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: "Claes och Sara: Det är bara jag - jag är transvestit" (Claes and Sara: It's just me - I'm a transvestite) by Katia Wagner.
Sara Lund is a leading figure among transvestites in Scandinavia.
Until a month ago, no one except the closest family knew that she is Claes Schmidt on a daily basis: "I have been terrified of being exposed all my adult life. It's over now. I'm a transvestite and I'm not ashamed. It is incredibly nice to be responsible for that.”
The book is a report that was originally published on September 14, 2003 in Sydsvenskan.
KATIA WAGNER is an investigative journalist and author who specializes in narrative journalism with a social perspective. Among other things, she has been awarded the Golden Spade and the Wendela prize for best social reporting.
2017,
Crossdressing,
Katia Wagner,
Sara Lund,
Swedish,
Original title: "Lei, Armando" (She, Armando) by Nicola Baroni and Dorothy Bhawl.
Late 60s. Carmine district of Brescia, a place of delinquency and ordinary prostitution, until three men with an all-female appearance arrive: they are Lea, Carlotta and Lora, the first transvestites from Brescia to take to the streets to beat. The authorities try in every way to stop them: arrest, fines, warnings, forced confinement; but they settle in "Dollhouse" and make it a brothel.
Slowly the place is filled with other waves of transvestites and transsexuals, not always welcome: the old levers see competition increase and the newcomers must win the right to beat under the house. Armando is one of them. Just nineteen years old she moved to this Eden of lust, where she experienced every excess on her skin, taking very few breaks: a few summer business trips, a brief (and unfair) parenthesis in jail and two years of marriage. Armando knew the most hidden desires of the thousands of men who climbed the rough stairs at number 5 of Vicolo Rossovera and for ten years she photographed life within those walls, the customers who frequented them, work colleagues, and friends of a lifetime. Now that few people remember the moans of pleasure that came from the house, it is time to recall them.
2017,
Dorothy Bhawl,
Italian,
Nicola Baroni,
Full title: "Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity" by Julia Serano.
"A provocative manifesto, Whipping Girl tells the powerful story of Julia Serano, a transsexual woman whose supremely intelligent writing reflects her diverse background as a lesbian transgender activist and professional biologist. Serano shares her experiences and observations - both pre- and post-transition - to reveal the ways in which fear, suspicion, and dismissiveness toward femininity shape our societal attitudes toward trans women, as well as gender and sexuality as a whole."
"Serano's well-honed arguments stem from her ability to bridge the gap between the often-disparate biological and social perspectives on gender. She exposes how deep-rooted the cultural belief is that femininity is frivolous, weak, and passive, and how this “feminine” weakness exists only to attract and appease male desire. In addition to debunking popular misconceptions about transsexuality, Serano makes the case that today's feminists and transgender activist must work to embrace and empower femininity—in all of its wondrous forms."
2007,
English,
Julia Serano,
USA,
Original title: "Veneno Collection" by Matías Uris.
The book covers Cristina La Veneno's last photo shoot. It is a 2020 edition of the fanzine with unpublished material and text by Valeria Vegas.
According to Wikiwand, Cristina Ortiz Rodríguez (1964-2016), better known as La Veneno ('Poisongirl'), was a Spanish singer, actress, sex worker, and media personality. Considered one of the most important and beloved LGBT icons in Spain, she rose to fame in 1996 after briefly appearing on the late-night talk show Esta noche cruzamos el Mississippi, broadcast on Telecinco between 1995 and 1997 and hosted by the journalist Pepe Navarro.
Cristina La Veneno,
Cristina Ortiz,
La Veneno,
Matías Uris,
Spanish,
Valeria Vegas,
Full title: "Le gai cimetière" (The gay cemetery) by Marie-Pierre Pruvot. This is the fifth part of the 5-book series about Marie-Pierre Pruvot's life.
