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: "Tragisch, aber geil: Zu wahr, um schön zu sein" (Tragic, but awesome: Too true to be beautiful) by Barbie Breakout.
To come up with an autobiography after only 34 years of life may seem presumptuous. Especially if, despite all the notoriety, you really aren't an international celebrity. But as soon as you have read the first few pages of "Tragic, but awesome", you realize that a life is being told here in which there is more than enough history that wanted to be written.
Often with shameful openness and never too vain, Barbie tells her life, in which, in addition to sex, drugs and scandals, it is always about the search for personal happiness. A sincere, honest book full of emitions and filled with sometimes touching, sometimes hilarious stories. A snapshot of a stunning city, a guide to a life that never gets boring and, last but not least, a support for anyone who is struggling in their life. You don't have to know or like Barbie Breakout to feel at home in this book and have a lot of completely politically incorrect
2013,
Barbie Breakout,
Drag queen,
German,
Original title: "…endlich ungeschminkt!: Ein transsexueller Roadmovie in Prosa" (Finally without make-up!: A transsexual road movie in prose) by Leonora Kurzeja.
When my body began puberty in the early 1970s, I had already been taught the basic intricacies of the differences between women and men through sixth-grade biology lessons. In Bravo, I learned details of interpersonal physical relationships from Dr. Sommer. Surprisingly, every now and then I find myself smooching and exploring new territory with curious hands in the arms of a girl. That's exciting.
But I'm faced with a mystery I'd rather not know anything about: my body feels different from the inside than it looks from the outside. Where the so-called penis hangs out of me, I feel exactly an entrance. A pussy. I've tried umpteen times, when my body unmistakably demands touch, to imagine fucking with a girl. Labour of love in vain. My body longs to receive. To take something in. A tail? From a boy? Even though it is pleasurable when I touch my butt, I feel that this is only an alternative, but cannot be a substitute for the vagina that I feel so real. Am I crazy? And if it does, maybe it doesn't matter as long as no one knows. But I know. Am I a miscarriage? Babies are born with three arms and two heads, maybe I'm such a misconstruction.
2009,
German,
Leonora Kurzeja,
Original title: "Transsexuelle Menschen in Deutschland. Im falschen Körper" (Transsexual people in Germany. In the Wrong Body) by Daniel Fuchs and Geo Fuchs.
The idea for this book was born in 1992. On the radio, we heard a report about Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, which made us so curious that we wanted to know more about transvestites and transsexual people. This gave rise to the idea of visiting, getting to know and portraying transsexual people all over Germany in a long-term project. Cornelia Klein, founder and first chairwoman of Transidentitas e.V. in Frankfurt, supported us in this project, helping us to make contacts. We would like to take this opportunity to thank her in particular.
In March 1995, in cooperation with Transidentitas e.V., we showed the photographs and texts of this book to the public for the first time in an exhibition at the Römer in Frankfurt. The success in Frankfurt has confirmed to us how great the interest of the population is in dealing with this topic.
We are pleased that we can not only make an artistic contribution, but also contribute to a better understanding of transsexuality. As a travelling exhibition, the photographs and texts will be on display in other cities.
1995,
Daniel Fuchs,
Geo Fuchs,
German,
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 stories against the background of their gender identity and construct their biography around the desire and the necessity to assign the sex of the body to the perceived, inner identity. Five life stories show unusual ways of finding one's identity.
2011,
Alexandra Köbele,
German,
Original title: "Fahrwasser: Eine innere Biografie in Ansätzen" (Fairway: An inner biography in its beginnings) by Jayne-Ann Igel.
According to Mathilda Cullen, Jayne-Ann Igel was born in Leipzig, 1954, in the German Democratic Republic. Fahrwasser was her second poetic work, inaugurating her diaristic style with its publication in 1991. It was the first book she published after she came out (as a transgender woman) and changed her name as the Berlin Wall fell around her. She burst onto the samizdat literary scene of East Germany with a dysphoric style that meditates on fragments of language that approach her as strange, as a stranger.
