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: "O caso Bruna: Gênero, transexualidades e opinião pública" (The case of Bruna: Gender, transsexualities and public opinion) by Ubirajara de None Caputo.
"Transvestites and transsexual women demonstrate for the right to use women's restrooms open to the public in a shopping mall in São Paulo. The act has repercussions on a news site of great circulation, provoking the reaction of hundreds of readers. Ubirajara Caputo analyzed the opinions of this group of people, most of whom were against the right of use motivated by religious and social conceptions or by attributing to the plaintiffs a dubious character and distorted aspects of health and body.
2022,
Brazil,
Portuguese,
Ubirajara de None Caputo,
Original title: "Cartas pra Pepita" (Letters to Pepita) by Mulher Pepita.
"The program "Cartas pra Pepita", a public success on IGTV and YouTube, completes one year on the air and to celebrate brings the best letters in the debut book of Selo Monocó! Hosted by LGBT activist, singer and songwriter Mulher Pepita, one of the first transsexual funk singers in Brazil, the program brings the author's sometimes affectionate, sometimes acidic advice and tips about relationships and questions about love and sex from readers-viewers, who send their letters to the program and are read on the air, without shame!"
Mulher Pepita, also known as Pepita, is a Brazilian singer, composer, and dancer. Born Priscila Nogueira on January 25, 1983, in Rio de Janeiro, she gained prominence as one of the first trans women in the Brazilian funk music scene. Her work is closely associated with LGBT activism1.
Pepita began her journey as a funk dancer in Rio de Janeiro’s nightclubs. During this time, she received a song titled “Tô à Procura de um Homem” from a friend. Inspired by the music, she transitioned into a music career and performed her first show in São Paulo.
2019,
Brazil,
Mulher Pepita,
Portuguese,
Original title: "Liberdade Ainda Que Profana" (Freedom Even If Profane) by Ruddy Pinho.
When we turn to the literature of trans authorship in Brazil, we inevitably arrive at Ruddy Pinho, who in 1980 debuted on the literary scene with the poetic biographical work Eu, Ruddy. In that period Ruddy did not yet recognize herself as a woman, nor did she bring this issue explicitly to her writing, which only occurred after the publication of her second autobiography, Liberdade ainda que profana (1998), in which she celebrates her 35-year career as a hairdresser, and she identifies as a woman.
Ruddy Pinho, also known as “A Maravilhosa”, was a celebrated transgender hairdresser from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was known for her work with famous clients, including Susana Vieira and Marilia Pêra. Ruddy Pinho made a significant contribution to the hairdressing industry, including creating the “lioness cut” that marked the career of singer Simone Bittencourt and was widely copied in the 1980s.
1998,
Brazil,
Portuguese,
Ruddy Pinho,
Original title: "Crianças Trans: Infâncias possíveis" (Trans Children: Possible Childhoods) by Sofia Favero.
"Trans kids, do you exist? The question is, in my view, rhetorical. Sofia pursues her childhood with unparalleled refinement and wit in this publication. Language, as always, is placed in a captious way when we refer to what was not posited, at first, as "natural" from the cisgender gaze.
The author undertakes a fantastic work, using a self-history that is intertwined with contemporary virtual culture and scientific literature, to tell us about something central to studies on childhood, or to be more direct, about how the social devices of affirmation of certain identities work, to the detriment of others, hierarchical as "normal", "good", "beautiful"."
2021,
Brazil,
Portuguese,
Sofia Favero,
Original title: "Metamorfose: Poesias sobre ser e existir" (Metamorphosis: Poems about being and existing) by Giulia Martins.
Metamorphosis is a book of authorial poetry with rhythm, depth and, sometimes, a bit of unvarnished reality. The 13 poems reflect things that the author, Giulia Martins, a Brazilian trans woman, lives, has seen and lived in her transition experience.
2024,
Brazil,
Giulia Martins,
Portuguese,
Original title: "O sabor do cio" (The taste of heat) by Ruddy Pinho.
"O sabor do cio" is the second poetry book by Ruddy (Ruddy Pinho). In that period the author did not yet recognize herself as a woman, nor did she bring this issue explicitly to her writing, which will only occur after the publication of her autobiography, Liberdade ainda que profana (1998).
