In this first chapter of Self-Made Man by Norah Vincent, Vincent starts by giving readers a look into her past when the idea of imposing as a male alter ego first came began. During her youth, Vincent always had more masculine features then other girls and the idea of being a man intrigued her. She then explains the process of how she made this alter ego of Ned, Ned being a childhood nickname for her “tomboy” features, come to life. Norah shares with readers her past experiences in her youth that serve as inspiration for her experimental appearance change and also background to help readers understand her intentions. She breaks down every part of her transition into man-hood in order of physical, mental, and emotional changes; then she tells the story of the journey that accompanied each of these changes. Vincent ends the chapter by explaining the purpose of her experiment and gives a breakdown of the book’s chapters in hopes that the readers will read and understand the book in a specific way. Vincent does not become a man for common stereotypes of homosexuality, but for curiosity of the social and emotional aspects that the male race acquires at birth. In her final words written in chapter one, Vincent explains how the study affected her outside of character, the price for the deceptions she created.
There are multiple objectives that author Norah Vincent writes chapter one to serve. She uses the chapter to explain that her journey to manhood was an experiment to understand how gender affects social and emotional aspects of life, an area of interest of Norah. Vincent also explains the events leading up to the idea of her experiment, and the journey of her transformation into a male appearance. The final thoughts of this chapter are written as almost a guide on how to interpret Norah’s journey. The chapter has a very serious tone. I believe Vincent used this tone to help readers understand the professional aspect of this experiment.
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