Le Gai Cimetière follows La Chanson du Bac. The story takes place while the Carrousel is permanently closed, the troupe dissolved, and the mysterious epidemic already has a name: AIDS. The trouble had already given way to anxiety, the hecatomb causes terror. It is through the ordeal of her friend Lola that Bambi travels through this period. The remaining members of the former troupe strengthen their bonds of friendship and try to fight back. Nothing prevents friends from disappearing in lamentable suffering and conditions. Yet, among so many misfortunes, the troupe never ceases to bathe in this usual humor essential to life, and until death...
2014,
Bambi,
French,
Georges Burou,
Marie-Pier Ysser,
Marie-Pierre Pruvot,
Full title: "I wasn't the woman I am until... Until I Met Black Men" by Hope Giselle.
"We continue to follow Hope on her journey through what it means to be a black woman whilst navigating what it meant to be a black man. Giselle takes us through what it was like to build relationships to black men who often saw her as a deficit rather than a contributor and lovers who sought to explore themselves through her own journey revealing in the self deprecative nature of her transness as it led her to lack the will to be corrective in relationships.
With this work Giselle seeks to answer the age old question asked to black queer people at some point in their lives. "what made you this way".
2021,
English,
Hope Giselle,
USA,
Original title: "Janna: ett liv i två världar" (Janna: A life in two worlds) by Eva Lie.
The book is the story of a gender transition. In vivid images, photographer Eva Lie depicts her friend's arduous path from being Jan to becoming Janna. Identity, the struggle to be yourself and the longing for love are topics highlighted in the book.
The first photos in the book were taken in the mid-1990s when Eva and Jan lived next door in Stockholm. A strong friendship grew that made it possible for Eva Lie to follow her friend several years later in the long and complicated process of correcting her gender.
Uncensored and naked, we get to take part in a story that is ultimately about the struggle to be yourself. The pictures in the book were taken between 1998 and 2017. The book also contains texts by Eva Lie, which are mostly based on conversations with Janna and her own diary entries.
Original title: "Koibito to kurasu Okinawa: otoko ga onna ni natte onna o ai suru" 恋人と暮らす沖縄 : 男が女になって女を愛する (Living with a Lover in Okinawa: A Man Becomes a Woman and Loves a Woman) by Tsutamori Tatsuru 蔦森 樹.
I'm a man, I'm a woman Everyone just lives the dream given to them to the fullest. As a writer and lecturer, the author who travels back and forth between Tokyo and Okinawa will change your heart from curiosity to excitement by her generous way of life that transcends gender. Her interest shifted from the technical and cultural history of motorcycles to the issues of masculinity and femininity related to gender. In 1990 she published "Men Want to Be Pretty," which became a hot topic in Japan. She is the author of many papers and essays, including "And I Became a Man," and "Neither a Man nor a Woman."
2000,
Japanese,
Tsutamori Tatsuru,
Full title: "Transformations: Crossdressers and Those Who Love Them" by Mariette Pathy Allen.
According to Mariette Pathy Allen's website, Mariette Pathy Allen has been photographing the transgender community for over 40 years. Through her artistic practice, she has been a pioneering force in gender consciousness, contributing to numerous cultural and academic publications about gender variance and lecturing throughout the globe.
Her first book "Transformations: Crossdressers and Those Who Love Them" was groundbreaking in its investigation of a misunderstood community. Her second book "The Gender Frontier" is a collection of photographs, interviews, and essays covering political activism, youth, and the range of people that identify as transgender in mainland USA. It won the 2004 Lambda Literary Award in the Transgender/Genderqueer category. Daylight Books has published Mariette’s books, “TransCuba” in 2014, and her new book "Transcendents: Spirit Mediums in Burma and Thailand" in 2017.
1990,
English,
Mariette Pathy Allen,
USA,
"Ferskvand" is the Danish language edition of "Freshwater" by Akwaeke Emezi.
I liked Gina Maya's review a lot, so let me quote her: "Transgender narrative this may be, but it's far removed from Western, U.S.-based definitions in spite of its primary location in the U.S. The story follows the young life of Ada, a Nigerian child who travels to America to study, but her whole life involves psychical interaction with the indigenous spirits who vie for control of her. Is Ada Ogbanje too?
