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.
Full title: "Our Lives Our Words: Telling Aravani Life Stories" by A. Revathi."For long, aravanis or hijras have been the invisible yet hypervisible subjects of a societal gaze -- looked at, talked about, feared, revered, cursed, and imagined. They have largely stood as metaphors, refused individual histories, lives, identities and selves by a society that reduces them to corporeal bodies, stereotypes, and objects of disdain. Yet this gaze has been challenged and subverted time and time again by a community that refuses to be ashamed or see itself as the victim.Some of the greatest victories
2011,
A. Revathi,
English,
India,
Full title: "Recognizing Transsexuals: Personal, Political and Medicolegal Embodiment" by Zowie Davy."Recognizing Transsexuals draws on interviews with transsexuals at various stages of transition to offer an original account of transsexual embodiment and bodily aesthetics.Exploring the reasons for which transpeople desire to modify their bodies, it moves away from the focus on gender that characterizes much work on transpeople's embodiment, to investigate the concept of bodily aesthetics. Recent legislation allowing transsexuals to apply for gender recognition provides the context in which t
2011,
English,
Zowie Davy,
Original title: "Ein Junge namens Sue: Transsexuelle erfinden ihr Leben" (A boy named Sue: Transsexuals invent their lives) by Alexandra Köbele.We tell the story of our lives differently. When and who do we tell them to? What questions do we get asked? On what topics do we focus on? You may have family, school experiences, career and friendships with our identity don't do nearly as much as the issue of gender identity – which for most people is a matter of course – and all other topics will be dealt with on this basis. In this book, five transsexual people describe their lives.They tell their
2011,
Alexandra Köbele,
German,
Original title: "Veḷḷai moḻi" வெள்ளை மொழி (White language) by A. Revathi."This is the autobiography of an Aravani who struggles to live as a woman. From the moment she realizes herself as a woman, her struggle begins. The book openly talks about different types of experiences such as finding people who are similar to her and following their traditions, living in the sex industry imposed on Aravanis, from the family that excludes and hates them due to lack of understanding to the inhumane police, and the ways of working together with people who understand about gender minorities.This book cont
2011,
A. Revathi,
India,
Tamil,
"Olá Mundo Cruel!" is the Portuguese language edition of "Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks & Other Outlaws: 101 Alternatives to Teen Suicide" by Kate Bornstein."Celebrated transsexual trailblazer Kate Bornstein has, with more humor and spunk than any other, ushered us into a world of limitless possibility through a daring re-envisionment of the gender system as we know it.
Here, Bornstein bravely and wittily shares personal and unorthodox methods of survival in an often cruel world. A one-of-a-kind guide to staying alive outside the box, Hello, Cruel World
2011,
Interview,
Kate Bornstein,
Portuguese,
USA,
Full title: "Inside Out: Portraits of Cross-gender Children" is the English language edition of "Genderkinderen: geboren in het verkeerde lichaam" by Sarah Wong and Ellen de Visser."Through Sarah Wong's beautiful, moving photographs and Ellen Visser's poignant writing, this book provides the first insight into what it really feels like to be born in the wrong body, both for cross-gender children and their families.""Despite the unimaginable problem they have been faced with since a very young age, we see fun, confident, strong children, committed families and proud parents and grandparents wh
2011,
Ellen de Visser,
English,
Sarah Wong,
Original title: "Genderkinderen: geboren in het verkeerde lichaam" (Gender children: Born in the wrong body) by Sarah Wong and Ellen de Visser."Through Sarah Wong's beautiful, moving photographs and Ellen Visser's poignant writing, this book provides the first insight into what it really feels like to be born in the wrong body, both for cross-gender children and their families.""Despite the unimaginable problem they have been faced with since a very young age, we see fun, confident, strong children, committed families and proud parents and grandparents who deal with the situation very openhea
2011,
Dutch,
Ellen de Visser,
Sarah Wong,
Original title: "Mann er da kvinne" (Male is then female) by Marion Arntzen and Kari Kahrs.After the Golden Route winning TV series of the same name, "Jentene på Toten" became a concept. Stensveen resource center at Kapp, run by Marion Arntzen and her husband Harald Sundby, has for 14 years supported many transgender people in living as who they define themselves as.After the TV series, the whole of Norway got to experience what it means that all people have the right to define themselves. The girls at Toten received the Homofryd Award 2010. Marion and Harald were awarded the YS Gender Equali
2011,
Kari Kahrs,
Marion Arntzen,
Norwegian,
Original title: "Kroppslinjer: Kön, transsexualism och kropp i berättelser om könskorrigering" (Body Lines: Gender, Transsexualism, and the Body in Narratives of Gender Reassignment) by Signe Bremer.In 1972, Sweden was the first in the world to legislate on state-funded care for people in need of gender reassignment, which in an international perspective was considered radical. However, it is not until July 2013 that the requirement that a person must be an unmarried and sterile Swedish citizen to change legal gender is deleted from the law, which means the end of the forced sterilizations th
2011,
Signe Bremer,
Swedish,
"Hej grymma värld: 101 alternativ till självmord" is the Swedish language edition of "Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks & Other Outlaws: 101 Alternatives to Teen Suicide" by Kate Bornstein."Celebrated transsexual trailblazer Kate Bornstein has, with more humor and spunk than any other, ushered us into a world of limitless possibility through a daring re-envisionment of the gender system as we know it.
