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: "Tja, meine Lieben: Eine Diva plaudert sich um Kopf und Kragen" (Well, my dears: A diva chats her head and neck) by Lilo Wanders.
The book is a biography of Lilo Wanders, whose real name is Ernst-Johann Reinhardt. According to Wikipedia, he is a German actor, comedian, and theatre/television host. Born on September 22, 1955, in Celle, Germany, Reinhardt is known for performing almost exclusively in a female role under the stage name Lilo Wanders.
Reinhardt moved to Hamburg at the age of 18 to study library science, which he later dropped. He became a member of a gay choir and toured with a gay theater group.
In the 1980s, he performed with gay ensembles and in solo programs in Hamburg’s alternative theater scene.
In 1988, Reinhardt co-founded the Schmidt Theater on the Reeperbahn in Hamburg. It was here that the character Lilo Wanders was created, envisioned as a biting, aging theater diva with numerous quirks. The character quickly gained regional fame due to its flamboyant entertainment.
1997,
Crossdressing,
German,
Lilo Wanders,
Original title: "Travestie in Nederland en Vlaanderen" (Travesty in the Netherlands and Flanders) by Paul Vennix.
Cross-dressing is usually different from what people are presented with in the media. Most transvestites keep it jealously hidden from their surroundings and certainly don't go out in a dress. They dare not show who they are.
In this transgender study, in which nearly five hundred transvestites from the Netherlands and Flanders participated, transvestism is examined in depth from various angles. Extensive attention is paid to what wearing women's clothing means for transvestites; cross-dressing turns out to be necessary for them.
1997,
Dutch,
Paul Vennix,
Full title: "My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely" by Kate Bornstein.
"Gender isn't just about "male" or "female" anymore - if you have any doubts, just turn on your television. RuPaul is as familiar as tomato ketchup with national radio and television shows, and transgendered folk are as common to talk-shows as screaming and yelling. But if the popularization of gender bending is revealing that "male" and "female" aren't enough, where are we supposed to go from here? Cultural theorists have written loads of smart but difficult-to-fathom texts on gender, but none provide a hands-on, accessible guide to having your own unique gender. With My Gender Workbook, Kate Bornstein brings theory down to Earth and provides a practical approach to living with or without a gender."
1997,
English,
Interview,
Kate Bornstein,
USA,
Full title: "My Face for the World to See: The Diaries, Letters, and Drawings of Candy Darling, Andy Warhol Superstar" by Candy Darling.
"Self-invention, or rather, reinvention is at the heart of much gay culture. Being told that you should not be who you are encourages you to become someone else. But few gay men have self-invented with the panache and grandiloquence of James Lawrence Slatterly, who metamorphosed into the fabulous Andy Warhol superstar Candy Darling. Taking his/her cues from Lana Turner, Kim Novak, and Gloria Graham, Candy Darling became a walking testament to Hollywood womanhood.
Although she appeared in several Warhol films before her early death in 1974, Candy Darling didn't need theatrical vehicles: she lived her life as a star. My Face for the World to See is a collection of her diaries, drawings, and thoughts. While there is nothing profound, the book is a moving record of a life and imagination that illuminated the cultural landscape and burned brightly and too short."
1997,
Candy Darling,
English,
Full title: "A Fellow No More" by Traci Felloes.
"A journey from boyhood . . . to womanhood. This book if full of vivid and emotive imagery. It is a truly human story about an amazing person who battles the odds to be who she is, educating those around her and finding love and acceptance from people in all walks of life.
Traci has made all those who know her realise that a person should only be judged for the individual they are, not what sex they choose to be. She is a thoughtful human being who has a special way of creating acceptance and respect."
1997,
Australia,
English,
Traci Felloes,
Full title: "To Thine Own Self be True: The Sea is a Jealous Mistress" by Denise Heather TilIing.
According to this review: "Denise Tilling writes of her transition from boyhood in wartime
England to womanhood in the 1990s New Zealand. It is a story of courage and determination: initially the determination to avoid cross-gendered feelings at almost any cost, and, finally, the determination
to live openly as a woman. A casual reader, who by-passed this book because of its uninviting cover and title, would certainly be missing out. Going beyond the cover and title, the reader encounters a story told with sensitivity, warmth and humour. In an age of ever-increasing public interest in transsexuality, this is perhaps the first transsexual autobiography to be published in New Zealand."
