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: "Travesti. Una teoría lo suficientemente buena" (Transvestite. A good enough theory) by Marlene Wayar.
"This book proposes a living, communitarian theory. Because when Marlene Wayar says that she has a cemetery in her head, she speaks from the strength that the experience of her entire collective gives her. And that force is oral. With dialogues, she weaves bridges between the oral and the written, and she does so with a power that the written could never capture.
Between conversations, the book invites us to feel without anesthesia from the trans-South American perspective and to think critically about the failure of the world as we know it. It is a cry that envelops the life of the body while inviting us to consider the death of the marks on our bodies promoted by hetero-winca-patriarchy. Actually, Marlene proposes that we kill those pains with daily oblivion and go and build other movable languages that fill us with energy, an energy that ethics imposes that we use in children and adolescents."
2019,
Marlene Wayar,
Spanish,
Full title: "Reflections in the Mirror: True Life Story of a Transgender Woman" by Delissa Dawn.
"Delissa Dawn was born 1971 in Tulsa, Ok as a boy. From the early age of three, she experienced the beginning of a lifetime of traumatic experiences and trials that would nearly destroy her. Knowing she was different from a very young age, she began to explore her curiosity and would become the center of discrimination within her own family.
Delissa spent years trying to prove to her family that she was a man which in turn, only created a world of self-hate, depression, alcoholism, and suicidal thoughts and attempts.
Delissa would live a life for 47 years as a male while suffering inside and deceiving those around her by not living as her authentic self.
Wile in the military, she experienced sexual assault while serving on Iraq Freedom orders in the Middle-East to be punished for holding others accountable and serving with integrity.
This story is full of traumatic experiences, hurt, pain, and hate which would eventually turn to hope, love, happiness, and authenticity."
2021,
Delissa Dawn,
English,
Original title: "Metamorfose: Poesias sobre ser e existir" (Metamorphosis: Poems about being and existing) by Giulia Martins.
Metamorphosis is a book of authorial poetry with rhythm, depth and, sometimes, a bit of unvarnished reality. The 13 poems reflect things that the author, Giulia Martins, a Brazilian trans woman, lives, has seen and lived in her transition experience.
2024,
Brazil,
Giulia Martins,
Portuguese,
Full title: "Empowering Differences: Leveraging Your Differences to Impact Change" by Ashley T Brundage.
"Empowering Differences is the intentional action of using power and authority for yourself or others while positioning ways in which you are not the same as the people around you. Using your differences, what makes you unique, to empower yourself and others to move your career forward. Follow author, Ashley T Brundage, as she puts Empowering Differences into action. She has been on her own journey of self exploration and was forced to find out how she fits into this world. She started her careers as a means of survival and has quickly risen through each position.
She celebrated her authenticity, empowered herself, and others, to create a stronger community. Incorporating the 10 key empowering actions covered within this book, Ashley advanced her career from a part time bank teller to a vice president of the national diversity and inclusion team at a major financial services corporation in less than 5 years. Everyone’s journey will look different, but these methods can produce similar results and the takeaways of the book can be applied to anyone. Take the first step to accelerate your career by empowering your differences."
2020,
Ashley T Brundage,
English,
Original title: "Psychopathia sexualismus" by Richard von Krafft-Ebing.
Psychopathia Sexualis, written by Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing in 1886, is a pioneering work in the field of sexual pathology. This clinical-forensic study delves into a wide range of paraphilias and specifically focuses on male homosexuality and bisexuality—referred to as the “antipathetic sexual instinct” in the subtitle.
Crossdressing in the modern sense appeared with Karl Heinrich Ulrich as early as 1868, and Carl Westphal used the term "contrary sexual feeling" in 1870, although not yet differentiated from so-called uranism. Richard von Krafft-Ebing then published the first edition of "Psychopathia sexualismus" in 1886, which went through 17 editions. There he uses the term “Metamorphosis sexualis paranoica” (sex change madness).
1886,
German,
Richard von Krafft-Ebing,
Full title: "Wo-Man: The Power of Non-Disclosure" by Malikah R. Harris.
