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: " Pohlavní štvanci: Od Johanky z Arku až po současnost" (Sexual Pursuits: From Joan of Arc to the Present) is the Czech language edition of "Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman" by Leslie Feinberg.
"This groundbreaking book - far ahead of its time when first published in 1996 and still galvanizing today—interweaves history, memoir, and gender studies to show that transgender people, far from being a modern phenomenon, have always existed and have exerted their influence throughout history.
Leslie Feinberg - hirself a lifelong transgender revolutionary - reveals the origin of the check-one-box-only gender system and shows how zie found empowerment in the lives of transgender warriors around the world, from the Two Spirits of the Americas to the many genders of India, from the trans shamans of East Asia to the gender-bending Queen Nzinga of Angola, from Joan of Arc to Marsha P. Johnson and beyond."
2000,
Czech,
Leslie Feinberg,
Original title: "Seidōitsuseishōgai ― seitenka no asa (Shūeisha shinsho) 性同一性障害 ―性転換の朝 (集英社新書) (Gender Identity Disorder-Morning of Sex Change (Shueisha Shinsho)) by Michiko Yoshinaga 吉永 みち子.
"I'm the one who decides "gender". A medical frontline report for all those who stand at the crossroads between men and women. A book of hope where the dream of sex change becomes a reality!
A woman's body but a man's mind, or vice versa. "Gender identity disorder" caused by the malfunction of the fetal sex determination mechanism has given "him" and "she" unseen emotional scars.
A special team at the Saitama Medical University General Medical Center was set up to solve the problem. While following the operations of a team of doctors led by Professor Takao Harashina, we have also examined many real cases of troubles, and now we have compiled a document of the origin of "man" and "woman". This is a hopeful and realistic report from the forefront of gender reassignment medicine for all those who stand at the crossroads of gender."
2000,
Japanese,
Michiko Yoshinaga,
Original title: "Koibito to kurasu Okinawa: otoko ga onna ni natte onna o ai suru" 恋人と暮らす沖縄 : 男が女になって女を愛する (Living with a Lover in Okinawa: A Man Becomes a Woman and Loves a Woman) by Tsutamori Tatsuru 蔦森 樹.
I'm a man, I'm a woman Everyone just lives the dream given to them to the fullest. As a writer and lecturer, the author who travels back and forth between Tokyo and Okinawa will change your heart from curiosity to excitement by her generous way of life that transcends gender. Her interest shifted from the technical and cultural history of motorcycles to the issues of masculinity and femininity related to gender. In 1990 she published "Men Want to Be Pretty," which became a hot topic in Japan. She is the author of many papers and essays, including "And I Became a Man," and "Neither a Man nor a Woman."
2000,
Japanese,
Tsutamori Tatsuru,
Original title: "Miwa akihiro to iu ikikata" 美輪明宏という生き方 (The Way of Life of Akihiro Miwa) by Junko Mitsuhashi 三橋 順子, Toji Kamada, Ikuko Matsumoto, Angel Yuri, and Nobara Takemoto.
In the 1950s, a beautiful boy dressed in a purple costume suddenly appeared in Ginza. He captivated the audience with his good looks and beautiful voice, causing a stir in the mass media. Who is he? Man? Woman? At that time, there were still not many people who could take hid intense and alien brilliance directly.
Akihiro Miwa, who dramatically sings about those who go crazy in love, mothers who think of their children, and songs that are peaceful, has a wide range of activities to be a singer. A muse of artists, a shaman for the afflicted, a rare stage performer, a writer who laments and encourages the aesthetic poverty of our time. As the times finally begin to catch up, the existence of Akihiro Miwa is illuminated from various angles, and the essence of his/her world and way of life is approached.
2000,
Akihiro Miwa,
Angel Yuri,
Ikuko Matsumoto,
Japanese,
Junko Mitsuhashi,
Nobara Takemoto,
Toji Kamada,
Original title: "Paul: eine besondere Frau" (Paul: a special woman) by Brigitte Schneebeli.
