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From the acclaimed novelist, a first-of-its-kind, deeply personal, and moving oral history of a generation of trans and gender nonconforming elders of color--from leading activists to artists to ordinary citizens--who tell their own stories of breathtaking courage, cultural innovations, and acts of resistance. So Many Stars knits together the voices of trans, nonbinary, genderqueer, and two-spirit elders of color as they share authentic, intimate accounts of how they created space for themselves and their communities in the world. This singular project collects the testimonies of twenty elders, each a glimmering thread in a luminous tapestry, preserving their words for future generations--who can more fully exist in the world today because of these very trailblazers. De Robertis creates a collective coming-of-age story based on hundreds of hours of interviews, offering rare snapshots of ordinary life: kids growing up, navigating family issues and finding community, coming out and changing how they identify over the years, building movements and weathering the AIDS crisis, and sharing wisdom for future generations. Often narrating experiences that took place before they had the array of language that exists today to self-identify beyond the gender binary, this generation lived through remarkable changes in American culture, shaped American culture, and yet rarely takes center stage in the history books. Their stories feel particularly urgent in the current political moment, but also remind readers that their experiences are not new, and that young trans and nonbinary people today belong to a long lineage. The anecdotes in these pages are riveting, joyful, heartbreaking, full of personality and wisdom, and artfully woven together into one immersive narrative. In De Robertis's words, So Many Stars shares "behind-the-scenes tales of what it meant--and still means--to create an authentic life, against the odds."
Black transgender luminary Tourmaline brings to life the first definitive biography of the revolutionary activist Marsha P. Johnson, one of the most important and remarkable figures in LGBTQIA+ history, revealing her story, her impact, and her legacy. "She is the preeminent and foremost scholar on Marsha P. Johnson. . . . To us, Tourmaline is the expert."-Janet Mock, Allure "Thank god the revolution has begun, honey." Rumor has it that after Marsha P. Johnson threw the first brick in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, she picked up a shard of broken mirror to fix her makeup. Marsha, a legendary Black transgender activist, embodied both the beauty and the struggle of the early gay rights movement. Her work sparked the progress we see today, yet there has never been a definitive record of her life. Until now. Written with sparkling prose,Tourmaline's richly researched biography Marsha finally brings this iconic figure to life, in full color. We vividly meet Marsha as both an activist and artist- She performed with RuPaul and with the internationally renowned drag troupe The Hot Peaches. She was a muse to countless artists from Andy Warhol to the band Earth, Wind & Fire. And she continues to inspire people today. Marsha didn't wait to be freed; she declared herself free and told the world to catch up.Her story promises to inspire readers to live as their most liberated, unruly, vibrant, and whole selves.
A crucial subversion of the misconceptions around the participation of gender diverse athletes--advocating for the inclusion of trans and nonbinary athletes across all levels of sport The debate over the inclusion of gender diverse people in sport has become the latest battleground in the fight for basic human rights and equality. Trans and nonbinary people around the world are facing physical harm and violence--including death--at unprecedented rates. In Let Us Play, trans athlete Harrison Browne and investigative journalist Rachel Browne reveal how the opposition towards gender diverse athletes is fueled by fear and a moral panic as opposed to facts around what makes "a level playing field." Interweaving Harrison's first-hand experience as a transgender athlete with exclusive accounts--from athletes, coaches, policymakers, and advocates on the front lines--Let Us Play dismantles the illusion that sports have ever been fair, that trans athletes pose a threat to women's sports, and that gender-affirming healthcare for athletes should be prohibitive to play. Calling for a reframing of the binaries from youth and high school levels all the way to the national leagues, Browne and Browne offer a new path forward, led by solutions proposed by gender diverse athletes themselves.