"Malikah R. Harris, born and raised in Newark, New Jersey is an author, writer, producer, director, vocalist, comedian, and a motivational speaker, who started her career in magazine writing and as a blogger. She has written everything from positive quotes to historical events. Her style of writing caught the public eye due to her poetic play on words."
"Malikah R. Harris, born and raised in Newark, New Jersey is an author, writer, producer, director, vocalist, comedian, and a motivational speaker, who started her career in writing as a blogger and for magazines. She has written everything from positive quotes to historical events. Her style of writing became a hit within the public eye because of her poetic play on words."
2020,
English,
Malikah R. Harris,
Original title: "Autobiografias trans: Escritas em movimento" (Trans Autobiographies: Writing on the Move) by Leocádia Chaves and Carolina Edições.
"In this book, Leocádia Chaves presents in an unprecedented way the cartography of the autobiographical writing of transgender people in Brazil between 1982 and 2019, recognizing it as the result of organization and resistance in the contemporary literary field.
The approach of the texts opens up as a space for listening, whether for radical narrators, as they lay bare the transphobic mechanisms of oppression in our society, or for the insurgency of producers of narratives of self-identification and self-valorization, essential for the formation of a community of sharing, of affections."
2021,
Carolina Edições,
Leocádia Chaves,
Portuguese,
Full title: "Forever and Two Days More: Our 50-Year Journey" by Cadance Anderson & Catherine Anderson.
"After a lifelong battle with dysphoria, the answer was to transition…
From a young age, Cady knew she was a girl. The only problem was that no one else saw her that way.
Life moved on, but the dysphoria never left Cady. When Cady was about 50 years old, she and Cathy, her spouse and the love of her life, knew that something had to change.
Thus began Cady’s journey to transition into the woman she knew she was, and for Cady and Cathy to grow as a transitioning couple.
Through love letters written 50 years ago to entries from Cady’s journal, this memoir is the story of Cady and Cathy’s never-ending love, forever and two days more. Come share their lives and meet all the people they love."
2024,
Cadance Anderson,
Catherine Anderson,
English,
Original title: "Det Stof Drømme er Gjort af: En bog om transvestitter og kønsroller" (The Drug Dreams Are Made By: A Book About Transvestites and Gender Roles) by Lisbeth Holten.
"Photographic portrait collection consisting of black and white photographs of transgender women. For the most part, their maiden names are listed and for some of them, there is an accompanying text about them.
There are portraits of: Lise, Otte and Susanne, who are married and trans men and trans women, respectively. Susanne, Michelle Fridan. Hanne and wife Sonja. Anette and wife Kettyn Lisen, Lena, Vibeke, Laila, adorning the cover photo. Majorie. Monica. Cecilie. Karin. Conny. Jenny. Iben. Gitte. Marianna. Elsebeth. Alice. Gitte. Sally. Fanny.
Common to all of them is that they were members of the association FPE-NE."
1992,
Danish,
Lisbeth Holten,
"Dandelion Daughter: A Novel" is the English language version of "La fille d’elle-même" (The Daughter of Herself) by Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay.
"Winner 2022, Prix des Libraires Rights for TV adaptation purchased by Zone 3 A runaway bestseller in Québec, where it has captured the hearts of readers and pushed trans-identity into the mainstream conversation, Dandelion Daughter is an intimate, courageous portrait of what it’s like to grow up having been assigned the wrong sex at birth.
Set against the windswept countryside of the remote Charlevoix region some five hours north of Montreal, Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay’s autobiographical novel immortalizes her early years as an alienated boy trapped in a world of small-town values and her parents’ dissolving marriage, through complex adolescent years of self-discovery and first loves, to the harrowing episodes that fuel the growing realization that she must transition and give birth to her new self if she is to continue living at all. One of the first novels of its kind to appear in Québec, this inspiring story has already connected with a wide readership, and has been adopted by many schools to help expand worldviews and curriculums."
2023,
Canada,
English,
Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay,
Gabrielle Tremblay,
Original title: "O sabor do cio" (The taste of heat) by Ruddy Pinho.