By the end, she appears to embrace this self-conception as an offspring of the Universal Creator Ala, visualized as cosmic python – the source of the spring from which all freshwater comes from its mouth. Yet Ada for almost the novel's entirety is also the human, engaged in an uneasy relationship with otherworldly spirits who inhabit her mind, visualized in turn as a room of marble, perhaps not unlike the Kaaba of Mecca. The most powerful, possessive, and controlling of the spirits is Asughara, occasionally presented as Ada's pernicious alpha. At times, Asughara blocks out Ada from consciousness, either to protect or punish Ada."
2021,
Akwaeke Emezi,
Danish,
Nigeria,
Original title: "Herencia: Unos años de pandemia, transformismo y disidencia ibérica" (Inheritance: A few years of pandemic, transformism and Iberian dissidence) by Isaac Flores.
Heritage is a photographic testimony of different dissident generations, queer folklore and the shadow of a pandemic. This photobook is a personal and artistic look that has the participation of more than 50 artists in different parts of the Peninsula and outside it such as: Violeta la Burra, Nazario, Samantha Hudson, Mina Serrano, Inti, Rodrigo Cuevas ...
2022,
Isaac Flores,
Spanish,
Full title: "Allegorizings" by Jan Morris.
"Soldier, journalist, historian, author of forty books, Jan Morris led an extraordinary life, witnessing such seminal moments as the first ascent of Everest, the Suez Canal Crisis, the Eichmann Trial, The Cuban Revolution and so much more. Now, in Allegorizings, published posthumously as was her wish, Morris looks back over some of the key moments of her life, and sees a multitude of meanings."
"From her final travels to the USA and across Europe to late journeys on her beloved trains and ships, from the deaths of her old friends Hilary and Tenzig to the enduring relationships in her own life, from reflections on identity and nations to the importance of good marmalade, it bears testimony to her uniquely kind and inquisitive take on the world."
2021,
English,
Georges Burou,
Jan Morris,
UK,
"README.txt: Meine Geschichte" is the German language edition of "README.txt: A Memoir" by Chelsea Manning.
"While working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq for the United States Army in 2010, Chelsea Manning disclosed more than seven hundred thousand classified military and diplomatic records that she had smuggled out of the country on the memory card of her digital camera.
In 2011, she was charged with twenty-two counts related to the unauthorized possession and distribution of classified military records, and in 2013, she was sentenced to thirty-five years in military prison. The day after her conviction, Manning declared her gender identity as a woman and began to transition, seeking hormones through the federal court system. In 2017, President Barack Obama commuted her sentence and she was released from prison."
2022,
Chelsea Manning,
German,
USA,
Original title: "Tranny: Punkrockin kaupallisimman anarkistin tunnustuksia" (Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Commercial Anarchist) is the Finnish language edition of "Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout" by Laura Jane Grace.
Since its inception in 1997, Against Me! Not only has it been one of the most influential punk bands in the world, but also one of the most controversial. Throughout their career towards success, they have been conquering new fans while raising blisters among the old guard who supported them from the beginning. They got into trouble with the law, changed drums repeatedly, and faced a furious horde of punks who called them "sell-out" and sabotaged their concerts.
But, beyond all this, something much more important disturbed Tom Gabel, the founder of the group; A secret that for thirty years he only revealed in the pages of his diary and hinted at in some of the lyrics of his songs. After a difficult childhood and delinquent adolescence marked by drug use, Gabel continued to struggle to find her own identity, until in May 2012 she revealed it to everyone in an interview for Rolling Stone: Gabel declared to be transgender, and since that day she lives as a woman under the name of Laura Jane Grace.
2018,
Finnish,
Laura Jane Grace,
Full title: "Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity" by C. Riley Snorton.
"The story of Christine Jorgensen, America’s first prominent transsexual, famously narrated trans embodiment in the postwar era. Her celebrity, however, has obscured other mid-century trans narratives - ones lived by African Americans such as Lucy Hicks Anderson and James McHarris.