Ruddy Pinho, also known as “A Maravilhosa”, was a celebrated transgender hairdresser from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was known for her work with famous clients, including Susana Vieira and Marilia Pêra. Ruddy Pinho made a significant contribution to the hairdressing industry, including creating the “lioness cut” that marked the career of singer Simone Bittencourt and was widely copied in the 1980s.
1981,
Brazil,
Portuguese,
Ruddy Pinho,
Original title: "Três décadas e meia" (Three and a half decades) by Daniela de Carvalho.
"Thirty years is too long to wait for love. That's plenty of time to mature. But is it enough time to live everything you want? Everything you are entitled to? Is it enough time when your own time isn't worth a lifetime? Through phrases, chronicles, and poetry, the author presents an intimate and almost confessional account, which is at the same time the story of one and thousands of women.
They, when in front of the mirror, reflect an inverted truth, opposite to what conservative eyes want to see. The harshness of the words does not come close to reaching the crudeness of reality. Even so, it carries the subtlety that exists in the obvious, opening space for an indispensable reflection. Trans women exist, they are objects of prejudice. Trans women resist, they need respect, dignity, affection and, above all, they need to stop dying as if life itself were not a right."
2021,
Brazil,
Daniela de Carvalho,
Portuguese,
Original title: "Eu Sou Assim" (That's the way I am) by Sophie Elizabeth Dias Martins.
""Eu sou Assim" tells the bibliographic story of Sophie Elizabeth, a heterosexual transsexual woman studying psychology, born and raised in Brazil in the city of Campo Grande Mato Grosso Do Sul. The story is based on some parts of her life as a child, teenager, and adult, the prejudice she faces daily, emotional and psychological barriers, degenerative disorders, family and social experience, exchange to Los Angeles (USA), religion, dreams, good times and bad. Appearance.
Because of the arrogance of not understanding, do you have to define your social environment? The character, and individuality of their ways of understanding the world are hopes of realizing that each person may have a difficulty related to the diversity of people. The book aims to understand that everyone has a different sexual orientation and the same as all human beings, everyone has the objective of respecting human beings and understanding bonds."
2023,
Brazil,
Portuguese,
Sophie Elizabeth Dias Martins,
Original title: "Transcartografia: Atrizes e Atores Trans na Cena Teatral" (Transcartography: Trans Actresses and Actors in the Paperback Theatre) by Jerônimo Vieira de Lima Silva.
The work "Transcartography: Trans Actresses and Actors in the Theatrical Scene" starts with a focus on the LGBTTQ+ movement in Brazil and Portugal to analyze the theatrical scenario in both countries.
Official statistics and data on transphobia are presented, as well as a mapping of transsexual actors and actresses inserted in the political and social contexts of these countries. The aspects of theatricality and performativity that are inserted in the construction of genders are also listed, especially with regard to the transsexual.
2020,
Brazil,
Jerônimo Vieira de Lima Silva,
Portugal,
Portuguese,
Original title: "Quando eu passo batom me embriago" (When I put on lipstick I get drunk) by Ruddy Pinho.
"Quando eu passo batom me embriago" is the third book by Ruddy (Ruddy Pinho). In that period the author did not yet recognize herself as a woman, nor did she bring this issue explicitly to her writing, which will only occur after the publication of her autobiography, Liberdade ainda que profana (1998).
Ruddy Pinho, also known as “A Maravilhosa”, was a celebrated transgender hairdresser from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was known for her work with famous clients, including Susana Vieira and Marilia Pêra. Ruddy Pinho made a significant contribution to the hairdressing industry, including creating the “lioness cut” that marked the career of singer Simone Bittencourt and was widely copied in the 1980s.
1983,
Brazil,
Portuguese,
Ruddy Pinho,
Original title: "Bonecas na noite: Histórias cotidianas de travestis e transexuais" (Dolls in the Night:: Everyday Stories of Transvestites and Transsexuals) by Rafael B. Ferrareze.
This book tells the stories of some transvestites and transsexuals living in the city of Ponta Grossa in the State of Paraná. They report their nocturnal experiences and how life led them to work at night in Ponta Grossa as sex professionals.
