A random collection of over 1994 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: "Señales: trans*, travesti, no binarie ..." (Signs: trans*, transvestite, non-binary...) by Niki Raveau.
The book Señales: trans, travesti, no binarie...* by Niki Raveau opens a window into lives that are often overlooked, dismissed, or silenced. It is not a conventional chronicle but a vibrant collective portrait shaped through nearly three years of work alongside communities of trans, travesti, and non-binary people in Chile. What emerges is a living testimony that combines photography, storytelling, and personal accounts to build a narrative of identity, struggle, and resilience. Rather than presenting individual biographies in isolation, the book weaves together experiences across different ages and social realities, creating a sense of shared history and continuity. From the voices of children discovering their identities to adults fighting for dignity in the face of marginalization, Señales captures the complexity of lives lived at the intersection of visibility and exclusion.
One of the most striking aspects of the book is the focus on Fundación Selenna, a unique and groundbreaking school project in Chile. Created by families of trans children and youth, Fundación Selenna represents an oasis of recognition and dignity in an often hostile social landscape. By opening their doors to Raveau, they allowed the project to document a space where education becomes a form of resistance, where young trans people can grow without the constant burden of explaining their existence. This perspective makes visible the urgent need for spaces that embrace trans and non-binary identities without forcing them into the margins.
2019,
Chile,
Niki Raveau,
Spanish,
Original title: "Cuerpos para odiar" (Bodies to hate) by Claudia Rodríguez.
Claudia Rodríguez’s Cuerpos para odiar (Bodies to Hate) is an unflinching, visceral, and poignant literary statement. More than just a book, it is a political act, a chronicle of exclusion, pain, sisterhood, and survival within the brutal margins of Latin American society. Rodríguez, a Chilean trans activist, poet, and writer, has carved a space for the voices historically erased, ignored, or caricatured.
Her prose is tender yet lacerating, humorous and haunting, deeply lyrical and defiantly political.
The book opens with a chilling confession: “Because it’s believed that what is different is grotesque and monstrous, I have been so hated that I have reasons to write. I was never a hope for anyone. I put letters together and write, poorly, about this emptiness.” These words immediately set the tone for the rest of the work, this is not a book written to please. It is not here to console. It is here to expose. To scream. To remember. To disturb. And perhaps, most of all, to demand that we see the lives so often consigned to the shadows.
Rodríguez writes because she was not alone in her suffering. She writes for her sisters, those who died young, of AIDS, of violence, of neglect, without ever knowing love. “I write for all the travestis who never even realized they were alive, who died of shame and guilt before they could be happy.”
2024,
Chile,
Claudia Rodríguez,
Spanish,
Original title: "El futuro es sin género: Historias trans de Colombia, Chile y Argentina" (The Future is Genderless: Trans Stories from Colombia, Chile, and Argentina) by Sandra Sanchez Lopez.
The book tells the stories of trans people from three places in Latin America: Colombia, Argentina, and Chile. In addition to reports, interviews, and chronicles, this book presents reflections on an inclusive journalistic profession, in which we make the political commitment of communication more transparent and leave behind fears and prejudices in the face of the encounters between journalism and activism.
Focused on trans lives and voices, this set of contributions suggests that the public conversation is enriched when we stop dodging the dilemmas that we still have to solve as a society, while strong citizens, with determination, carry forward their struggles.
2021,
Argentina,
Chile,
Colombia,
Sandra Sanchez Lopez,
Spanish,
Original title: "Inacabada" (Unfinished) by Ariel Florencia Richards.
"“Maybe the trans experience is inseparable from the rituals of death. Holding a vigil for the broken body, embracing it and caring for it in its passage,” wonders a daughter who yearns to end the silence that reigns between her and her mother on the topic of her sex change. Her thoughts circle back to two words – I am a woman – that imply both a rebirth and mourning for the person she has been for thirty-seven years. But does the transition ever end?
Full of profound reflections, Unfinished is a novel that explores the interstices between literary genres to find a language for bridging distances and soothing the grief of an unspoken identity even as it offers an intelligent appraisal of the potential to throw off family burdens and start living again."
2024,
Ariel Florencia Richards,
Chile,
Spanish,
Original title: "Otras Vidas. Activismo y Resiliencia Trans en Chile" (Other Lives. Trans Activism and Resilience in Chile).
The publication "Other Lives", which is part of a Fondart 2020 project, portrays the experiences of three Chilean trans women in different historical contexts. The stories of Katty Fontey, Silvia Parada and Carla Sepúlveda come together in a welcoming, enlightening and autobiographical book, which delves into the history and memory of the obstacles that trans people faced, and still face, in our country.
To this end, the text reviews relevant milestones, such as the configuration of San Camilo Street as a red light district in Santiago, their experience during the dictatorship and the persecution they faced, the HIV crisis in the eighties, and the formation of TravesChile after the return to democracy. More current events such as feminist marches and the struggle for the Gender Identity Law are also reported.
2021,
Carla Sepúlveda,
Chile,
Katty Fontey,
Silvia Parada,
Spanish,
"Las Biuty Queens: Stories" is the English language edition of "Las biuty queens" by Iván Monalisa Ojeda.