Their erasure from trans history masks the profound ways race has figured prominently in the construction and representation of transgender subjects. In Black on Both Sides, C. Riley Snorton identifies multiple intersections between blackness and transness from the mid-nineteenth century to present-day anti-black and anti-trans legislation and violence."
2017,
C. Riley Snorton,
English,
Lucy Hicks Anderson,
USA,
"Slemme piker" (Bad Girls) is the Norwegian language edition of "Las malas" (The Bad Girls) published in Argentina in 2019 by Camila Sosa Villada.
From the Argentine author Camila Sosa Villada, a book of love and affection: when we finish the last page, we want the whole world to read it too! When she arrived in the city of Córdoba to study at the university, Argentine author Camila Sosa Villada decided to go to Parque Sarmiento during the night. She was scared to death, thinking that the brutal verdict she had heard from her father could come to fruition at any moment: "One day they will knock on this door to warn me that they found you dead, thrown into a ditch." For him, this was the only possible destination for a boy who dressed as a woman.
2020,
Argentina,
Camila Sosa Villada,
Norwegian,
Original title: "Hazel: Travesti Kardeşimin Kısa-Uzun Yaşam Öyküsü" (Hazel: The Short-Long Life Story of My Transvestite Brother) by Ayten Görgün Smith.
A son. A brother. She is also a trans person. Serdar came into the world as a man. Her gender dysphoria started at the age of two and she started wearing women's clothes at the age of 16. After a while, she told her family, "My name is now Hazel." - she said.
The author is Hazel's older sister. She describes the experiences of her family, her brother, and herself in a simple and sincere language. You read how life makes all the members of a family accept the concept of "transgender". It is a short-long life story of my transgender brother, which has been published in a book as a duty to fulfill a will, a social responsibility, a social awareness work of an older sister, as her brother died of blood cancer at the age of 35.
2020,
Ayten Görgün Smith,
Turkish,
Full title: "With Honor and Integrity: Transgender Troops in Their Own Words" by Máel Embser-Herbert and Bree Fram.
"On January 25, 2021, in one of his first acts as President, Joe Biden reversed the Trump Administration’s widely condemned ban on transgender people in the military. In With Honor and Integrity, Máel Embser-Herbert and Bree Fram introduce us to the brave individuals who are on the front lines of this issue, assembling a powerful, accessible, and heartfelt collection of first-hand accounts from transgender military personnel in the United States."
"Featuring twenty-six essays from current service members or veterans, these eye-opening accounts show us what it is like to serve in the military as a transgender person. From a religious affairs specialist in the Army National Guard, to a petty officer first class in the Navy, to a veteran of the Marine Corps who became “the real me” at age forty-nine, these accounts are personal, engaging, and refreshingly honest. Contributors share their experiences from before and during President Trump’s ban―what barriers they face at work, why they do or don’t choose to serve openly, and how their colleagues have treated them."
2022,
Bree Fram,
English,
Máel Embser-Herbert,
USA,
Original title: "P. La mia adolescenza trans" (P. My trans adolescence) by Fumettibrutti.
After "Explicit Novel", Josephine Yole Signorelli raises the stakes, deciding to tell her own story with brutal honesty. And it is the story of a teenager discovering her gender identity, in the "zero years". The acceptance of one's body against the background of school, bullying, family and social life, highs, online dating, sex and "cupio dissolve". And finally awareness and transformation, love - first of all towards oneself.
This comic tells a very powerful and important story, and that Yole's story can make the average reader reflect on a lot of false beliefs that they may have about the trans reality.
2019,
Fumettibrutti,
Italian,
Josephine Yole Signorelli,
Original title: "Josō to nihonjin" 女装と日本人 (Cross-dressing and Japan) by Junko Mitsuhashi 三橋 順子.