These stories lead us to reflect on topics such as prejudice, social exclusion, violence, and pleasure, among others. It's simply a fascinating book. This study began first with theoretical discussions about gender, identity, culture, and community development among others, followed by the preparation of this work.
2017,
Brazil,
Portuguese,
Rafael B. Ferrareze,
Original title: "BR-Trans" by Silvero Pereira.
"In BR-Trans, the author and actor Silvero Pereira gives voice to several narratives, real and fictional, of transvestites and transsexuals he met during the research process for the show, in the Ceará-Rio Grande do Sul axis, mixing his personal history with the stories collected. By bringing all these voices together, mixing fact and fiction, the author sews a portrait of the trans universe in Brazil, shedding light on life stories full of doubts, anguish and transformations.
BR-Trans was nominated for the APTR 2015 awards in the Actor and Author categories, and Questão de Crítica 2015 in the Author, Direction and Show categories. He was the winner, by popular vote, of the 2015 Aplauso Brasil award in the categories of Actor, Spectacle and Dramaturgy, and of the popular jury award for best show at the Northeast Theater Festival of Guaramiranga. In 2015, it was elected by the newspapers O Globo and Estadão as one of the 10 best theater plays of the year."
2017,
Brazil,
Portuguese,
Silvero Pereira,
Original title: "Vamos por más: mocha celis na experiência educacional das travestis e transexuais" (Let's go for more: mocha celis in the educational experience of transvestites and transsexuals) by Luana Pagano Peres Molina.
"In Brazil, we see alarming data that show an escalation in violence and murder of trans populations (transvestites, transgenders, and transsexuals). The public policies of the different governments that have passed through the country, moved by so-called right-wing and left-wing ideologies, have done little or nothing to change this scenario.
"Geni e o Zepelim" is a Brazilian song composed in 1978 by Brazilian composer Chico Buarque to be part of the musical Ópera do Malandro. The character Geni is described as being a transvestite who is constantly harassed by her community, "who can give it to anyone", who is "made to be beaten" and "good for spitting". The song's catchphrase: "Throw a stone at Geni" has become well known in the popular songbook and is repeated jokingly whenever someone is spoken of who is the target of public execration."
2020,
Argentina,
Brazil,
Luana Pagano Peres Molina,
Portuguese,
Original title: "Eu, Ruddy" (Me, Ruddy) by Ruddy Pinho.
“Eu, Ruddy” is a significant work in the history of LGBTQIA+ literature in Brazil. It is considered the first book written by a trans person in the country. In that period the author did not yet recognize herself as a woman, nor did she bring this issue explicitly to her writing, which will only occur after the publication of her second autobiography, Liberdade ainda que profana (1998).
Ruddy Pinho, also known as “A Maravilhosa”, was a celebrated transgender hairdresser from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was known for her work with famous clients, including Susana Vieira and Marilia Pêra. Ruddy Pinho made a significant contribution to the hairdressing industry, including creating the “lioness cut” that marked the career of singer Simone Bittencourt and was widely copied in the 1980s.
1980,
Brazil,
Portuguese,
Ruddy Pinho,
Original title: "A reinvenção do corpo: Sexualidade e gênero na experiência transexual" (The Reinvention of the Body: Sexuality and Gender in the Transsexual Experience) by Berenice Bento.
"This book is anchored in the life stories of people who have changed their bodies, surgically or not, to become real, so as not to be 'freaks', a common expression among transsexuals. The reinvention of the body: sexuality and gender in the transsexual experience will suggest that explanations for the emergence of the transsexual experience should be sought in the historical and social articulations that produce the sex-bodies and that have in heterosexuality the matrix that confers intelligibility to the Genres."
"Berenice Bento holds a degree in Social Sciences from the Federal University of Goiás (1994). She holds a master's degree in Sociology from the University of Brasília (1998) and a PhD from the same university (2003). Her research focuses on topics such as gender, sexuality and human rights. It was considered "an unavoidable reference for recent gender studies in the field of social sciences". She taught at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (2009-2017), where she coordinated the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Sexual Diversity, Genders and Human Rights (2010-2013).
