Ned’ for a year. In order to effectively pose as a male, she had undergone the physical transformation such as a developed strategy of hiding her breasts and building muscles. Vincent explained that in other chapters in the book, she describes her experiences as a man in sex clubs, on dates, in a monastery, and as part of a men's support group. She also mentioned that all the regions and names would be pseudonyms on behalf of people who provided her the experience. She clearly sounds very committed to what she has done and she mentioned of the price she had to pay due to her emotional and circumstantial deceptions throughout this experience.