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: "Gender Rebels: 30 Trans, Nonbinary, and Gender Expansive Heroes Past and Present" by Katherine Locke and Shanee Benjamin (Illustrator)."This fully illustrated book celebrates the history of thirty trans, gender expansive, and nonbinary heroes throughout the world.
Explore the history of trans and nonbinary people throughout the world in this gorgeously illustrated nonfiction book for young teens.Readers will be educated and enlightened about gender-expansive people who have made a difference in our history and who continue to help raise awareness of diversity and inclusion in c
2023,
Coccinelle,
English,
Georgina Beyer,
Jazz Jennings,
Katherine Locke,
Lana Wachowski,
lavern,
Lili Elbe,
Lilly Wachowski,
Lucy Hicks Anderson,
Marsha P. Johnson,
Rachel Levine,
Renée Richards,
Sylvia Rivera,
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
2017,
Brazil,
Porcina D'Alessandro,
Portuguese,
Original title: "Bijin-ryoku. Kirei ni ikiru 69 no hōsoku" 『美人力。 キレイに生きる69の法則』(Beauty Power: 69 Laws of Living Beautifully) by Onryu Kisaragi 如月音流.This is the first book authored by Onryu Kisaragi, a charismatic Japanese businesswoman, ASCII artist, TV personality, and vocalist of the visual kei rock band Lily-C[lie]me. She is the President and CEO of New Gauge Co., Ltd. responsible for the development of a popular mobile phone site called "girlswalker.com", as well as she focuses on developing various content businesses such as beauty and fashion.After starting a small business, she quickly
2007,
Japanese,
Onryu Kisaragi,
Full title: "Minoritarian Liberalism: A Travesti Life in a Brazilian Favela" by Moisés Lino e Silva."A mesmerizing ethnography of the largest favela in Rio, where residents articulate their own politics of freedom against the backdrop of multiple forms of oppression.
Normative liberalism has promoted the freedom of privileged subjects, those entitled to rights—usually white, adult, heteronormative, and bourgeois—at the expense of marginalized groups, such as Black people, children, LGBTQ people, and slum dwellers.In this visceral ethnography of Rocinha, the largest favela in Rio de Janeiro,
2022,
Brazil,
English,
Moisés Lino e Silva,
Original title: "Atrevidas: relatos polifónicos de mujeres trans" (Daring: Polyphonic Stories of Trans Women) by Camila Schumacher."In 2013, Camila Schumacher was offered a job as a communicator at the II Central American Meeting of Women in the Performing Arts, where she met Dayana Hernández, current president of the TransVida Foundation, a Costa Rican organization created in 2009, by and for trans people. with the purpose of working for the human rights and identity of trans women; the search for attention and opportunities in health and education for this sector, as well as access and dece
2019,
Camila Schumacher,
Costa Rica,
Spanish,
Original title: "Und dennoch Ja zum Leben: Die Jugend eines Intersexuellen in den Jahren 1915–1933" (And Yet Yes to Life: The Youth of an Intersexual in the Years 1915–1933) by Erich Amborn."This text captivates the reader in an impressive way. The sober and restrained depiction of the consequences of such an otherness alone is hardly conceivable for the "normal person" and touches the reader intensively and lastingly.