Explore the trailblazing lives of 30 trans people who radically change everything you've been told about transgender history Highlighting influential individuals from 1850-1950 who are all but unknown today, Eli Erlick shares 30 remarkable stories from romance to rebellion and mystery to murder. These narratives chronicle the grit, joy, and survival of trans people long before gender became an everyday term. Organized into 4 parts paralleling today's controversies over gender identity (kids, activists, workers, and athletes), Before Gender introduces figures whose forgotten stories transform the discussion Mark and David Ferrow, two of the first trans teens to access gender-affirming medical treatment following overwhelming support from their friends, family, and neighbors. Gerda von Zobeltitz, a trans countess who instigated an LGBTQ+ riot 40 years before Stonewall. Frank Williams, a young trans man who was fired from over a dozen jobs for his gender. Frances Anderson, the world's greatest female billiards player of the 1910s. Bold and visionary, Erlick's debut uncovers these lost stories from the depths of the archives to narrate trans lives in a way that has never been attempted before.
What if you discovered that the whole concept of a gender binary is an illusion? While many people identify as men or women, that is not all there is. The idea that all humans fall into one of two gender categories is largely a construct created by those who benefit from that belief. The reality is that gender is naturally diverse, falling inside and outside of those boxes, and more expansive ideas of gender have always existed. In the second book of the Queer History Project, The Gender Binary Is a Big Lie: Infinite Identities around the World, author Lee Wind uses historical evidence and primary sources--poetry, ancient burial sites, firsthand accounts, and news stories--to explore gender roles and identities. Gender identities and physical bodies are as diverse as the human experience. Get ready to shatter those preconceived notions of nothing but a gender binary and dive deep into expressions of gender--both past and present--that reveal the infinite variety and beauty of everyone's gender.
From a global icon, a bold, essential account of how a fear of gender is fueling reactionary politics around the world. Judith Butler, the groundbreaking thinker whose iconic book Gender Trouble redefined how we think about gender and sexuality, confronts the attacks on "gender" that have become central to right-wing movements today. Global networks have formed "anti-gender ideology movements" that are dedicated to circulating a fantasy that gender is a dangerous, perhaps diabolical, threat to families, local cultures, civilization--and even "man" himself. Inflamed by the rhetoric of public figures, this movement has sought to nullify reproductive justice, undermine protections against sexual and gender violence, and strip trans and queer people of their rights to pursue a life without fear of violence. The aim of Who's Afraid of Gender? is not to offer a new theory of gender but to examine how "gender" has become a phantasm for emerging authoritarian regimes, fascist formations, and trans-exclusionary feminists. In their vital, courageous new book, Butler illuminates the concrete ways that this phantasm of "gender" collects and displaces anxieties and fears of destruction. Operating in tandem with deceptive accounts of "critical race theory" and xenophobic panics about migration, the anti-gender movement demonizes struggles for equality, fuels aggressive nationalism, and leaves millions of people vulnerable to subjugation. An essential intervention into one of the most fraught issues of our moment, Who's Afraid of Gender? is a bold call to refuse the alliance with authoritarian movements and to make a broad coalition with all those whose struggle for equality is linked with fighting injustice. Imagining new possibilities for both freedom and solidarity, Butler offers us a hopeful work of social and political analysis that is both timely and timeless--a book whose verve and rigor only they could deliver.
A practical and highly accessible guide for those navigating society as a trans person or trying to gain understanding of the trans experience, from psychologist, content creator, and LGBTQ+ advocate Jamie Raines, with over one million YouTube subscribers. Hey, I'm Jamie, a 29-year-old trans guy from the UK. I've been transitioning for 12 years now after realizing I was trans (by accident!) at sixteen years old. I knew I was a boy since the age of four, but realized while growing up that I was different. It was only in my teens that I found the words to express who I was and what I needed to do. Since then, I've been on testosterone for more than a decade. I've also had top and bottom surgery and legally changed my sex, so I know a few things about the transitioning process and being trans! I want to welcome you to The T in LGBT where you can explore and learn about so many topics surrounding gender identity: realizing you're trans, starting hormones, considering surgery, and everything in between. Whether you're questioning your own identity and are looking for advice on certain stages of transition, or whether you're wanting to learn about the trans experience to support someone or understand allyship, I hope this book can be your one-stop guide to everything trans related. And don't just take my word for it either; this book is packed full of advice, tips, and the personal stories of a range of trans voices, because no one journey is the same.