"O sabor do cio" is the second poetry book by Ruddy (Ruddy Pinho). In that period the author did not yet recognize herself as a woman, nor did she bring this issue explicitly to her writing, which will only occur after the publication of her autobiography, Liberdade ainda que profana (1998).
Ruddy Pinho, also known as “A Maravilhosa”, was a celebrated transgender hairdresser from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was known for her work with famous clients, including Susana Vieira and Marilia Pêra. Ruddy Pinho made a significant contribution to the hairdressing industry, including creating the “lioness cut” that marked the career of singer Simone Bittencourt and was widely copied in the 1980s.
1981,
Brazil,
Portuguese,
Ruddy Pinho,
Full title: "Roam: A Search for Happiness" by Juno Roche.
"Juno Roche was born into a working-class family in London in the sixties, who dabbled in minor crime. For their father, violence and love lived together; for their mother, addiction was the only way to survive. School was a respite, but shortly after beginning their university course Juno was diagnosed with HIV, then a death sentence. Juno is a survivor; they outlived their diagnosis, got a degree and became an artist. But however hard you try to take the kid out of the family, some scars go too deep; trying to run from AIDS and their childhood threw Juno into dark years of serious drug addiction, addiction often financed by sex work.
Running from home eventually took Juno across the sea to a tiny village in Spain, surrounded by mountains. Only once they found a quiet little house with an olive tree in the garden did Juno start to wonder if they had run too far, and whether they have really been searching for a family all along. In an incredibly honest and brave book, Juno takes us through the moments of their life: Mum sending Christmas cards containing Valium, drug withdrawal on a River Nile cruise, overcoming their father's violence and finding their dream house in Spain. Showing immense resilience, Juno's memoir is a book about what it means to stay alive."
2023,
English,
Juno Roche,
Original title: "La mujer volcán: Memorias" (The Volcano Woman: Memoirs) by Carla Antonelli and Marcos Dosantos.
Carla Antonelli, an unredeemed activist and protagonist of laws that changed a country forever, has broken all the glass ceilings of trans women. This book is his incandescent account of a life plagued by struggle that travels the paths of abandonment, desire, freedom, and power. In the pages of this journey, there is hunger, love, conquests, and mistreatment; sworn enemies and infinite friendships.
Carla Antonelli (Carla Delgado Gómez) was born in Güímar, Tenerife, in 1959. She is a politician, activist, and actress. Currently a Senator of the Spanish Parliament for Más Madrid, she was a regional deputy for the Socialist Party between 2011 and 2021, becoming the first trans parliamentarian in Spain. Since the 80s, she has played numerous roles and cameos in television series, films, documentaries, and plays (Lisístrata, El síndrome de Ulises, La Veneno, El comisario, Paquita Salas, Periodistas, Triángulos rosas, Hijos de papá, El viaje de Carla…).
2024,
Carla Antonelli,
Marcos Dosantos,
Spanish,
Full title: "Beyond The Binary Code" by Nicole Johnson.
"The book takes you on a deeply personal and thought-provoking journey of transcending the rigid confines of assigned labels and embracing the fluidity of self-discovery. This isn't just a story about transitioning from male to female; it's a vibrant story woven with threads of identity, vulnerability, and ultimately, self-acceptance. Stepping beyond the limitations of binary code, I delve into the intricate landscape of questioning, exploring, and ultimately defining who they are.
We witness the internal battles waged against societal expectations, the blossoming of self-awareness, and the courageous decision to break free from imposed limitations. This book is more than just a memoir; it's a conversation starter. It offers a window into the challenges and triumphs that many individuals navigating similar journeys face. Through honest and candid prose, Nicole Johnson challenges preconceived notions about gender, identity, and belonging, urging readers to reconsider the often-restrictive codes we all operate under."
2024,
English,
Nicole Johnson,
Original title: "Transpłciowość - androgynia. Studia o przekraczaniu płci" (Transgenderism - androgyny. Gender Transcendence Studies) by Jacek Bielas, Małgorzata Bieńkowska-Ptasznik and others.