This segregation from human society is an existential omen that is difficult to bear and to overcome. In this text, one is confronted with a fate that illuminates the human co
1981,
Erich Amborn,
German,
Intersex,
Full title: "Ceremonies for the Dead" by Gwen Benaway."Ceremonies for the Dead is an award-winning collection of poems that examine the haunting themes of inter-generational trauma, cyclical abuse, and inherited grief. Four generations of the dead take turns narrating these themes, navigating from the Great Lakes through the Appalachian Mountains, and examining the fur trade, an exile from Minnesota, the experiences of West Virginia coal miners, and the legacy of mission schools. Black humour and satire fill the collection, illuminating a fierce determination to survive and resist colonizatio
2013,
Canada,
English,
Gwen Benaway,
Original title: "Batido de Trolo" (Trolo Milkshake) by Naty Menstrual."Naty is not dizzy in the lukewarm lights of the biggest publishing houses, or the book fairs where it is measured who has the longest time, or the meetings in which four or five poets or writers look at each other's faces in a bookstore in Palermo Soho to read their "unpublished" books and applaud each other while they call each other beings of light (even if they want to devour each other) and believe that if one improves the typography and reads while Nina Simone plays, the texts seem better written. Naty is not one of t
2005,
Argentina,
Naty Menstrual,
Spanish,
Original title: "Nichts darf sinnlos enden: Über Charlotte von Mahlsdorf und das Theaterstück »Ich bin meine eigene Frau" (Nothing should end meaninglessly: About Charlotte von Mahlsdorf and the play I am my own wife) by Peter Süß.The book presents the story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, whose birth name was Lothar Berfelde, a German transgender woman and museum curator who gained fame for her efforts in preserving and documenting the cultural history of the GDR (German Democratic Republic) during the Cold War era.She was born on March 18, 1928, in Berlin, Germany, and died on April 30, 2002.
2006,
Charlotte von Mahlsdorf,
German,
Peter Süß,
Full title: "My Transgender Journey" by Robbie Gold."This is a true story with some minor alterations to protect people’s identities. It is a tale about my own journey into transgender and my eventual decision to come out. It is hoped that others can share my experiences, relate to them and perhaps take comfort from some of them. The book has some BDSM content but is only used to put my story into context, it's about my experiences, trials and tribulations of coming out and living as a female full time. I hope you enjoy my little story. "Available via Amazon
2022,
English,
Robbie Gold,
Original title: "Lola Cruda: Atípica, atópica, utópica" (Lola Cruda: Atypical, atopic, utopian) by Lola Bhajan."When I was a child, I prayed to God to wake up like a baby," says Lola Bhajan, an Argentinian trans musician and writer, in one of the chapters of Lola Cruda. She is a versatile artist and trans activist involved in musical projects such as “Hermanas Travestis.” She impresses with her powerful voice and her passion for traditional music such as baguala and vidala, whose roots lie in northern Argentina.Her first novel, marked by a literary discourse that portrays the passage of a tra
2019,
Argentina,
Lola Bhajan,
Spanish,
Original title: "You have never seen a dancer like Voo Doo: Das unglaubliche Leben des Willy Pape: Das unglaubliche Leben des Willi Pape" (You have never seen a dancer like Voo Doo: The Incredible Life of Willy Pape: The Incredible Life of Willi Pape) by Jens Dobler."Magnus Hirschfeld wrote in his study The Transvestites (1910/12): "The young transvestite Willi Pape, whose predisposition became known through a suicide attempt in women's clothes. His parents were informed by the author of his peculiar condition, and then allowed him to go to the vaudeville, where he has since performed with gr
2022,
German,
Jens Dobler,
Magnus Hirschfeld,
Voo Doo,
Willi Pape,
Full title: "It's Just Me: My Real Life Test" by Cecilia Wilson."The book is a true story about Cecilia Wilson's real life test. As a young boy growing up in the early 1960's, he knew he was different but didn't know how to explain it. Someone predicted he would be a preacher when he grew up. But what was he supposed to do about his gender identity?He could not reconcile his love for God and desire to be a preacher with his belief he was or should be a woman. For 24 years, he wrestled within himself trying to make sense out of the chaos of his life. It was like a battle raging in his mind, he
2014,
Cecilia Wilson,
English,