Jon Savage, the author of the canonical England's Dreaming, explodes new ground in this electrifying history of pop music from 1955 through 1979. In demonstrating that gay and lesbian artists were responsible for many of the greatest cultural breakthroughs in the last half of the twentieth century, he shows that it was their secretly encoded music--appealing to a closeted but greatly oppressed public--which led to the historic dismantling of discriminatory gay laws and the fusion of queer and straight culture. Fittingly, Savage's kaleidoscopic work begins with the pomp-and-pompadour appearance of Little Richard, whose relentlessly driving sound, replete with gospel shrieks and sexual contortions, enthralled a generation of 1950s stultified white teenagers. Things soon went mainstream, as Elvis enthralled a nation with his seductive low moans and bump-and-grind twists, heavily derivative of Black music, while James Dean and Rock Hudson became the face of 1950s Hollywood; yet this explosion of queer expression remained covert and could not be accepted for what it was. While music, with supporting roles from cinema and fashion, became the key medium through which homosexuality could be clandestinely enacted, overt expressions of gay behavior were met with arrests and crackdowns. While hippies reveled in 1967's "Summer of Love," gays remained "harassed by police, demonized by the media and politicians, imprisoned simply for being who they were." J. Edgar Hoover, himself a closeted homosexual, continued to spy on homosexual deviants; CBS's Mike Wallace aired an invidious show about homosexuality; and the New York police continued to raid gay bars. Yet the music itself produced a cultural eruption that simply could not be stanched. While Bette Midler sang "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boys" to a Continental Baths audience of 600 gay men, all naked except for towels, David Bowie "blew the whole topic wide open" and "became the most totemic pop star of his generation." Even though roadblocks remained, the gear-grinding crunch of the music signaled that the gay civil rights movement could no longer be suppressed. Ending the narrative with the sudden collapse of disco, The Secret Public asserts then that the genie was out of the bottle, that queer culture had finally entered the mainstream, producing a transcendent vision of pop culture that could never be marginalized again.
A rich examination of the history of trans medicine and current day practice Surfacing in the mid-twentieth century, yet shrouded in social stigma, transgender medicine is now a rapidly growing medical field. In Trans Medicine, stef shuster makes an important intervention in how we understand the development of this field and how it is being used to “treat” gender identity today. Drawing on interviews with medical providers as well as ethnographic and archival research, shuster examines how health professionals approach patients who seek gender-affirming care. From genital reconstructions to hormone injections, the practice of trans medicine charts new medical ground, compelling medical professionals to plan treatments without widescale clinical trials to back them up. Relying on cultural norms and gut instincts to inform their treatment plans, shuster shows how medical providers' lack of clinical experience and scientific research undermines their ability to interact with patients, craft treatment plans, and make medical decisions. This situation defies how providers are trained to work with patients and creates uncertainty. As providers navigate the developing knowledge surrounding the medical care of trans folk, Trans Medicine offers a rare opportunity to understand how providers make decisions while facing challenges to their expertise and, in the process, have acquired authority not only over clinical outcomes, but over gender itself.
LGBTQ+ advocacy and support continues to be a priority in the U.S. higher education, and recent research shows this as a critical population who continues to be marginalized and mistreated on college and university campuses. Over the last few decades there has been significant research describing how LGBTQ students experience higher education and highlighting that these students are not graduating or succeeding at the same rates as the general population. However, few if any research studies or articles address LGBTQ advocacy on community college campuses. There are more than 1,000 community colleges in the U.S. Even with the extraordinary number of students that the community college system educates, approximately 15 institutions nationally have paid staff to provide LGBTQ services to students. That being said, community colleges are now putting a larger emphasis on understanding and supporting this community. For example, The California Community College (CCC) system's 116 colleges now require all campuses to create a plan on how to improve success rates of LGBTQ+ students. The CCC is the largest higher education system in the country serving over 2 million students. This comprehensive practitioner focused book will combine relevant research and guidance on practices to aid colleges in establishing services and programs to build effective LGBTQ+ services on their college campuses.
