Journal Entry #3: Self Made Man One Woman's Year Disguised As a Man March 12, 2009

Self Made Man is a book that provokes a lot of questions in its readers. As with any book like this one of Norah Vincent, readers are going to be curious if the information they are being provided with is valid since it is only the opinion of only one individual. Our group realized after we have been reading the book for a while that we have tended to accept Vincent’s information without question because she presents her research in a way that makes sense to us as readers. It makes so much sense that we have just accepted it, until now. Taking a step back our group has realized that Vincent is only one individual and this book is about a year through only her eyes. Now if someone was to conduct a similar type of research and write a book that was similar to the results Vincent had, then the information may seem a little bit more valid. We trust that the activities Ned participates in such as the bowling league, living in a monastery, and participating in a door-to-door sales job all really occurred, but Ned still technically is a woman in a mans body so his experiences may still be different than what a man would actually experience. Although Vincent presents all of her information in Self Made Man in a way that most readers will believe her, readers need to also understand that Vincent is only one opinion, one voice that is describing a subculture of many people.
As previously mentioned Vincent presents her information in an easy way for readers to understand. She makes it so easy that readers fail to question anything she says. To make the information easy for the reader to understand, Vincent makes use of a lot of stories. She takes account many different interactions with the various people she encounters. The stories she tells to the reader really makes them understand her emotions as she is going through the process of being Ned. They also help the reader visualize and interpret the various situations she puts herself in. For example, in chapter four, about love and relationships, Ned takes a woman named Anna out on a date to a Chinese restaurant. Ned had been dating for a long time and all of these dates were breaking him financially. He hoped that this cheap date would be short, but Anna was different from all the other girls. He felt at ease when she sat down and the date went on for a lot longer than expected. Ned regretted not taking her some place nicer after he met her. This story shows the emotional connection Ned felt towards his dates, and the vivid descriptions are what keep the reader intrigued from the beginning of the chapter until the very end. The stories like the one of Ned and Anna help paint a picture for the reader and make them feel like they are actually there in the situation. People do not like to be fed fact after fact; rather they enjoy hearing stories of someone’s experiences. Stories keep the reader intrigued because they are more complimentary and interesting.
If we were to look for more information on this topic we could look at the gay and lesbian support groups on campus. They could help us understand how they feel about this topic and their opinions about Norah Vincent’s research. They can let us know how they feel about a lesbian going undercover as a heterosexual male. It would be interesting to see if they are for or against it. We would be able to receive more opinions rather than information, but it would be nice to see the reactions of others rather than just one woman’s views. Another thing we could do is dress in drag ourselves. The ability for us as a group to go out and experience what Vincent did will help us receive more information, and it might actually be fun. We also would be able to determine if the things Vincent says and does are valid and true. There is no better way to really determine if Vincent’s thoughts are valid.