Paul Jecklin, born in 1957, grew up partly with a foster family and partly in the Chur orphanage. The guardianship authorities took him away from his parents when he was a small child, as did all his five siblings.
Two things made life even more difficult for the delicate, blond boy. He developed more slowly than other children and... he would rather have been a girl. For both he was laughed at and ridiculed. As a teenager, he spent several years in a home for the 'difficult' youth. Not because he had done anything wrong, but because people wanted to be rid of him.
2000,
Brigitte Schneebeli,
Crossdressing,
German,
Paul Jecklin,
Full title: "Invisible Lives: The Erasure of Transsexual and Transgendered People" by Viviane Namaste.
"Invisible Lives is the first scholarly study of transgendered people - cross-dressers, drag queens and transsexuals - and their everyday lives. Through combined theoretical and empirical study, Viviane K. Namaste argues that transgendered people are not so much produced by medicine or psychiatry as they are erased, or made invisible, in a variety of institutional and cultural settings.
Namaste begins her work by analyzing two theoretical perspectives on transgendered people - queer theory and the social sciences - displaying how neither of these has adequately addressed the issues most relevant to sex change: everything from employment to health care to identity papers."
2000,
Canada,
English,
Viviane Namaste,
Original title: "Ned til kvinderne: da Per blev til Pia" (Down to the woman – when Per became Pia).
'Authentic story of a transgender man who, at the age of fifty, burned all the bridges behind him and underwent gender reassignment surgery and became Pia-Britt Ruberg. It was the first step to social descent – from a solid job, a good career, and marriage – to the world of women.
However, the transformation from Per to Pia was much more complicated than expected. At the request of Pia, Hanne-Vibeke Holst has written the story of the painful secret, the double identity, and the ultimate transformation based on interviews with Pia, her father, and relatives.'
2000,
Danish,
Hanne Vibeke Holst,
Pia-Britt Ruberg,
Original title: "Search kimi ga ita" - Search きみがいた (Search - you were there) by Yūki Heianna (平安名祐生) and Megumi Heianna (平安名恵)
This book presents the story of a transgender couple. Megumi
was born a boy in 1972 in Osaka Prefecture, and Yūki was born a woman in 1971 also in Osaka Prefecture.
Both of them have gender dysphoria, so they change their gender and decide to live together. A man who used to be a girl and a woman who used to be a boy. Bullied, grumpy, full of suicidal thoughts ... Two people who had given up on being alone forever, they met, got married, and registered as a couple. Wishes do come true...
2000,
Japanese,
Megumi Heianna,
Yūki Heianna,
Original title: "Watashi wa toransujendā ― futatsu no sei no hazama de… aru gen'eki kōkō kyōshi no ikikata" - 私はトランスジェンダー―二つの性の狭間で…ある現役高校教師の生き方 (I'm Transgender - Between Two Sexes... A High School Teacher's Way of Life) by Rumiko Miyazaki (宮崎留美子著)
Rumiko Miyazaki is a Japanese blogger and the author of "I'm Transgender - Between Two Sexes... A High School Teacher's Way of Life" (2000).
'Transvestites, transgenders, people with gender dysphoria, transsexuals... Whatever form of change it takes, there are many ways to describe people who want to live with a different gender. It seems that each word has its own meaning and definition, but it is difficult to draw a clear line, and many people do not want to be delineated and categorized.
It's good. There are many ways of self-identification.'
2000,
Japanese,
Rumiko Miyazaki,
Full title: "No Justice: An Investigation Into the Death of Adele Bailey" by Robin Bowles. The book was published in 2000, and it was republished in 2007 and 2021 (audiobook).
"This is the case that is still being investigated following two inquests and millions of dollars. It has also ruined several lives.
On 19 July 1995, two young men stumbled upon a partially clothed Melbourne transgender call girl Adele Bailey, who had been missing for more than 17 years.