What does it mean to be non-binary in the 21st Century? Our gender identity is impacted by our personal histories; the cultures, communities and countries we are born into; and the places we go and the people we meet. But the representation of contemporary non-binary identities has been limited, until now. Pushing the narrative around non-binary identities further than ever before, this powerful collection of essays represents the breadth of non-binary lives, across the boundaries of race, class, age, sexuality, faith and more. Leading non-binary people share stories of their intersecting lives; how it feels to be non-binary and neurodiverse, the challenges of being a non-binary pregnant person, what it means to be non-binary within the Quaker community, the joy of reaching gender euphoria. This thought-provoking anthology shows that there is no right or wrong way to be non-binary.
This evidence-based guide brings together a wide range of information and practical tools for midwives, obstetricians, nurses, health visitors and birthworkers, empowering them to provide safe and compassionate care throughout the reproductive journeys of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people. This book may also be helpful to LGBTQ+ people in their own reproductive journeys. Throughout history, in cultures around the world, LGBTQ+ people have become pregnant, sought abortion care, miscarried, experienced infertility, given birth, and made decisions about infant feeding. Their reproductive journeys are increasingly visible, reflecting the changing social and legal recognition of sexual and gender minority people as parents. LGBTQ+ people require support during these significant life events which is appropriate, expert, and meets their needs. However, healthcare professionals and birthworkers may not always be confident in working with these clients and may lack understanding of LGBTQ+ clients' experiences. There is also often insufficient attention paid to differences in the LGBTQ+ non-gestational parents' experiences. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this book brings together up-to-date research findings from a range of fields including medicine, psychology, sociology, law and public health, to provide a knowledge base and tools to support clients at different stages of pregnancy and parenthood. The book follows the reproductive journey, moving from pre-conception and fertility research, through pregnancy and birth, to postnatal physical and mental healthcare. It also addresses termination care and perinatal loss. The chapters contain vignettes to personalise the issues discussed, highlights key practice recommendations, and suggestions for further reading. This is an essential guide for student midwives and medical students, as well as health visitors, midwives and obstetricians in practice.
Drawing on the experiences of older trans people and those transitioning later in life, this is a definitive guide to ageing as a trans and/or non-binary person. It covers the key health concerns and social issues affecting older trans people, including care homes, pensions, inheritance and funeral planning, as well as hormone use and physical changes, isolation and dementia. Kermode also provides guidance for professionals looking to better meet the needs of these individuals and highlights the important factors that need to be considered at an institutional level to provide the best care for people across the gender spectrum.
An unapologetic guide for readers who are Black, masc, and bi-unlearning biphobia, coming out, combatting erasure, and embodying your whole self Through cutting social analysis, personal stories, and need-to-know advice, Dear Bi Men reclaims bi+ visibility in a culture of erasure-and unapologetically centers Blackness in a practical and deeply researched guide to navigating life, work, and relationships as a Black bi+ man. Popular representation of bi and pansexual men is growing, but we're not there yet- It's mostly white. It collapses bisexual identity into tired, hypersexualized tropes. And it fails to interrogate the deeply entrenched stereotypes that insist- You're confused. You just don't know you're gay. You're greedy. You must be great in bed. Author, peer counselor, and creator of #bisexualmenspeak J.R. Yussuf pushes back against these stigmas and misconceptions, exploring how white supremacy reinforces biphobia and dictates what society thinks it means to "be a man." He contextualizes discourse around queerness and bisexuality within a larger framework that honors readers' intersecting identities. And he offers deeply practical advice, sharing how to- Unlearn internalized biphobia and homophobia Navigate an increasingly hostile digital landscape Think about coming out- who to tell, why to tell them, and how to do it Fight back against erasure and stigma Navigate sex, dating, partnerships, marriage, friendship, and work Understand your bi+ sexuality through a political lens Process Black bi+ representation Rich with personal narratives, insightful analysis, and practical advice, this book is a powerful resource for Black bi+ men to reclaim their identity, counter biphobia, and get empowered-and an offering to all readers looking to fight back against the erasure and dehumanization wrought by patriarchy.