Original title: "Pedagogia da Desobediência: Travestilizando a Educação" (Pedagogy of Disobedience: Transvestilizing Education) by Tiffany Odara."The book Pedagogy of Disobedience: Travestilizing Education by researcher, pedagogue and Iyálorixá Thiffany Odara tells about the production of transvestite knowledge in the city of Salvador. Weaving together the histories of the trans movement with the theoretical dialogues of black feminism, Thiffany proposes to travestylize education as a way of building spaces of knowledge that are for all people. A transgressive pedagogy that speaks of cla
2021,
Brazil,
Portuguese,
Thiffany Odara,
Original title: "Das Ende des Dornenwaldes: Die Lebensgeschichte einer Transsexuellen" (The end of the Thorn Forest: The life story of a transsexual) by Eva Maria Thalbach."The life story of a transsexual who is watched suspiciously by her fellow citizens, betrayed by parents and friends, abused and slandered by a clique of men in high society and who despite all this does not let it get her down.An exciting book with thriller traits and a happy ending, not only for those affected by self-suffering, which shows that perseverance, courage and self-confidence can lead to success and a happy lif
2015,
Eva Maria Thalbach,
German,
"Being Wiebke I: Part VII of the diary of a trans woman, the first “I finally am myself” Aug. - Dec. 2022) (Becoming Wiebke) is the English language edition of "Wiebke sein I: Teil VII des Tagebuchs einer trans Frau, der erste “angekommene” Teil (Aug. - Dez. 2022) 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 g
2023,
English,
Wiebke ter Lichten,
Original title: "Soy una tonta por quererte" (I'm a fool for loving you) by Camila Sosa Villada."In the middle of the 90s, a woman earns her living as a surrogate bride for gay men. In a Harlem smoking room, a Latina transvestite becomes intimately acquainted with none other than Billie Holiday. A group of rugby players haggle over the price of a night of sex and in return get their comeuppance. Nuns, grandmothers, children and dogs are never what they seem... The nine stories that make up this book are inhabited by quirky and deeply human characters who confront an ominous reality in ways as
2022,
Argentina,
Camila Sosa Villada,
Spanish,
Original title: "German Girl Bruno: Als Transsexueller unter dem Hakenkreuz" (German Girl Bruno: As a transsexual under the swastika) by Bruno Stephan."Bruno Stephan grows up in a martial world: soldiers, Aryans, masters. But he prefers to wear women's clothes. The powerful German Reich has no place for wimps. To prove to himself that he is not a weakling, he hires as a machinist and stoker on a steamer. He becomes tough and strong and lives out both sides – as a transsexual whore: a bride in every port, a steward in every bar."
2004,
Bruno Stephan,
German,
Full title: "Queer Sex: A Trans and Non-Binary Guide to Intimacy, Pleasure and Relationships" by Juno Roche."In this frank, funny and poignant book, transgender activist Juno Roche discusses sex, desire and dating with leading figures from the trans and non-binary community. Calling out prejudices and inspiring readers to explore their own concepts of intimacy and sexuality, the first-hand accounts celebrate the wonder and potential of trans bodies and push at the boundaries of how society views gender, sexuality and relationships. Empowering and necessary, this collection shows all trans peo
2018,
English,
Interview,
Juno Roche,
Original title: "A construção de mim mesma: Uma história de transição de gênero" (The Making of Myself: A Story of Gender Transition) by Letícia Lanz."For decades, Letícia Lanz presented herself to the world in the role of Geraldo Eustáquio. Understanding yourself differently from most was a long and painful process. In this moving and honest account, Letícia recounts what it was like to come out as a transgender woman at the age of fifty.Letícia Lanz is a psychoanalyst, speaker, activist and was a candidate for mayor of Curitiba in 2020. She is married with three children and five grandchild
2021,
Brazil,
Letícia Lanz,
Portuguese,
Original title: "Tragisch, aber geil 2.0" (Tragic but Horny 2.0) by Barbie Breakout.""Tragic, but horny 2.0" is the completely revised and supplemented remake of Barbie's first autobiography from 2012. Full of unvarnished truths, touching observations and roaring comical insights into the life of a unique drag queen.""A glimpse into Bärbel's world. I learned a lot about them. And in fact, one or two things about me. Thank you for the mirror you hold up to me, or to all of us. And thanks for the inspiration." Conchita Wurst "A book like a best friend: sometimes wise, sometimes hilarious,
2020,
Barbie Breakout,
Drag queen,
German,
Full title: "One Day I'll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman: A Mother's Story" by Abi Maxwell."A fiery, heartbreaking, riveting memoir that follows one New Hampshire family over the course of three years, unspooling a story of gender identity, poverty, trans youth, and a child caught in the riptide of America’s culture wars.