How did Adele Bailey die, and why was her body hidden in a forgotten mineshaft?
Was there a connection between Adele Bailey and country housewife Jenny Tanner who had been killed on a nearby property?
2000,
Adele Bailey,
Australia,
English,
Robin Bowles,
Original title: "Watashi ga watashidearu tame ni…" - 私が私であるために… (For Me to Be Me...) by Ai Haruna (はるな 愛).
This is the first book of Ai Haruna. Born Kenji Onishi in 1972, she is a Japanese TV celebrity and actress, singer, businesswoman, beauty pageant queen, and transgender activist. Her childhood was a happy time but her family was poor. She has a younger brother.
At school, she was known for her musical talent, performing at different school and cultural events. When she was in junior high school, she was bullied because of her feminine manners, so she could hardly study and her grades were poor.
2000,
Ai Haruna,
Japanese,
"Lynne's Diaries is the paperback that was published prior to the e-Books: Book 1 and Book 2. It tells the story of a young boy's school days followed by almost forty years of service in the Royal Air Force. Then finally having to face up to reality and the birth of "Lynne" The book is no longer available as it was "Remaindered" by the publisher (Vanity Press)."
Lynne Janine Braithwaite was born Lawrence James Braithwaite on the 1st of July 1934 in the village of Near Sawrey about halfway between Hawkshead and the Ferry across Windermere in the Lake District. What more could one want than to be born into such idyllic surroundings.
She attended Hawkshead school and left at the age of 15 years to join the RAF as a "Boy Entrant" and signed the dotted line on 27th September 1949. Demob day was the 1st of July 1989 followed by divorce on the 4th of July 1989.
2000,
England,
English,
Lynne Janine Braithwaite,
UK,
"Sötvatten" is the Swedish language edition of "Freshwater" by Akwaeke Emezi.
I liked Gina Maya's review a lot, so let me quote her: "Transgender narrative this may be, but it's far removed from Western, U.S.-based definitions in spite of its primary location in the U.S. The story follows the young life of Ada, a Nigerian child who travels to America to study, but her whole life involves psychical interaction with the indigenous spirits who vie for control of her. Is Ada Ogbanje too?
By the end, she appears to embrace this self-conception as an offspring of the Universal Creator Ala, visualized as cosmic python – the source of the spring from which all freshwater comes from its mouth. Yet Ada for almost the novel's entirety is also the human, engaged in an uneasy relationship with otherworldly spirits who inhabit her mind, visualized in turn as a room of marble, perhaps not unlike the Kaaba of Mecca. The most powerful, possessive, and controlling of the spirits is Asughara, occasionally presented as Ada's pernicious alpha. At times, Asughara blocks out Ada from consciousness, either to protect or punish Ada."
2000,
Akwaeke Emezi,
Nigeria,
Swedish,
Original title: "Galernicy seksu" (Sex Prisoners) by Kazimierz Imieliński and Stanisław Dulko.
'The book shows the meanders of love and sex of transsexuals. It is based on facts and authentic experiences of people who experience the mysterious and fascinating phenomenon of Transsexualism.
Concealing or not noticing their existence will not change reality. It will still be the same, but it will be difficult to understand and the possibilities of alleviating the suffering and dramatic experiences of these extraordinary people will be reduced.'
1991,
2000,
Kazimierz Imieliński,
Polish,
Stanisław Dulko,
Original title: "Jsem tranďák!" (I'm Trans!)
Tereza Spencerová, one of the prominent figures of the Czech journalistic community, went through the process of gender transition. Her book 'I'm Trans!' is only the second book in the history of the Czech transgender community.
A book authentically deals with transgender issues through the eyes of the author's experience. But if you're waiting for an autobiographical story full of depression, unhappiness, and nostalgia for the injustice of nature, you will get none of this. Tereza grasped the theme with ease, bravura, and humour.