The myth of Yamato Takeru, medieval cross-dressing chigo, female Kabuki actors, Edo Yinma, modern transsexuals... Why do we get excited about things that transcend gender? You can find the answers in the book "Crossdresser and Japanese" by Junko Mitsuhashi.
Junko Mitsuhashi is a historian who specializes in the social and cultural history of sexuality. She lectures at a variety of schools including Meiji University and Tsuru University. She is a specialist in socio-cultural histories of gender and sexuality, Mitsuhashi’s own experience as a transgender woman has made her an authority on the history of transgender society and culture. In 2005, she was in charge of Japan's first specialized course on "transgender theory" at Ochanomizu University.
2008,
Japanese,
Junko Mitsuhashi,
Full title: "My Name’s Yours, What’s Alaska?: A Memoir" by Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 and Marlena Spieler.
"Before extraterrestrial Trash Queen Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 rocketed to superstardom on RuPaul's Drag Race, Justin Andrew Honard was a small-town Pennsylvania boy searching for a stage. This dishy, visual memoir spills the tea on Alaska's meteoric rise to fame, from her childhood makeovers of Mickey Mouse dolls all the way to her legendary Drag Race lip-syncs.
With heartbreaking honesty, humour, and her signature drawl, she shares never-before-heard stories about the man behind the beat and sheds new light on the well-worn tales of her career, such as her time at Trannyshack and relationship with Sharon Needles. Intimate and alluring with exclusive photography throughout, this book is the ultimate backstage pass to the making of everyone's favourite Glametron transplant."
2022,
Alaska Thunderfuck 5000,
Drag queen,
English,
Marlena Spieler,
Original title: "Diurna. La transessualità come oggetto di discriminazione" (Diurna. Transsexuality as an object of discrimination) by Monica Romano.
Transsexuals live a condition of marginality in all social areas up to total exclusion in the family, in school, in work, in social relationships. Referring to the contemporary situation in Italy, this essay, written by those who have personally experienced this condition, analyzes the causes of the process and proposes solutions that can favor the emancipation and integration of these subjects.
The book uses scientific support in the psychiatric, genetic, and biological fields. It also reports a series of direct testimonies, from the present and the past (the classical era, the Renaissance, the American Indians, Nazi Germany), underlining how the phenomenon is not recent but historical. A phenomenon that has unfortunately been "discouraged" and hindered by.
2008,
Italian,
Monica Romano,
"Le transféminisme - Genres et transidentités" (Transfeminism - Genders and transidentities) is the French language edition of "Transfeminismo" (Transfeminism), published in 2021 by Letícia Nascimento.
Taking up the famous confrontation: Am I not a woman?, the transgender Leticia Nascimento asks: And me, can't I be a woman? If you are not born a woman but become one, then transfeminism has its place in the feminist movement.
This essay calls for the recognition of transidentities - whose construction is no more "artificial" than cisgender identity - and opposes pseudo-scientific discourses on transidentity as deviance or pathology. Denouncing the unequal treatment between cis and transgender women (while some can have their breasts reshaped as they wish, the others must go through the evaluation of multidisciplinary teams), the author insists on the importance of self-determination (“We by ourselves!”) as a mark of rejection of the CIStem. Based on a decolonial and intersectional reflection, her reflection pluralizes the subjects of feminism, including other bodies and gender identities that do not respond to the male/female binary.
2022,
Brazil,
French,
Letícia Nascimento,
Full title: "Others of My Kind: Transatlantic Transgender Histories" by Alex Bakker, Rainer Herrn, Michael Thomas Taylor, and Annette F. Timm.
From the turn of the twentieth century to the 1950s, a group of transgender people on both sides of the Atlantic created communities that profoundly shaped the history and study of gender identity. By exchanging letters and pictures among themselves they established private networks of affirmation and trust, and by submitting their stories and photographs to medical journals and popular magazines they sought to educate both doctors and the public.