"Denise, born David, entertains the reader with David's endless efforts to avoid confronting his gender conflict from heavy drinking, through desperate attempts at marriage, and repeated escapes to sea. Despite being captivated by Denise's warmth and humour, one is frequently reminded of the deeper emotions at play. In re-calling her story, the author skilfully interweaves the jovial, playful aspects of her personality with intensely painful recollections: memories of fear, doubt and the deep loneliness which accompanies self-denial. As Denise's hormone treatment started to take visible effect, she knew that her life as a British Ship's Officer - one of the blokes,
always in for a few drinks and a laugh - was about to shatter. Ultimately, her decision to undergo gender transition and settle in New Zealand was spurred on by a tragedy. During one of David's earlier
shipping voyages, he had become friends with a Danish radio officer who, like David himself, secretly cross-dressed. David discovered their similarity too late..."
1997,
Denise Heather TilIing,
Denise TilIing,
English,
New Zealand,
Full title: "At Home On The Stroll: My Twenty Years As A Prostitute in Canada" by Alexandra Highcrest.
"“I’m conservative and I’m old fashioned,” says Alexandra Highcrest, male-to-female transsexual and former prostitute, in a recent interview with Quill & Quire. It’s true, and this conservatism is both the strength and the weakness of the Toronto activist and journalist’s autobiography."
"But Highcrest’s rigid insistence on a purely practical approach to the issue – “Prostitution is a job, not a lifestyle” – is ultimately her book’s downfall. She’s hostile and dismissive towards all attempts to analyze the psychology of prostitution, or to link public hostility and ignorance about the industry to larger issues of sexism and sexual repression."
1997,
Alexandra Highcrest,
Canada,
English,
Full title: "Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism" by Pat Califia.
"Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism is Califia's meticulously researched book based on an astute reading of the available literature and in-depth interviews with gender transgressors who "opened their lives, minds, hearts, and bedrooms to the gaze of strangers."
Writing about both male-to-female and female-to-male transsexuals, Califia examines the lives of early transgender pioneers like Christine Jorgensen, Jan Morris, Renee Richards, and Mark Rees, contemporary transgender activists like Leslie Feinberg and Kate Bornstein, and partners of transgendered people like Minnie Bruce Pratt. Califia scrutinizes feminist resistance to transsexuals occupying women's space, the Christian Right's backlash against transsexuals, and the appropriation of the berdache and other differently-gendered by gay historians to prove the universal existence of homosexuality. Finally, Sex Changes explores the future of gender."
1997,
Christine Jorgensen,
English,
Jan Morris,
Kate Bornstein,
Pat Califia,
Renée Richards,
Original title: "Eine Frau, geboren im OP" (A woman, born in the operating room) by Rosalin.
He always felt trapped in the wrong body, because he thought and felt like a girl. But it is only as an adult that he has the courage to confess and undergo a sex change. But to be able to find oneself into life as Rosalin is anything but easy ...
What he could not put into words as a boy, he recognizes all too clearly as a teenager: He is a woman, trapped in a male body! His fondness for men and the ridicule of his feminine behavior almost drive him to his death. But after his suicide attempt, he finally draws the conclusion and begins to transform himself into Rosalin through hormone treatments and surgery.
Outwardly she has become a beautiful woman, she hopes to finally be happy, but the new life places great demands on her. Not only does she now have a different gender and a new name, but she also has to cope with completely new feelings and changed reactions of her fellow human beings. Of course, it is not easy for them, and disappointments – especially with men – are inevitable. But she never regrets what she did...
Original title: "Ab durch die Mitte: Ein Spaziergang durch Berlin" (Straight through: A walk through Berlin).
"A stroll through the new, old capital of Germany.
Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, Germany's most famous transvestite and unique contemporary witness, leads through her Berlin. Serious city history mixes with details and events that are not mentioned in any conventional Berlin guide ... Anecdotes that no one could tell except the Mahlsdorf."