Recently, the issue of crossing gender boundaries has been appearing more and more often in the Polish public discourse. Transgender and intersex people, or otherwise transgressing gender boundaries and conventions, are appearing more and more frequently in public spaces. The themes of transgenderism and transgression of gender conventions are also beginning to appear more and more often in academic publications.
This book – being an interdisciplinary publication that tries to show the phenomenon of transgenderism in a wide spectrum of many perspectives – combines articles from the field of sociology, psychology, philosophy, cultural studies and law, as well as articles written from the point of view of people active in the "T" environment.
2012,
Jacek Bielas,
Małgorzata Bieńkowska-Ptasznik,
Polish,
Full title: "Make It Count: My Fight to Become the First Transgender Olympic Runner" by Cecé Telfer.
"By turns harrowing and hopeful, MAKE IT COUNT is the inspiring story of the first openly transgender woman to win a NCAA title, following her traditional upbringing in Jamaica, her fight to become a US citizen, and her efforts to achieve her Olympic dreams. CeCé Telfer is a warrior. The first openly transgender woman to win an NCAA championship, she has contended with transphobia on and off the track since childhood.
Now, she stands at the crossroads of a national and international conversation about equity in sports, forced to advocate for her personhood and rights at every turn. After spending years training for the 2024 Olympics, Telfer has been sidelined and silenced more times than she can count. But she's never been good at taking no for an answer.
2024,
Cecé Telfer,
English,
Jamaica,
Original title: "Mauvais genre" (Wrong Gender) by Chloé Cruchaudet.
"Paul and Louise love each other, Paul and Louise get married, but World War I escalates and separates them. Paul, who wants at all costs to escape the hell of the trenches, becomes a deserter and finds Louise in Paris. He is safe but condemned to remain hidden in a hotel room. To put an end to his clandestine existence, Paul imagines a solution: to change his identity. Now he'll be known as... ...Suzanne. Between gender confusion and the trauma of war, the couple will arrive at a very unusual destiny."
To escape the horrors of the trenches, Paul becomes a deserter. He manages to make his way to Paris, where he hides with the help of his wife Louise. As a deserter threatened with death, he is doomed to stay forever in the same four walls — or to be transformed. Disguised as "Suzanne", Louise's best friend, she dares to flourish as a woman. The masquerade in women's clothes becomes a new identity that lasts for decades. As Suzanne, Paul becomes part of the Parisian travesty scene. Based on a true story, French illustrator Chloé Cruchaudet tells a nuanced and subtle story of an unusual transgender relationship in the Paris of the Golden Age Twenties. The Wrong Gender was one of the great successes of the 2013/14 comic book year in France. The graphic novel is based on the highly acclaimed biography of Fabrice Virgili & Daniele Voldman La Garconne et L'Assasin.
2013,
Chloé Cruchaudet,
French,
Full title: "If There's No Heaven" by Barbara Marie Minney.
"After almost thirty six years, I began writing poetry again as a means of documenting and processing my thoughts, feelings, struggles, and triumphs during my transition to living authentically as the woman that God always intended me to be. I began my transition at the age of sixty three after repressing my true gender identity for over sixty years, and the poetry in this book charts the first two years of that journey. My poetry is also a challenge to stereotypical beliefs and to accept other people for who and what they are. I am a Christian and conservative leaning, which has caused me to be shunned by my community. My poetry is also a challenge to unapologetically and proudly accept and love yourself for who you are."
2020,
Barbara Marie Minney,
English,
Interview,
Original title: "Kærlighedshistorier" (Love stories) by Maria Helleberg.
"The book contains 11 love stories. The fourth love story "The Gender" from page 66 to page 88 deals with the couple Gerda Wegener and Lili Elbe. Our perception of love is based on history. Over time, a large number of love couples have played a major role in forming the myth on which we today base our perception of love. The love stories serve as a kind of role models or templates for us today.
