The Female Man Characters

Joanna

If you're a fan of the New Criticism or Roland Barthes's notion of the "Death of the...

Janet Evason Belin

In her funniest, brashest, and most charming moments—when she's dialing room service with...

Jeannine Nancy Dadier

Naïve, romantic, and an active fantasist, Jeannine is the youngest of the four alter egos....

Jael

Fanged, clawed, and fond of dressing all in black, Jael is the last of the four alter-egos to...

Ewing-Sharp Glasses

The first of the three men who hit on Janet during the party on Riverside Drive, Ewing is "sharp,...

Fourteen Female Archetypes

When Joanna takes Janet to the party on Riverside Drive, all of the other women in the room are...

Ginger Moustache

The second of the three men who hit on Janet during the party on Riverside Drive, Ginger...

Host of the Party on Riverside Drive

Of the three men who hit on Janet during the party on Riverside Drive, the Host is the most...

Laura Rose Wilding

The most complex of all the novel's minor characters, and the only other person who shares...

Manufacturer of Cars from Leeds

One of the guests at the party at Riverside Drive, this guy is about as charming as an ingrown...

MC-Commentator-Interviewer

Janet is interviewed by multiple people in Joanna's and Jeannine's worlds. Some of them are...

Mrs. Wilding

Mrs. Wilding worked as a librarian when Laura was young, and she worries that Laura's abnormal...

Chilia Ysayeson Belin

As a member of the Belin clan (there are eighteen of them), Chilia Ysayeson is part of Janet's...

Dorothy Chiliason Belin

The daughter of Chilia Ysayeson, Dorothy appears in the novel just long enough to teach us...

Dunyasha Bernadetteson

Every civilization needs a great philosopher or two, and Dunyasha Bernadetteson is Whileaway's....

Elena Twason Zdubakov

As another member of the Belin clan, Elena Twason is also part of Janet's kinship web. She is...

Etsuko Belin

Another member of the Belin clan, Etsuko is likewise part of Janet's kinship web. We don't know...

Vittoria

Vittoria is Janet's wife, and the "other mother" of their daughter, Yuriko. She's an intelligent,...

Young Belin Girl

While Joanna visits Whileaway, she spends about three weeks living in the large home shared by...

Yuriko Janetson Belin

Yuriko is Janet and Vittoria's daughter—one of two, in fact. Janet bore her and gave birth...

Mrs. Allison

Mrs. Allison is Jeannine's co-worker at the public library. We don't learn very much about her...

Cal

Cal is Jeannine's boyfriend. He's a hum-drum, mostly harmless sort, except for the fact that he...

Bud Dadier

Eileen Dadier

Jeannine's sister-in-law Eileen wants two things in life: to be a good wife and to be a good...

Mrs. Dadier

Like Mrs. Wilding, Jeannine's mother is a near-perfect portrait of domestic femininity. Even...

Frank-X

Jeannine dates Frank casually during her vacation in the Poconos. Like Cal, he calls Jeannine...

Mr. Frosty

Mr. Frosty seems like a pretty cute little guy, even though Cal likes to call him The Blotchy...

Little Miss Spry

As the old, unmarried woman who lives in the apartment below Jeannine's, Little Miss Spry appears...

Vanishing Policeman

This poor guy vanishes from Jeannine's Earth when Janet Evason appears in it, and promptly turns...

Anna

Anna is one of Jael's Manland contacts, a "half-changed" who retains the male body with which he...

Boss

We don't ever learn what this creep is the boss of, but clearly he's some kind of big-shot. He's...

Davy

Born on a mountain top in Tennessee, greenest state in the Land of the Free, raised in the woods...

Lenny

Lenny doesn't appear in the novel for very long; he's one of the Manland guards hanging around at...

Natalie

Natalie is the wife of the Manland Boss whom Jael assassinates. She's a "changed" Manlander,...