Others of My Kind draws on archives in Europe and North America to tell the story of this remarkable transatlantic transgender community. This book uncovers threads of connection between Germany, the United States, and the Netherlands to discover the people who influenced the work of authorities like Magnus Hirschfeld, Harry Benjamin, and Alfred Kinsey not only with their clinical presentations but also with their personal relationships. It explores the ethical and analytical challenges that come with the study of what was once private, secret, or unacceptable to say.
2020,
Alex Bakker,
Annette F. Timm,
English,
Michael Thomas Taylor,
Rainer Herrn,
Original title: "Dove non siamo stati" (Where we haven't been) by Giovanna Cristina Vivinetto.
The transition, which in the verses of "Minimal Pain" is sexual, becomes here an indispensable existential datum to be able to move forward. A poem of ghosts and farewells, of abandoned houses, of realities kept only in the memory of those who remain, in the games left by children in the courtyards of childhood.
A sense of conclusion pervades her tight verses, the definitive one that always precedes change. An end that must be investigated in the most painful moments, before giving way to the new reality that knocks on the doors. A universal and authentic poetic result, in which personal experience is transfigured to welcome the experience of each one, questioning a void in which, on closer inspection, we have always been. With a preface by Roberta Dapunt and a critical note by Alberto Bertoni.
2020,
Giovanna Cristina Vivinetto,
Italian,
Original title: "Il mondo segreto delle Trav raccontato da una Trav" (The secret world of Travestie told by a Travestie) by Loredana.
"Do you know the difference between a crossdresser, a trans or a travestie? You will understand it by reading this book written by Loredana, a travestie who will guide you to discover this secret world. Because the Travestie world is one of the LGBT worlds (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans ...), which is less known as it is mostly lived as a second life, secretly, in the closet. Where very few know the names and addresses of the others. Where there is an ironclad, almost maniacal privacy.
Loredana tells about herself: her life, her experiences, her fears, her feelings, and her transgressions. And her story is intertwined with those of her "little sisters" (as they are called amicably among each other). This book is also a manual of the Travestie world: how to become one, how to get by, and what rules must be respected. Loredana is not afraid of the judgment that people will give: she is only interested in offering a clear photograph taken from the inside. And then in the stories she often presents without any veils and censorship."
Full title: "Light in the Closet: Biblical Insights for the M2F Transgender Journey - A Frank Discussion of Gender Identity Including Resources and Support" by RK Klein.
"There are an estimated 2-10 million men in the U.S. who are uncomfortable with their birth gender. Many identify strongly with the gender opposite their physical birth gender. They feel trapped in a life that does not fit. They see their gender identity as a battlefield, and are not at peace with who they are. Out of obligation to family, friends and career, they attempt to deny or conceal these feelings, and often end up living a secret, closeted life. Perhaps this is you, or you know someone who fits this description.
This publication is designed for those who are already Christians, but also will benefit anyone seeking guidance in what the bible may have to offer concerning transgender issues. The purpose of this publication is to provide information, (biblical, social and therapeutic) in order to encourage an honest exploration of gender identity and life-style choices."
2022,
English,
RK Klein,
USA,
Original title: "Acción Travesti Callejera Revolucionaria: Supervivencia, revuelta y lucha trans antagonista" (Revolutionary Street Transvestite Action: Survival, revolt and trans antagonistic struggle) by Marsha P. Johnson & Silvia Rivera.
After the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn Revolt, we have in Spanish perhaps one of the best works on self-organization and queer and transfeminist revolution: the story of S.T.A.R. told by two of its protagonists, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera.
The cover of this book immortalizes their presence in a rally in front of the New York City Hall for the anti-discrimination ordinance in the early 60s.
S.T.A.R. is the acronym that means "star", a word that was a gay icon as remembered by the Black Panthers for being the North Star reference for black slaves who escaped from their masters, although we do not know why they chose it.
They were a reference for their time and later. They grew from the economic and social misery in which they raised a revolutionary project of mutual support between sexual dissidents never seen in such proportion in our recent history. No studies, no money, no stable work, and no comfort.
2022,
Marsha P. Johnson,
Spanish,
Sylvia Rivera,
