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: "Travesties-kamikaze" (Transvestites-suicide bombers) by Josée Yvon.
What underlies the whole book is that you have to cross-dress to live: to cross-dress to survive, to exist; You can never be yourself, you always have to change your personality to live in a society. - Josée Yvon
"Francine thought of all her friends: the crossers, the killed, the abused, the stupid, the wonderful. These and a host of others are the facets that sparkle, the insects that swarm, caught in the gear of the margins, within transvesties-kamikaze."
"All the situations and characters described in this book are in no way part of fiction and any resemblance to living or dead people or real places is intended and written to represent them."
The fragments of stories, poems, and collages that make up Transvesties-kamikaze make it a charged, degenerate and powerful object. Reality appears in close-up, in pieces; The thread of events dissolves in the night and in alcohol, in rape and stabbings, drugs and medicines. For Francine, Gina, Brigitte, Jasmine, Josée Yvon's furious and pictorial narration is a den, a place pierced by "holes in the plaster that crumbles, but comfortable, warm, weird, attractive, perhaps a family". And she added, 'I'm a claim when I run out of gas.'
2019,
Canada,
French,
Josée Yvon,
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,
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,
Original title: "France avec un s: notre histoire!" by Frances Olympe Cormier. The book was also published in English - "Frances with an "E": Our Story!"
I came across this book and author in the list of biographies of Canadian transgender women, presented by Zagria on her fantastic blog. I searched the Internet thoroughly but unfortunately, I was not able to find any info about this publication. If you have ever read the book or have any information about it, please let me know.
1995,
Canada,
Frances Olympe Cormier,
French,
Original title: "C'était du spectacle: L'histoire des artistes transsexuelles à Montréal, 1955-1985" (It was a show: The history of transsexual artists in Montreal, 1955-1985). The book was published both in English and French.
The sixties and seventies were decades of social change in Quebec. It was a show! tells the story of the first generation of transsexuals who underwent sex reversal surgery. Namaste examines working conditions in cabarets, prostitution, police abuses of power towards transsexuals, the role of organized crime in the city's nightlife, and access to health care. It was a show! offers a rare overview of Montreal's urban culture, presented in its own words by one of its most important artistic communities.
2005,
Canada,
French,
Viviane Namaste,
Original title: "Frances with an "E": Our Story!" by Frances Olympe Cormier.
I came across this book and author in the list of biographies of Canadian transgender women, presented by Zagria on her fantastic blog. I searched the Internet thoroughly but unfortunately, I was not able to find any info about this publication. If you have ever read the book or have any information about it, please let me know.
1995,
Canada,
English,
Frances Olympe Cormier,
Full title: "She's No Lady: The Story of Jamie Lee Hamilton".
"Barb Daniel's biography She's No Lady: The Story of Jamie Lee Hamilton portrays Hamilton as an imperfect heroine against a Dickensian backdrop of social decay, elevating Hamilton's presence beyond the occasional sound bite or provocative quote."
Zagria presented the most extensive article about Jamie Lee Hamilton (1955-2019), a Canadian sex worker, activist, and politician. According to Zagria, she became Jamie Lee in 1975. "Her father, who had been reading up on transsexuality, gave his blessing though on his deathbed in 1979. Jamie Lee completed her transition with surgery in 1983."
Jamie Lee Hamilton will be always remembered as an activist for sex workers, aboriginals, and the LGBT community.
She held various positions in Downtown Eastside Residents' Association (DERA), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and Change the Code. She first ran for a seat on the Vancouver City council in 1996, the first trans person in Canada to run for public office.
2005,
Barbara Daniel,
Canada,
English,
Original title: "Le dur combat d'une femme" (The hard fight of a woman) by Madeleine Charest.
I came across this book and author in the list of biographies of Canadian transgender women, presented by Zagria on her fantastic blog. I searched the Internet thoroughly but unfortunately, I was not able to find any info about this publication. If you have ever read the book, please let me know.
2006,
Canada,
French,
Madeleine Charest,
Full title: "Transparently: Behind the Scenes of a Good Life" by Lisa Salazar.