She writes, “I think everything I’ve written so far is only because Jayne-Ann had kept quiet, kept withdrawing;” noting that “no matter how my language might change, internally, essentially, in its quality, it will not become unknowable, for it draws its life from the same identity I have assumed, it’s been with me for a long time, it’s the reason I move.”
1991,
German,
Jayne-Ann Igel,
Original title: "Auf nach Casablanca?: Lebensrealitäten transgeschlechtlicher Menschen zwischen 1945 und 1980" (Off to Casablanca? Realities of life of transgender people between 1945 and 1980) by Sabine Meyer.
The anthology describes the realities of life of trans* people from different perspectives and systems, during National Socialism, in the FRG and GDR. Milestones and obstacles are analysed and enrich the picture with the experiences of trans* people from 1945 to 1980.
Transgender people have always been part of the LGBTI community and are closely linked to the history of Berlin. However, we still know far too little about their experience. This part of history is therefore hardly known to date.
100 years ago transgender people tried to get support at the Institute for Sexual Sciences, founded in 1919 by Dr.
Magnus Hirschfeld to provide psychosocial support and medical help. Even then, they fought for legal recognition of their gender identity. The so-called “transvestite certificate” provided
for example, a certain level of protection and acceptance
in everyday life.
2019,
German,
Sabine Meyer,
Original title: "Es ist nie zu Spät: Transition" (It's never too late: Transition) by Marie-Luisa Quolke.
It is never too late to take the step of transition. My name is Marie-Luisa Quolke and I was born as a boy in Berlin in 1960.
I quickly realized that something was wrong with me. Even as a child, I knew that I was different from other boys, but I couldn't express it at that time because society wasn't ready for it yet. So it took me almost 5 decades to live my true self. I tried to write this down in this book. From over 40 years of suffering to becoming a happy woman.
2023,
German,
Marie-Luisa Quolke,
Original title: "Sei eine Göttin!: Der unverbindliche Ratgeber für die souveräne Transfrau" (Be a goddess!: The non-binding guide for the confident trans woman) by Constanze Czech.
This is a short and lively guide for trans women on the way to their new, beautiful life. Topics: Medicine, psychology, shamanism, BDSM, emergencies, self-determination law, who am I? Who do I want to be? What makes a woman so special? Diagnosed with autism and cancer.
2023,
Constanze Czech,
German,
Original title: "Ich bin, wie Gott mich schuf: Eine Transfrau erzählt ihre Geschichte" (I Am How God Created Me: A Trans Woman Tells Her Story) by Sabine Estner and Claudia Heuermann.
"Sabine Estner lived in the body of a man and in the community of the church for 55 years, 14 of which as a monk. She felt like a girl from an early age. Her father tried to beat it out of her. Without faith, she says, she wouldn't have survived. What is it like when someone believes deeply in God and Jesus Christ, but the institution that represents them tries to erase that identity? How do you manage to withstand the massive pressure from outside and still not lose your own faith? By finding the strength to overcome church dogmas and find the God who loves you as you are.
In “My Faith Saved Me,” Sabine talks about her difficult journey as a trans person in the bosom of the church and in a society that was not (yet) willing to think beyond the male/female model."
2024,
Claudia Heuermann,
German,
Sabine Estner,
Original title: "Von einem Leben als Mann - zu einem Leben als Frau: Oder: Haben Sie noch ihren Uterus?" (From a life as a man to a life as a woman: Or: Do you still have your uterus?) by Ilka Christin Weiß.
"Ilka Christin Weiß was born as Holger Torsten in 1963 in a boy's body, but already knew at the age of four that she was a girl. Nevertheless, it took many years before she finally found her way to a life as a woman at the age of 50.