Abi Maxwell grew up in rural New Hampshire, one of eight kids in a poor town abutting the wealthier lakeside village of Gilford.As a young couple, Maxwell and her husband planned not to have kids, but when Maxwell became pregnant, she knew she wanted to raise her child ne
2024,
Abi Maxwell,
English,
Original title: "Pão de Açúcar" (Sugarloaf Mountain) by Afonso Reis Cabral."In February 2006, the Porto Fire Brigade rescued a body with marks of aggression and naked from the waist down from the well of an abandoned building. The victim, who was ill and had taken refuge in the basement, had been beaten over several days by a group of teenagers, some of whom were as young as twelve.
Rafa had found the place on one of his usual forays into the "dirty areas", and that kind of tent immediately piqued his interest.Then, torn between attraction and repulsion, he wondered if he should keep the sec
2018,
Afonso Reis Cabral,
Brazil,
Portuguese,
Original title: "Antologia Trans: 30 poetas trans, travestis e não-binários" (Trans Anthology: 30 trans, transvestite and non-binary poets)."How to dream and, at the same time, intervene? Poetry represented, for us, the interface between these two possibilities of political action. It is the discourse that emerges from the painful experiences of T in a cisgender society, but which rises in resistance, in potential. It consolidates dominion over the word and over oneself. Power is not something that is attained at the end of a path, nor is it something that is beyond our reach. It is here, ema
2017,
Amara Moira,
Brazil,
Portuguese,
Full title: "Beyoğlu Blue" by Karsten Kronas (photos) and Mehmet Murat Somer (text)."Kronas' atmospherically dense photo series tells of Beyoğlu, one of the many diverse and contrast-rich urban milieus in the metropolis of Istanbul. Beyoğlu is a district in the center of the city that was occupied exclusively by Europeans during the Ottoman Empire and which has since undergone fluid changes as it is shaped by the multiple identities of its residents. Various cultures and subcultures have carved out and structured their own territories here.The rules and dogmas of a predominantly Islamic socie
2010,
English,
Karsten Kronas,
Mehmet Murat Somer,
Turkey,
Original title: "Tja, meine Lieben: Eine Diva plaudert sich um Kopf und Kragen" (Well, my dears: A diva chats her head and neck) by Lilo Wanders.The book is a biography of Lilo Wanders, whose real name is Ernst-Johann Reinhardt. According to Wikipedia, he is a German actor, comedian, and theatre/television host. Born on September 22, 1955, in Celle, Germany, Reinhardt is known for performing almost exclusively in a female role under the stage name Lilo Wanders.
Reinhardt moved to Hamburg at the age of 18 to study library science, which he later dropped. He became a member of a gay choir and
1997,
Crossdressing,
German,
Lilo Wanders,
Original title: "Meu nome é Helena" (My name is Helena) by Larissa Rosso.Larissa Rosso presents the story of Helena Soares Meireles, who was born Heleno. "It took Helena Soares Meireles months to encourage herself to be reunited with her father after the operation that changed her body forever. At the age of 36, the transsexual had undergone a sex affirmation surgery, indicated for cases of dysphoria or gender incongruence, adapting her genitalia to the gender with which she actually identified – from a young age, Heleno, her baptismal name, felt like a woman." "The procedure conducted a
2018,
Brazil,
Helena Soares Meireles,
Portuguese,
Full title: "Human Sex Change and Sex Reversal: Transvestism and Transsexualism" by David Brez Carlisle."Over a period of forty years, Dr. Carlisle has examined and interviewed several thousand sexually dysphoric persons, transsexuals and transvestites. This book provides an analysis of the mass of data resulting from this work, illustrated by verbatim accounts."The book covers some chapters on Transvestism: under-dressing; compulsive under-dressing; ritual transvestism; compulsive transvestism; fetishism; fetishistic transvestism; heterosexual (non-fetishistic) transvestites; as well as Tran
1998,
David Brez Carlisle,
English,