'A transgender person is anyone who, with their behavior or sense of self, goes beyond socially accepted ideas about women and men, and does not want to consider themselves only the subject of sexological diagnoses, such as transsexuality or transvestism.
2000,
Czech,
Tereza Spencerová,
"Дівчина з Данії" is the Ukrainian language edition of The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff.
Having gender reassignment surgery in the 1930s was an unusual and sensational affair, and the man who took the step to do so was the Danish painter Einar Mogens Andreas Wegener, who after the operation took the name of Lili Elbe.
The operation took place at the Institute for Sexology in Berlin, where the male organs were removed. The surgery was performed by Felix Abraham at the recommendation of Magnus Hirschfeld.
Einar Wegener was married to the beautiful, celebrated artist Gerda Wegener. They lived in a highly unusual marriage. Their life fate is told in this book, which is a fiction novel based on authentic events and diary entries from Einar Wegener.
2000,
David Ebershoff,
Ukrainian,
The book was published in 1067, and it had many re-editions, including the one in 2000 with the introduction by Susan Stryker.
It covers the story of Christine Jorgensen (1926-1989), an American singer, actress, celebrity, and the most iconic figure of the transgender movement in the USA, if not in the whole world, famous for being the first world-famous person to have surgery sexual reassignment conducted in Denmark in the 1950s, inducted into Chicago's Legacy Walk celebrating LGBT history in 2012, honored in San Francisco's Rainbow Walk in 2014, and included in the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor at Stonewall National Monument in New York City in 2019.
When a slender young woman stepped off a plane from Denmark to be greeted by howling reporters and an outraged American public, nobody expected that it would be one of the biggest moments in the history of transgender women.
1967,
2000,
Christine Jorgensen,
English,
The Danish Girl was published in English in 2000 and had many editions in the years to come, including 2000, 2001, and 2015.
Having gender reassignment surgery in the 1930s was an unusual and sensational affair, and the man who took the step to do so was the Danish painter Einar Mogens Andreas Wegener, who after the operation took the name of Lili Elbe.
The operation took place at the Institute for Sexology in Berlin, where the male organs were removed. The surgery was performed by Felix Abraham at the recommendation of Magnus Hirschfeld.
Einar Wegener was married to the beautiful, celebrated artist Gerda Wegener. They lived in a highly unusual marriage. Their story is told in this book, which is a fiction novel based on authentic events and diary entries from Einar Wegener.
2000,
David Ebershoff,
English,
Lili Elbe,
Original title: "Das verbotene Ich: Lebenswege eines Transsexuellen" (The Forbidden Self: Life Paths of a Transsexual) by Raphaela Ahnert.
Already at an early age, the author recognizes that "something is wrong". More and more he feels uncomfortable in his boys' clothes, secretly tries on his mother's clothes, and begins to put on make-up. It is an inner, inevitable, and growing compulsion over the years to feel like a woman and to dress accordingly. Nevertheless, he enters into a bourgeois marriage and believes that he will find his way "to normality". In vain. Nevertheless, the marriage is still stable today and supported by a high degree of mutual tolerance and affection.
The social constraints of the time – the author lived in the GDR – made it forbidden to make his inclinations and longings public.
2000,
German,
Raphaela Ahnert,
"The Transvestite Memoirs of the Abbe de Choisy" by Francois-Timoleon De Choisy.
The first edition of the memoirs was published in .... 1736. Yes, it is not a joke. Since then, the memoirs have been published many times in many languages. Probably this is one of the first trans documents in the history of humankind.
Let me quote the introduction from Goodreads: "By a whim of his mother, Francois Timoleon de Choisy - better known as the Abbé de Choisy - was dressed as a girl until the age of 18. After a short spell in male attire he became, by all accounts, the classic transvestite—a male heterosexual who never attempted to disguise his biological sex while going about in public in full female attire.
1736,
1998,
2000,
2016,
François-Timoléon De Choisy,
French,