In this book, Ilka Christin Weiß describes the stages of her life and how she managed to free herself from this role that was wrong for her. This story, which is loosened up by many funny, thoughtful and also sad anecdotes, is fun to laugh, smile or even cry. Her goal is to improve the world in micro-steps by promoting more understanding of the life situation of trans people."
2023,
German,
Ilka Christin Weiß,
Original title: "Yunas Reise zum Ich: My Sex Change Experience | Autobiografischer Manga mit Transgender-Thematik" (Yuna's Journey to Self: My Sex Change Experience | Autobiographical manga with a transgender theme) by Yuna Hirasawa.
"Author Yuna Hirasawa takes a trip to Thailand to fulfill her wish! It is due to the fact that in Thailand she has her body adjusted to that of a woman, so that her outer self finally corresponds to her inner self. With the single volume »Yuna's Journey to Me«, she wants to take away the fears of her trans readers and arouse understanding among her cis readers."
2021,
German,
Yuna Hirasawa,
Original title: "Wiebke sein II: Teil VIII des Tagebuchs einer trans Frau, der zweite “angekommene” Teil (Jan. - Mär. 2023)” (Wiebke werden) (Being Wiebke II: Part VIII of the diary of a trans woman, the second “I finally am myself” (Becoming Wiebke)) by Wiebke ter Lichten.
"It must have been around the summer of 2018 when my girlfriend asked me out of the blue if I had ever thought of being completely transformed into a woman. She suggested that it might be interesting. I was pushing around quite a bit, and honestly, the thought might have crossed my mind for a fraction of a second, but I had discarded it because I was absolutely sure that the result wouldn't come close to meeting my quality standard."
2023,
German,
Wiebke ter Lichten,
Original title: "Die eigene Seele befreit" (Your own soul freed) by Gabrielle Bellerose.
"Little Gabrielle grows up in a small provincial town in the Swiss town of Aargau. Everyone calls her Jochen and treats her like a boy, just as it was determined when she was born. But the girl's soul suffers. She tries to fit in. She wants to fit in and fit the typical image of a boy.
Later, as an adult, she is professionally successful, happily married with children - and a masculine teddy bear. The seemingly perfect picture-book life. But her soul screams. Your emotions are turned upside down. The inner turmoil becomes unbearable. Driven by the deep longing to finally end the masquerade, she finally begins the long, stony path to her true self. With this book, the author wants to encourage on the one hand, but also convey information on how supposedly hopeless situations can be mastered. It is intended to provide information on the topic and show what is going on deep inside affected persons."
2021,
Gabrielle Bellerose,
German,
Original title: "Wiebke sein I: Teil VII des Tagebuchs einer trans Frau, der erste “angekommene” Teil (Aug. - Dez. 2022) (Being Wiebke I: Part VII of the diary of a trans woman, the first “I finally am myself”- part (Aug. . Dec. 2022) (Becoming Wiebke)) by Wiebke ter Lichten.
"This is the seventh part of my ever growing diary and as always I highly recommend reading the earlier parts first. This is the first part with a different title because I feel like I'm not becoming Wiebke anymore. I'm mostly Wiebke now anyway. This part ends with my official diagnosis. I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet, because I've learned not to accept absolute truths anymore. The volume covers the period between August and December 2022."
2023,
German,
Wiebke ter Lichten,
Original title: "Wie aus Daniel, Stefanie wurde" (How Daniel became Stefanie) by Stefanie Claudia Schmitz.
In this book, the author Stefanie Claudia Schmitz tells of her ordeal and the difficult and often rocky path she had to take as a trans woman in order to be able to live her real life.
In addition to her life story, the author also explains common terms and names some social network groups and contact points that those affected, relatives or interested parties can turn to.
2021,
German,
Stefanie Claudia Schmitz,
Original title: "Julie auf dem Besenstiel: Gottes Schöfungsunordnung" (Julie on the broomstick: God's disorder of creation) by Julie-Ann Sue Munday.
"Suicide?