2021,
Berenice Bento,
Brazil,
Portuguese,
Original title: "Trans: Histórias reais que ajudam a entender a vida das pessoas transexuais desde a infância" (Trans: Real stories that help understand the lives of transgender people from childhood) by Renata Ceribelli and Bruno Della Latta.
"In Trans - Real stories that help to understand the lives of transgender people since childhood, journalists Renata Ceribelli and Bruno Della Latta revisit the interviewees of the report and also gather unpublished accounts of those who are often silenced and discriminated against daily."
"This book requires an open and free mind to be able to enter the universe of extremely special individuals. [...] Welcome to the universe of these people who have always existed among us, but who previously remained invisible." - Renata Ceribelli
2021,
Brazil,
Bruno Della Latta,
Portuguese,
Renata Ceribelli,
Original title: "Rogéria: uma mulher e mais um pouco" (bbbbbb) by Márcio Paschoal.
"Rogéria's story is more like fiction. Born Astolfo Barroso Pinto, she had to face great challenges to assert herself as a homosexual, an icon of transformism and, above all, an artist. Moved by an enormous passion for art and life, she conquered, over more than 50 years of career, her space in theater, cinema and television, consecrating herself as an irresistible, almost mythical character: Rogéria, the transvestite of the Brazilian family.
In this book, Marcio Paschoal reconstructs the intense trajectory of Astolfo-Rogéria from his first steps as a make-up artist for the singers of the radio era and the stars of TV Rio, through his debut on stage in the middle of the dictatorship, international success and artistic recognition on his return to Brazil. To draw a faithful portrait of Rogéria, the author did a great deal of iconographic research, gathering beautiful photos.
2016,
Brazil,
Márcio Paschoal,
Portuguese,
Original title: "Nany People: Ser mulher não é para qualquer um" (Nany People: Being a woman is not for everyone) by Flavio Queiroz.
"Being a woman is not for everyone' narrates the personal trajectory of Nany People who, as she says, never came out in Playboy, but lives in people's imagination. She arrived in São Paulo at the age of 20 without too many resources but with a lot of determination. From the shows she did as a drag queen in concert halls, through theater and radio, she soon took flight to television, conquering Brazil once and for all.
She wrote a column for G Magazine for almost ten years, did radio programs on Jovem Pan and 89 FM, worked as a reporter on the programs of Goulart de Andrade, Amaury Júnior and Hebe Camargo. Her comedic streak led her to the bench of the program 'A praça é nossa', by Carlos Alberto de Nóbrega.
2015,
Brazil,
Flavio Queiroz,
Portuguese,
Original title: "Certos Movimentos de um Coração" (Certain Movements of a Heart) by Ruddy Pinho.
"Certain Movements of the Heart is another book by the poet Ruddy, who lays bare her soul in a cadence of feelings, without mask, hypocrisy and/or camouflage, seeking what is most valuable - authenticity.
Ruddy combines Love and Art "as inseparable brothers and lovers in unusual incest invading her BEING".
She opens her heart and sings: "I threw into the sea / the key to my heart. /Now it's going to be cool./ I left the door open/for anyone who wants to come in." And she goes further, in her cry of criticality and commitment to the true FEELING and LIVING in the poem Amor Louco - "Call the ambulance/ the mayor/ the police/ Call the TV/ the cinema/ the radio./ I want everyone to know that I have a love/ larger than life/ on the fringes of screams and spits/ beyond clandestine whispers/ above howls and rumors/ an incandescent love of infinity."
1988,
Brazil,
Portuguese,
Ruddy Pinho,
Original title: "Trinta anos de reclusão e as memórias de Porcina D'Alessandro" (Thirty Years of Cloister: Memories of Porcina D'Alessandro) by Porcina D'Alessandro.
He was born Jorge, was married, had four children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. But she is known as Porcina now. She was the founder of the Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals/MG, breaking taboos and causing controversy.
Porcina doesn't mince words, says that she has been a prostitute, reveals the profile of her clients and denounces the charging of points for prostitutes and transvestites to work on the streets and corners of her city.
2017,
Brazil,
Porcina D'Alessandro,
Portuguese,