Maria Helleberg takes us on a fast-paced and entertaining trip back in time and along the way gives her personal interpretation of a number of love stories from Saxo's legends over the Golden Age and up to modern times. Along the way, we hear about Signe and Hagbard, Liden Kirsten and Buris, Elsebe Gyldenstjerne and Stygge Krumpen, Marie Grubbe and Søren Møller, Caroline Mathilde and Struensee, Juliane Marie Ottesen and Nicolai Abildgaard, Regine Olsen and Søren Kierkegaard, Countess Danner and Frederik the Seventh, Elvira Madigan and Sixten Sparre, Gerda Wegener and Lili Elbe, Helle Virkner and Jens Otto Krag, Tove Ditlevsen and Victor Andreasen. We have all learned from the characters in this book. Love exists and blossoms – and may fade."
2012,
Danish,
Lili Elbe,
Maria Helleberg,
Full title: "Mercury Stardust Biography" by Gino Matthew.
"If you feel fascinated about the remarkable life of Mercury Stardust and feel like you need to have an in-depth view into her story, then you wouldn't afford to miss this book.
Mercury Stardust, transgender activist, burlesque performer, and DIY expert Suzanne Stardust hails from the United States. She is known as the "Trans Handy Ma'am" on TikTok for her DIY home repair tutorials."
2023,
English,
Gino Matthew,
Mercury Stardust,
Original title: "Três décadas e meia" (Three and a half decades) by Daniela de Carvalho.
"Thirty years is too long to wait for love. That's plenty of time to mature. But is it enough time to live everything you want? Everything you are entitled to? Is it enough time when your own time isn't worth a lifetime? Through phrases, chronicles, and poetry, the author presents an intimate and almost confessional account, which is at the same time the story of one and thousands of women.
They, when in front of the mirror, reflect an inverted truth, opposite to what conservative eyes want to see. The harshness of the words does not come close to reaching the crudeness of reality. Even so, it carries the subtlety that exists in the obvious, opening space for an indispensable reflection. Trans women exist, they are objects of prejudice. Trans women resist, they need respect, dignity, affection and, above all, they need to stop dying as if life itself were not a right."
2021,
Brazil,
Daniela de Carvalho,
Portuguese,
Full title: "Not Ded Aslepe" by Iden Crockett.
"Not Ded Aslepe is an illustrated collection of poetry chronicling the author's emotions as she explores her gender, PTSD, OSDD, eating disorder, self injury, love, sexuality, and friendship. The collection is centered around the non-linear poetic narrative of the author and her primary other. The story unfolds through the meeting of this shadow sister, attempting to resist their influence, and ultimately accepting Them as a part of themselves.
his collection is a frank and unflinching look into one person's struggle to discover themselves while maintaining sanity. It is a celebration of love and sexuality, queerness, gender expression, and a powerful commentary on the duality of the soul.
This collection features eighty poems and is beautifully illustrated with nearly thirty original digital collages. The artwork for this collection was created by the author and is a re-interpretation of previously created work. Words and images combine to create a profoundly affecting piece of art. Not Ded Aslepe is a truly honest look at the author's mind. All of the beauty, horror, sensuality, and joy of a life is on display here."
2023,
English,
Iden Crockett,
Interview,
Original title: "Płeć: dana czy zadana? Strategie negocjacji (nie)tożsamości transpłciowej w Polsce" (Gender: given or assumed? Strategies for negotiating transgender (non)identity in Poland) by Anna Kłonkowska.
Anna M. Kłonkowska's book is a well-written and expert presentation of the global and Polish state of research on the social situation of transgender people. The added value is the results of empirical research on the life strategies of transgender people in Poland in the last few years. Therefore, these are original and new data on an important social issue, obtained by a researcher who has been publishing on this topic for many years and is one of the few Polish experts in the field of transgenderism.
2017,
Anna Kłonkowska,
Polish,
Full title: "Amy Schneider: Dual Life as Writer and Game Contestant" by Karen McKie.
"In a world where curiosity and competitive spirit intertwine, Amy Schneider emerges as a captivating figure, a writer by day and a game show champion by night. Her journey is a testament to the power of knowledge, the thrill of competition, and the resilience of the human spirit.
Born in Dayton, Ohio, Amy Schneider's love for words blossomed early, nurtured by a passion for reading and exploring the vast expanse of language.