How can someone who believes in God have suicidal thoughts? How can a child want to jump headlong from a tree? How can someone like that still make it into Lufthansa's management?
Gender dysphoria! What is that? If the anatomy does not fit the soul!
Julie Munday, loved by her parents, basically had a carefree childhood. However, due to a birth defect and growing up in a sect, she was forced to live a life and a way of thinking that others dictated to her and that gradually broke her. Despite everything, she was successful, traveled all over the world and was exceptionally athletic.
2023,
German,
Germany,
Julie-Ann Sue Munday,
Original title: "Ich bin meine eigene Frau. Ein Leben" (I am my own woman. One life) by Charlotte von Mahlsdorf .
"A soft-spoken transvestite wanting nothing more than to live as a hausfrau, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf instead was caught up in the most harrowing dramas of 20th-century Europe, surviving both the Nazis and the Communists.
Originally published as I Am My Own Woman, this exquisitely written autobiography reveals her lifelong pursuit of sexual liberty. The story is reaching an entirely new readership of enthusiastic theater fans with I Am My Own Wife, the new Broadway show by Doug Wright about the life of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in drama."
1995,
Charlotte von Mahlsdorf,
Crossdressing,
German,
Original title: "Wiebke werden VI: Teil VI eines Tagebuchs von jemandem, der genetisch als Mann geboren und als transident diagnostiziert wurde (Mai 22 - Jul. 22)" (Becoming Wiebke VI: Part VI of a diary of someone genetically born a man and diagnosed as transgender (May 22 - Jul. 22)) by Wiebke ter Lichten.
"This is the sixth part of my ever-growing diary and I highly recommend reading the earlier parts first. I had finished my third book by stating that I would not publish any more parts unless there was more progress to report. I didn't expect it at the time, but it happened! That's why in the fall of 2022 I published three new episodes of my diary in a short time and this is the later German translation. I have the diagnosis, have been in transition for a year and of course I have continued to write my diary and reached a point where publishing makes sense again. The speed of my progress has increased and my social transition is more than halfway. This part covers the period between May and July 2022."
2023,
German,
Wiebke ter Lichten,
Original title: "Ein Tribut an Kim Petras: Die illustrierte Biografie" (A Tribute to Kim Petras: The Illustrated Biography) by Olivia Watson.
This illustrated biography offers an in-depth look at the life and work of pop icon Kim Petras. The German singer and songwriter was born on August 27, 1992 in Cologne and currently lives in Los Angeles. As a teenager, she gained worldwide fame through her early discovery of trans identity.
At the age of 15, she began to publish her own pop songs on the Internet, later she worked as a songwriter in the USA. Since 2017 she has increasingly appeared as a singer. She has released two studio albums and collaborated with many musicians. She received a Grammy in 2023 for her collaboration with Sam Smith on the song Unholy. From her early days as a trans woman in the music business to her breakthrough, the reader learns all about Kim Petras' remarkable life, how she pursued her dreams and thrived in the music business in this illustrated biography.
2023,
German,
Kim Petras,
Olivia Watson,
Full title: "Wiebke werden V: Teil V eines Tagebuchs von jemandem, der genetisch männlich geboren wurde, die sich aber als transident definiert (Jan. - Apr. 2022)" (Becoming Wiebke V: Part V of a diary written by someone who was born genetically male but considers herself transgender (Jan - Apr. 2022)) by Wiebke ter Lichten.
"This is the fifth part of my ever-growing diary and I strongly recommend reading the earlier parts first. I had ended my third book stating that I wouldn't publish any further parts, unless there'd be major progress to report. At the time I didn't expect that to happen, but it did! That's why I'm now publishing three new installments of my diary since then in a short time frame. I am in transition for a year now and of course I've kept on writing my diary and I've reached a point where publishing makes sense again. The speed of my progression has increased and my social transition may well be halfway through. This part covers the time frame between January and April 2022."
2023,
German,
Wiebke ter Lichten,
