A random collection of over 1910 books and audiobooks authored by or about my transgender, intersex sisters, and gender-nonconforming persons all over the world. I read some of them, and I was inspired by some of them. I met some of the authors and heroines, some of them are my best friends, and I had the pleasure and honor of interviewing some of them. If you know of any transgender biography that I have not covered yet, please let me know.
Original title: "Wen interessiert denn schon mein Elend: Die Welt der Männer, die Frauen sind" (Who cares about my misery?: The world of men who are women) by Andrej Reiser.
Mostly black-and-white milieu shots of transsexuals, 40 years old, plus an essay and a longer interview. The book sensitively approaches the protagonists in texts and images: transsexual people who 40 years ago had little choice but prostitution.
It includes an essay by Peter Gorsen "Sexuality in Transition. The homo mollis and the destruction of the gender role", as well as approximately 50 photographs, mostly black and white, some in large format.
1979,
Andrej Reiser,
German,
Full title: "Craig Russell and His Ladies" by David Street.
The book portrays the story of Russell Craig Eadie (1948-1990), also known as Craig Russell, a Canadian female impersonator and actor. Craig was the President of Mae West's fan club as a teenager and Craig pursued her career as a stage entertainer performing in Toronto gay clubs and touring Las Vegas, Hollywood, San Francisco, Berlin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Sydney.
According to Wikipedia, Russell's celebrity impersonations included Carol Channing, Bette Davis, Mae West, Barbra Streisand, Tallulah Bankhead, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Midler, Anita Bryant, Shirley Bassey, Peggy Lee and Judy Garland.
In 1977, Russell starred in the film Outrageous!, based on a short story written by Margaret Gibson about their time as roommates. A decade later, in 1987, Russell starred in a sequel to Outrageous!, titled Too Outrageous!.
1979,
Craig Russell,
David Street,
Drag queen,
English,
Original title: "Vita da travestito: Transessuali chi dove e come sono" (Life as a transvestite: Transsexuals who where and how they are) by Maria Adele Teodori.
I came across this book in the eBay webshop. If you have read the book or you know the details of this book, please let me know.
1979,
Italian,
Maria Adele Teodori,
Original title: "Μπέττυ" (Betty) by Elizabeth Vakalidou (Ελισάβετ Βακαλίδου), published in 1979. The book was republished in 2007 with the title "Μπέττυ, Καπετάνιος της Ψυχής μου" (Betty, Captain of My Soul).
This book is the story of Elizabeth Vakalidou, also known as Betty, born in 1950, a Greek transgender woman, one of the best-known transgender people in Greece, who publicly promoted her identity and fought for gay and intersex rights. She participated in the founding of the first Greek homosexual organization in Greece, the A.K.O.E. (Greek Gay Liberation Movement), authored two autobiographical books, and appeared in theater and cinema productions. She was also nominated as "Person of the Year" (2007) during the "European Year of Equal Opportunities for All".
1979,
2007,
Elizabeth Vakalidou,
Georges Burou,
Greek,
I found this book on Dallas Denny's website: "Phoebe Smith desperately sought help in Georgia throughout the 1960s, but found none. She eventually went to Mexico for GRS. Afterwards she became an employee of the state of Georgia and worked for the state until she retired in 2000.
For several decades she quietly produced a monthly newsletter called The Transsexual Voice. With the Louisiana-based Erickson foundation no longer in operation, Phoebe’s Transsexual Voice was so far as I know for many years the only peer-produced transsexual-specific support publication in the world.
Phoebe produced the last issue in 1995. It was an astonishing run, and helped thousands of people. In 1979 Phoebe self-published an autobiography that is today nearly impossible to find."
1979,
English,
Phoebe Smith,
Original title: "Guilda: elle et moi" (Guilda: her and me)
Guilda, also known as Jean Guilda, was born Jean Guida de Mortellaro in Paris, France (1924-2012). She was a cabaret artist who made a career in France and Quebec.
She was best known for her comedy and cabaret shows where dressed in extravagant female clothes, impersonated one or other of the typical women of the last millennium — Marlene Dietrich, Rita Hayworth, Mistinguett, Edith Piaf and Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis, Lucille Ball.
Jean Guilda was one of the guests at the 2010 Montréal Pride celebrations. He appeared on stage for a short time and aroused the enthusiasm of the crowd present at Place Émilie-Gamelin. The organizers highlighted the importance and great career of this man who was the first transvestite to show himself in Quebec in the 1960s. After his death in 2012, he was buried in Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery, in Montreal.
1979,
French,
Jean Guilda,
Full title: "Minette: Recollections of a Part-Time Lady" by Steven Watson. The book is a biography of legendary drag queen Minette.
"I was born Jacques Minette and my parents were French. "Minette" means many things: "pussycat", "pussy", or "suck me". It isn't too easy to translate, and it isn't a word used in polite company I've heard, but I think it sounds gay.
It is me especially without the "Jacques". My mother painted landscapes and still lives. My father was a commercial artist but he got arthritis in his hand and couldn't paint anymore. He went to the first world war, with all that dampness. It got to him later. First, he had a nervous breakdown that went into shingles that became arthritis and finally a dropsical condition. So my father was sick for years, always going to anyone that claimed a cure. I went to work to help pay the bills."
1979,
English,
Minette,
Steven Watson,