"It wasn’t always clear to Santiago Salazar that somewhere inside him was a Lisa that would someday—a long time into the future - show herself to the world. Born in Colombia, Santiago grew up in California and moved to Vancouver in the early 1970s to start a successful career as a graphic designer and photographer.
After living the first forty-eight years of life as Santiago, a married, heterosexual man and father of three children and devout Christian, Santiago was diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a term that describes the challenges, and opportunities, that some have with sexual identity. It would take almost ten more years to reconcile the diagnosis to his Christian faith before Santiago could decide to transition to womanhood.
2011,
Canada,
English,
Lisa Salazar,
"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,
Full title: "The Zenith Experience: Encounters and Memories in a Transgender Setting".
T"The Zenith Foundation was founded to provide a cohesive platform from which socially responsible members could develop programs and projects that could benefit fellow members and the transgender community at large. Zenith was an unusual organization in several ways. It preferred substance to noise. It avoided the overly colourful, strident and boastful often associated with street demonstrations.
Under Castle’s leadership, it established direct communications with government and professional practitioners and went to the top in its often very direct dealings with a great variety of people. It took an activist position in human rights activities, health, education and prison reform. Zenith acted as an advocate on behalf of members. During its lifetime, Zenith Foundation became a respected organization on transgender issues.
2005,
Canada,
English,
Stephanie Castle,
Original title: "Michelle Blanc: Un genre à part" (Michelle Blanc: A genre apart)
T'When Marie Vigneault, a woman from Havre-Saint-Pierre with a bright future, and Marcel Leblanc, a child from Duplessis who has been given this name among many others, met, nothing predestined them to marry and have children.
However, they had a few, including Michel, their second, the first baby of the year 1961: a beautiful baby with a boy's body but a girl's personality, which Michel will discover soon enough.
Throughout this biography skilfully written by Jacques Lanctôt, we discover the universe of Michel Leblanc, his family, his loves, or rather his love – B. or Bibitte Électrique –, his professional life, his relationships, etc. Michel Leblanc unveils Michelle Blanc little by little, it is both a disaster and a liberation.'
2012,
Canada,
French,
Jacques Lanctot,
Michelle Blanc,
Full title: "TRANS (per) FORMING Nina Arsenault: An Unreasonable Body of Work"
"Transgendered playwright, performer, columnist, and sex worker Nina Arsenault has undergone more than sixty plastic surgeries in pursuit of a feminine beauty ideal. In TRANS(per)FORMING Nina Arsenault, Judith Rudakoff brings together a diverse group of contributors, including artists, scholars, and Arsenault herself to offer an exploration of beauty, image, and the notion of queerness through the lens of Arsenault’s highly personal brand of performance art.
Illustrated throughout with photographs of the artist’s transformation over the years and demonstrating her diversity of personae, this volume contributes to a deepening of our understanding of what it means to be a woman and what it means to be beautiful. Also included in this volume is the full script of Arsenault’s critically acclaimed stage play, The Silicone Diaries."
2012,
Canada,
English,
Nina Arsenault,
In 2014, I had a chance to interview Ianna and this is what she told me about herself and the book: "I was born in Lévis, a small town in Québec, Canada. My parents divorced early and I lived with my brother and my single mom in a difficult economic situation.
From a young age, I’ve always felt perturbed and was always asking myself many questions.
Puberty is when I started to feel a need to express my femininity. I isolated myself to live out that reality because I was scared.
At the beginning of adulthood, I moved to Montréal to study visual arts.
After many many years of denial and hesitation, I started, four years ago, to move forward with the process of my transition and gender adjustment (mtf). It was very difficult at first but necessary. In 2013, I published Trans Avenue, a collection of photographs tracing a part of this period of change."
The book was published both in English and French.
2013,
Canada,
English,
French,
Ianna Book,
Full title: "Girl in the Dream: Stephanie (Sydney) Castle Heal, A Transgender Life" by Margot Wilson
"Girl in the Dream is the life story of Stephanie (Sydney) Castle Heal, an advocate, activist and elder in the Canadian transgender community. The outcome of an almost four year collaboration of story-telling, recording, analysis and writing, Girl in the Dream is a first person narrative that depicts in intimate detail Stephanie’s transgender journey.