Here, Bornstein bravely and wittily shares personal and unorthodox methods of survival in an often cruel world. A one-of-a-kind guide to staying alive outside
2011,
Interview,
Kate Bornstein,
Swedish,
USA,
Full title: "Take Me There" by Tristan Taormino, and contributors: Kate Bornstein, Shawna Virago, Julia Serano, and others.In mainstream media, the erotic identities, sex lives, and fantasies of transgender and genderqueer people are often oversimplified, sensationalized, or invisible. Take Me There is an erotica collection unlike any other that celebrates the pleasure, heat, and diversity of transgender and genderqueer sexualities. The power of seeing and being seen is a central theme in the anthology; it’s not simply about passing or not passing (an idea often explored with transgender char
2011,
English,
Julia Serano,
Kate Bornstein,
Shawna Virago,
Tristan Taormino,
"I Rise, is the true story of Toni Newman’s transformation from an effeminate, conflicted male to a proud, educated transsexual. You will follow Toni on her rise from a “sissy boy,” a scholarship student, a business professional, an escort, a drag queen, an NYC prostitute, an LA dominatrix, and finally, a transsexual attending law school in order to help her transsexual sisters in need.Along Toni’s journey, you will see the highs and lows, as well as life-long quest for self-acceptance….
Toni is ex playgirl magazine model and male fitness model turned Transgender to lose it all. Toni graduat
2011,
English,
Toni Newman,
Full title: "Γιατί δεν έχω σαν το δικό σου, μαμά" (Because I'm not like you, mom) by Άννα Κουρουπού (Anna Kouroupou).Anna Kouroupou is an inspirational Greek woman, transgender rights activist, writer, blogger, the author of the biographical book titled “Γιατί δεν έχω σαν το δικό σου, μαμά” (2011).In 2017, I interviewed Anna and asked her why she decided to write an autobiography: "It was clearly a personal need. The need to write down on a piece of paper, some pieces of my life which marked me, so as to discover the reasons for the psychological dead-end I found myself in. I carry great dark
2011,
Anna Kouroupou,
Greek,
Full title: "Not Your Average American Girl: A Memoir" by Christine Beatty.
Christine Beatty’s memoir, Not Your Average American Girl, is a raw and compelling account of her life, tracing her transformation from a married college student to a transgender woman navigating the harsh realities of addiction, survival, and self-discovery. Set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, the book takes readers through the underbelly of society, hippies, strippers, soldiers, trans women, sex workers, and addicts. while also chronicling her climb toward stability a
2011,
Christine Beatty,
English,
Interview,
Original title: "Re-born" by Kayo Satoh (佐藤かよ).Kayo Satoh, born in 1988, a Japanese model, YouTube vlogger, and television personality, tells her story of the pain she experienced in a society that didn’t understand her and her male-to-female transition.She started her hormone therapy at the age of 15. Suffering from gender identity disorder, she had to face a lot of challenges in junior high school, and she ran away from home after graduation. After working part-time at a convenience store, her friend introduced her to the long-sought women's clothing department store. Six months later, she
2011,
Japanese,
Kayo Satoh,
'Non-reproductive lifestyles are discriminated against, even punishable by death in some countries. This raises the philosophical question of whether, for example, same-sex relationships could not be a possible answer from nature to problems such as overpopulation or "unwanted" or "neglected" life, biological alternatives to abortion or "baby hatch".A sexual facet of human life is TRANSSEXUALITY - people whose bodies differ from the brain-determined birth sex. People who often have to deny their innate identity in order to survive in a society shaped by dogma.This book introduces you to three
2011,
German,
Joachim Reinhold,
Philippines,
"In Tumbleweed, The Boy, author Ann Edmead, born a male, recounts the painful but ultimately triumphant story of her life. It all begins when two brothers are put into a children's home as babies after their mother dies and their father gives up custody.The boys' lives are riddled with sexual abuse by older boys. When the brothers leave the home at fifteen, one of them, who is very effeminate, falls victim to sexual manipulation, playing on the only skill he knows. Suicidal and in despair, he is helped by medical professionals and transitions to female, becoming Ann.
2011,
Ann Edmead,
England,
English,
UK,
Full title: "Tranny Tales: Personal Stories of Gender Transition"."Tranny Tales: Personal Stories of Gender Transition is a unique collection of stories about what it’s like to be conflicted about gender, why people change their bodies in order to reflect a different gender identity and what happens to them once they do this.Tranny Tales gives voice to an often-misunderstood population. You will hear, through very personal and diverse accounts, the multitude of experiences and attitudes that shape the transgender population. And, through photos, you will be able to see what a transition can l
2011,
English,
Marsea Marcus,
Shannon Weckman,
Original title: "Chassée du Paradis, rescapée de l'enfer" (Driven out of paradise, escaped from hell)"It all begins with a pampered childhood of a cherished son, so much desired by a father who demanded to have a boy. Adolescence follows a terrible course of obstacles in the face of the misunderstanding of others, the violence of society, betrayals, and tragedies.And finally, thanks to the miracles of surgery, comes the time to become a woman. A journey punctuated by intense happiness and harsh strokes of theatre, the destiny of Peggy Guex, born Roland, turns out to be a whirlwind of prodigio
2011,
French,
Peggy Guex,
"In the spring of 2004, Philip Anders ingested the first of what would be a daily dose of 4mg estrogen tablets. From that moment forward, his life would change forever.During the agonizingly slow transformation from male to female, he would lose a 22-year career in journalism, his marriage, his home, his savings, and most of his friends. Faced with the specter of homelessness, he embarked on a three-year adventure as an over-the-road truck driver.Gypsy Moon chronicles Pamela Rose Anders' travels across the highways of America, as well as the single most difficult journey of all; transitioning
2011,
English,
Pamela Rose Anders,