She honed her writing skills, crafting stories and essays that captivated readers, her words painting vivid pictures and stirring emotions.
Yet, alongside her literary talents, Amy harbored a secret fascination with the world of trivia and game shows. The thrill of competition, the challenge of answering questions under pressure, and the joy of intellectual discovery ignited a spark within her."
2023,
Amy Schneider,
English,
Karen McKie,
Original title: "Wiebkes Tagebuch IX: Teil IX des Tagebuchs einer trans Frau, der dritte “angekommene” Teil (Apr. - Jul. 2023) (Wiebke werden 9)" (Wiebke’s Diary IX: Part IX of the diary of a trans woman, the third “I finally am myself”- part (Apr. - Jul. 2023) (Becoming Wiebke)) by Wiebke ter Lichten.
"In the summer of 2018 my girlfriend asked me out of the blue if I’d ever considered being completely transformed into a woman. She suggested that it might be interesting. I pushed around quite a bit, and to be honest, the thought may have crossed my mind for a split second, but I dismissed it because I was absolutely certain the result wouldn't be good. Then Christmas 2018 came and her gift was just that: a makeover. She’d spoken to the manager of a service and made all the preparations. No chance for me to back out! The styling took place on Valentine's Day 2019 and Wiebke was born."
2023,
German,
Wiebke ter Lichten,
Full title: "Bernie Wagenblast's Transformative Expedition: Resonances Below Ground: A Voice Discovering Its Harmony" by Richard M Hunter.
"Descend inside the subway system at the center of New York City, where the sounds of millions of stories are mixed with the roar of trains. We meet Bernie Wagenblast here, in the midst of the busy platforms and flickering fluorescent lights—the voice that leads travelers through the underground veins of the city.
However, "Bernie" is only a whisper, hiding the lady who is desperate to be free: Beatrice. A moving and engrossing journey through Bernie's metamorphosis, Echoes in the Underground is a symphony of emotions set against the backdrop of a world in upheaval. See his inner battles as he juggles his own need for authenticity with society's expectations. Sensitize to the quiver in his voice as he leaves the mask of "Bernie" and enters the platform as Beatrice, her voice now free to soar instead of being limited to announcements. This is a tapestry made of the threads of innumerable people impacted by Bernie's courage, not just her narrative. Watch how her transition encourages a young trans woman to speak up, deepens the relationship between a father and daughter, and challenges the city's systemic racism."
2024,
Bernie Wagenblast,
English,
Interview,
Richard M Hunter,
Original title: "At Performe Transkønnet Vrede" (Performing transgender anger) by Gry Stokkendahl Dalgas.
""Performing transgender anger" is Gry Stokkendahl Dalga's polyphonic, furious, and political call for better conditions for transgender people. Poetry, translations, essays, and fanfiction are intertwined in Gry Stokkendahl Dalga's work."
""Performing transgender anger", which with tenderness, indignation, and rage, cries out about the conditions and position of transgender people in society. Through the inclusion of references to other works, science, and a wide range of transgender people, the book portrays society's neglect of a large and vulnerable population while pointing the way to a better future."
2022,
Danish,
Gry Stokkendahl Dalgas,
Full title: "RuPaul: The Biography of RuPaul" by Fred W. Smith.
"RuPaul: The Unveiling of Royalty" takes readers on an extraordinary journey through the life and legacy of the iconic drag superstar. In this revealing biography, the glittering facade of RuPaul is peeled away, uncovering the layers of resilience, creativity, and authenticity that have defined an unparalleled career.
From the early struggles in San Diego to the dazzling lights of the mainstream stage, the book explores RuPaul's rise to global stardom.
Delving into the world of drag, the pages unfold a narrative of self-discovery, empowerment, and the relentless pursuit of individuality in the face of societal norms.
Readers will witness RuPaul's fashion-forward evolution, challenging conventions and leaving an indelible mark on the runway. Beyond the glamorous exterior, the book unveils the complexities of a multifaceted personality - a mentor, advocate, and cultural force who has shaped the very fabric of drag culture."
2024,
Drag queen,
English,
Fred W. Smith,
RuPaul,