With a cheeky and honest look, Iván Monalisa Ojeda immerses himself in the transvestite universe of the New York streets. The stories in this book narrate her life and that of her companions, Latin American transsexuals who make the street, smoke crystal meth, participate in beauty contests, look for clients on high heels and are victims of Trump's new immigration policies. A world where laughter, survival, death and love will be glimpsed in a city that fascinates and corners the protagonists.
The narrative talent of Iván Monalisa Ojeda, who plays with a street language full of rhythm, freedom and freshness, places him as a surprising and particular voice in current Latin American literature.
2021,
Chile,
English,
Iván Monalisa Ojeda,
Original title: "Las biuty queens" by Iván Monalisa Ojeda.
With a cheeky and honest look, Iván Monalisa Ojeda immerses himself in the transvestite universe of the New York streets. The stories in this book narrate her life and that of her companions, Latin American transsexuals who make the street, smoke crystal meth, participate in beauty contests, look for clients on high heels and are victims of Trump's new immigration policies. A world where laughter, survival, death and love will be glimpsed in a city that fascinates and corners the protagonists.
The narrative talent of Iván Monalisa Ojeda, who plays with a street language full of rhythm, freedom and freshness, places him as a surprising and particular voice in current Latin American literature.
2019,
Chile,
Iván Monalisa Ojeda,
Spanish,
Original title: "Este cuerpo, ¿es mío?: 9 historias de personas trans" (Is this body mine?: 9 stories of trans people) by Felipe Ramírez Muñoz.
This book was born out of the need to report a reality that emerged as a public discussion. It seeks to make visible what "transition" consists of, something that trans people experience daily in our country.
These stories seek to make known, accompany and be part of the stories of those who struggle to be recognized for their identities so that it is understood that this transition is a personal and independent process, not exempt from feelings of rejection, loneliness, pain, sorrow, and joys. A vital experience that transcends any age, social and cultural condition.
2018,
Chile,
Felipe Ramírez Muñoz,
Spanish,
Original title: "Crónicas de una infiltrada" (Chronicles of an infiltrator)
Alessia Injoque is a Chilean transgender and lesbian activist, the first Chilean woman to move into a leadership position, part of the board of directors of Fundacion Iguales, columnist for El Desconcierto, El Mostrador and Clever, diversity spokesperson for the Liberal Party, counselor of La Casa Común,
"Chronicles of an infiltrator" were originally published in the digital newspaper El Desconcierto.
This is the testimony of a person, who found courage at the moment of her life when she needed it most, who has become a reference for the Chilean Trans community and inspires others who live in hiding, to take a step forward.
The objective of the book is to contribute to the construction of a society where it is possible to develop our life projects in full freedom, in the words of Alessia herself "a society where each person can dress in all colors".
2018,
Alessia Injoque,
Chile,
Spanish,
Original title: "Alessia: Mi hijo es una mujer trans" (Alessia: My Son is a Trans Woman) by Cecilia Alegria.
This autobiographical book narrates the process of change of a highly conservative Christian mother -a marriage counselor - who discovers what she never imagined: her eldest son, married, defines himself as a woman.
Despite being aware of the possible consequences of his radical decision, becomes the first person to make the gender transition in a high professional position in Chile, and not only retains his position but also serves as a leader of the LGBT movement that his mother attacked so much before. How does maternal love take on this challenge?
2019,
Cecilia Alegria,
Chile,
Spanish,
Original title: "Memorias De Un Cambio De Sexo" (Memories of a Sex Change) by Claudia Alejandra.
"Memories of a Sex Change" focuses on the transition of Claudia Alejandra - one of the first transgender pioneers of the Chilean transgender community. The book was written by the protagonist Claudia Angélica Valenzuela Leiva who underwent a gender-affirming surgery on June 16, 1975 at the Portales Clinic, when she still had masculine characteristics and appeared under the name of Roberto Antonio.
We read about her childhood, fears, and concerns related to one question... was he a man or a woman? After the operation, her recollections were covered in a manuscript by Claudia herself and published by the "Aqui Esta" Publishing Company. She said: "For now, I am happy that my wishes have come true. I will perform at the "Sortilegio" nightclub and if it goes well... I can make it to Argentina." Her post-surgery awakening came after her operation: "When I was alone in the room I kept looking at the post-operative sheet that was next to my bed that said the name of the patient: Miss Claudia Valenzuela Leiva. I was so happy." The book that narrates her memories is complemented with many photos.
1974,
Chile,
Claudia Alejandra,
Claudia Angélica Valenzuela Leiva,
Spanish,
Original title: "Rebeldía, resistencia, amor" (Rebellion, resistance, love) by Daniela Vega.
Daniela Vega’s Rebeldía, resistencia, amor is a luminous and intimate work that invites readers into the deeply personal and artistic world of one of the most influential figures of contemporary cinema. The book is more than a memoir; it is a journey through the intricacies of identity, the struggle for self-realization, and the quiet but powerful victories that define a life lived authentically.
From the very first pages, Vega’s words convey a profound sense of introspection and courage, capturing her evolution not just as an actress but as a person navigating the complex interplay between body, psyche, and society. She writes of a long process of exploration, of an adaptation that emerges from within, and of symbolic negotiations both under and upon her skin, all culminating in the triumph of a single word: “prevalecer,” to prevail. There is a vulnerability in her description of facing herself in the mirror stripped of clothing and metaphorical skin, a moment of honesty that sets the tone for the entire narrative.
2019,
Chile,
Daniela Vega,
Spanish,