"Just as lovingly as she collects, restores and exhibits old Wilhelminian styles, she describes her experiences in the Hohenzollern city palace shortly before its demolition, chats about the decades-long journey of a dining cupboard, dedicates a sensitive portrait to Queen Luise, as well as to the maids who pursued their duties in upper-class households around 1900.
1997,
Charlotte von Mahlsdorf,
Crossdressing,
German,
Full title: "Read My Lips: Sexual Subversion and the End of Gender" by Riki Anne Wilchins.
"Riki Anne Wilchins has written the book that may take the discussion of gender over the top. Read My Lips: Sexual Subversion and the tend of Gender, a frontal assault on both the status quo in academic studies and the full spectrum of single-issue identity politics, will change the way you think about bodies, sex, and gender. Yours and everyone else's.
Combining the theoretical breakthroughs of Judith Butler's Gender Trouble and the performance revelations of Kate Bornstein's Gender Outlaw, Wilchins - cofounder of the Transsexual Menace - moves the dialogue to a new level. In a voice that is by turns outraged, outrageous, sad, and hilarious, the author weaves theory and personal experience into a compelling story of self-discovery. She redefines what it means to be "gendered", both by the way she lives and the accessible theoretical narrative she constructs."
1997,
English,
Interview,
Riki Anne Wilchins,
USA,
Original title: "Seele im Spagat: Eine Reise zwischen den Geschlechtern" (Soul in the balancing act: A journey between the sexes) by Marion Holl.
Marion Holl describes her own experiences in a frank, funny and at the same time sensitive way: the happiness and suffering of a transsexual.
She has fulfilled her greatest wish, which is to live as a woman. Whether homo, bi, or trans, the book 'Seele im Balgat' pleads for more tolerance of individual and unusual ways of life and gives courage to all those who have difficulties confessing their supposed otherness. 'Seele im Balgat' breaks down fears of contact and strengthens our ability to deal with such people.
Marion Holl was born in 1959 as Georg Holl in Cologne. She studied civil engineering and worked in construction for 22 years. At the age of 26, she married and became the father of two children. But Georg Holl always had the feeling of being trapped in the wrong body – in that of a man, although she felt like a woman. The mental conflict even had an effect on serious physical illnesses. At the age of 36, she put an end to her torment: she began to transform herself into a woman. So Georg Holl became Marin Holl.
1997,
German,
Marion Holl,
Original title: "Simone Par Simone" (Simone By Simone) by Mireille Dumas.
Mireille Dumas is a French journalist, director, producer, and television host. In July 1991, she created the production company MD productions, with which she continues to produce many documentaries directed by herself but also by other renowned directors.
Her first documentary, Travestir, broadcast in 1992 on Simone's story, marked a turning point in her career. This film was a critical and public success.
In 1997, Simone published her biography in which she shared her transgender story. Simone died in 2003.
1997,
French,
Mireille Dumas,
Simone,
"Prisoner of Gender represents the joint efforts of two authors each tackling the subject from a rather different viewpoint. Part I sets out Katherine Johnson’s story in the simplest most straightforward manner, uncluttered by argument or comments which might detract from the main thrust of her story.
Part II presents comments and explanations by Stephanie Castle along with examples of her personal experiences that speak to and parallel Katherine’s. Documents from which quotations have been taken are also included.
This two-part separation helps to simplify a complex subject.
This account of one transgender person’s prison experiences speaks for all transgender people caught in the system. It tells of a heartless, authoritarian prison bureaucracy - a state within a state–unmindful of either human rights or dignity."
1997,
Canada,
English,
Katherine Johnson,
Stephanie Castle,
"Minu lugu" (My Story) is the Estonian language edition of "Tula: My Story" by Caroline Cossey.
She is one of the most iconic figures in the history of the transgender movement. She is also one of my biggest inspirations.
Caroline Cossey is a British model who often worked under the name Tula, which she also used for two memoirs. She appeared in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. Following her appearance in the film, she was outed as transgender by the British tabloid News of the World. In 1991, she became the first trans woman to pose for Playboy.
Since then she has become one of the biggest advocates of the transgender cause. In 2017 I had the honour of interviewing her for my blog and one of my questions was related to how she was treated by society.
1997,
Caroline Cossey,
Estonian,
Tula,