The title is not only an acknowledgment of a pivotal moment in Stephanie’s young life when at the age of 4½ years old, her gender dysphoria made itself manifest in a dream that stayed in her memory for almost 90 years."
2018,
Canada,
English,
Margot Wilson,
Shandi Strong, is a Canadian transgender rights advocate, author, public speaker, and politician from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was the first Trans Grand Marshall for the 2015 Winnipeg Pride Parade, recipient of the Winnipeg LGBT* Chamber of Commerce Trail Blazer Award.
She serves as Advocacy Coordinator for Pride Winnipeg, and Executive Secretary for Manitobans For Human Rights Inc., as well as working as a constituency assistant for the Liberal Caucus in the Manitoba Legislature.
In 2017, I talked to Shandi and asked her about the price of the transition, and this is how she responded: "My story, in a nutshell, was that I lost my 15-year career when I came out, then three weeks later my supportive spouse of nearly 20 years betrayed me and left, and my daughters basically followed her. I was distraught and so messed up that I nearly ended myself.
2018,
Canada,
English,
Shandi Strong,
Original title: "La femme que je suis devenue" (The Woman I Became)
Aimée is a 27 years old woman of Rwandan origin, and her beauty does not go unnoticed. Everything is feminine in her, except for one thing: her sex. She has lived with this difference since a very young age and she has never doubted that she is a girl.
Aimée tells us about her journey, from Rwanda where she was born a few years before the genocide, to Montreal where she lives today, to Belgium where she was a teenager. It is this three-step journey that has allowed her to become a fulfilled woman.
This story of great lucidity invites us to reflect on the quest for identity, on the acceptance of oneself and difference, on the worst and the best of the human condition, and on destiny.
2018,
Aimée Munezero,
Canada,
French,
Rwanda,
Full title: "He Said, She Said: Lessons, Stories, and Mistakes from My Transgender Journey" by Gigi Gorgeous.
This book covers the story of Gigi Loren Lazzarato Getty, known professionally as Gigi Gorgeous Getty. She is a Canadian YouTuber, socialite, actress, and model.
In 2008, she began uploading video blogs onto the streaming platform YouTube as Gregory Gorgeous, achieving immense popularity that lead to her starring in the reality program The Avenue (2011–2013). She gained media attention after coming out as a transgender woman in 2013 and began her life as Gigi Gorgeous. According to Wikipedia, in a September 2015 issue of People, Gigi credited transgender model and performing artist Amanda Lepore and the death of her mother for sparking her transition.
2019,
Canada,
English,
Gigi Gorgeous,
Full title: "Almost Feral" by Gemma Hickey.
"On July 2, 2015, influential social activist Gemma Hickey began a 908-kilometer walk across the island of Newfoundland to raise awareness and funds for survivors of religious institutional abuse.
Almost Feral celebrates the community of support that gathered around this journey and recounts Hickey's remarkable story of self-discovery which led to the realization that they are transgender. In this thought-provoking and wide-ranging autobiography, Hickey counters memories of sexual assault, bullying, and depression with inspiring reflections on faith, love, family, individual and communal identity, sex, gender, and acceptance."
2019,
Canada,
English,
Gemma Hickey,
Full title: "Glimmerings: Trans Elders Tell Their Stories" by Margot Wilson.
"Glimmerings is a compilation of stories told by 15 trans elders. Champions exist in every community. These are the courageous, resolute, and independent spirits who defy, disrupt, and challenge the status quo; who remain unwaveringly true to themselves and their principles; who resist, persist, and insist on authenticity; who blaze trails for themselves as well as for those who follow; who create opportunities for understanding, learning, and change in the world.
Glimmerings offers stories of trans, non-binary and Two-Spirit champions, innovators, and trailblazers who came of age in the 1930s to the 1980s, before the age of global communication, at a time when the Internet and worldwide connectivity were still visions of the future; when only inflexible, dichotomous categories of male and female existed."
2019,
Canada,
English,
Margot Wilson,