This essential survival guide gives autistic trans and/or non-binary adults all the tools and strategies they need to live as their very best self. Blending personal accounts with evidence-based insights and up-to-date information, and written from a perspective of empowerment and self-acceptance, the book promotes pride, strength and authenticity, covering topics including self-advocacy, mental health and camouflaging and masking as well as key moments in life such as coming out or transitioning socially and/or physically. Written by two leading autistic trans activists, this book honestly charts what life is like as an autistic trans person and is vital, life-affirming reading.
Establishing trans philosophy as a unique field of inquiry, offering tools for our quest toward a more just and equitable world Trans Philosophy defines this burgeoning and polymorphous discipline as philosophical work that is accountable to and illuminative of cross-cultural and global trans experiences, histories, and cultural productions. Across language and politics, feminism and phenomenology, and decolonial theory, it addresses trans worldmaking in all its beauty and mundanity. Critically, the editors center the contributions of trans and gender-nonconforming philosophers from around the globe. Showcasing work from a range of emerging and established voices, Trans Philosophy addresses discrimination, embodiment, identity, language, and law, utilizing diverse philosophical methods to attend to significant intersections between trans experience and class, disability, race, nationality, and sexuality. At a time when trans-exclusionary views are gaining traction in politics as well as philosophy, this volume urgently redraws the contours of trans discourse, centering the wisdom already generated in trans and other gender-disruptive communities. Contributors: Megan Burke, Sonoma State U; Robin Dembroff, Yale U; Marie Draz, San Diego State U; Che Gossett, U of Pennsylvania; Ryan Gustafsson, U of Melbourne; Stephanie Kapusta, Dalhousie U; Tamsin Kimoto, Washington U, St. Louis; Hil Malatino, Pennsylvania State U and Rock Ethics Institute; Amy Marvin, Lafayette U; Marlene Wayar.
Considers the issues that impact healthcare for LGBTQ+ Americans today and the negative influences that disproportionately affect the well-being of these communities, and presents a path forward to making needed improvements. The health of LGBTQ+ Americans is affected by many historical achievements and failures, societal influences, economic disparities, cultural shifts, and political divisions that can greatly impact the world of medicine, especially given the COVID-19 pandemic. Each chapter examines these issues to identify the systemic factors and enduring consequences impacting these communities. First-hand accounts from LGBTQ+ individuals impacted by healthcare challenges are included between chapters through "In their Words" perspective essays. An extensive chronology of relevant people, events, and legislation places this topic in historical context and outlines the evolution of healthcare challenges as they relate to sexuality and gender identity. Intended to be an encompassing reference for high school students, college students, and general readers alike, this overview not only explores the historical and contemporary complexities of this topic, but also proposes solutions for improvement and pathways to advocacy.
Get to know real queer kids from all over the country--these inspiring stories of LGBTQ+ youth, written in their own words, provide crucial snapshots of what it's really like to grow up trans or queer in America. Photographer and activist Maxwell Poth has traveled all over the United States, inviting LGBTQ+ youth to share their stories as part of Project Contrast, a nonprofit that amplifies these voices and connects kids and families with the resources they need to survive and thrive. This book collects the stories and portraits of seventy-three queer kids and teenagers from fifteen different states. In their own words, these young people share the challenges they've faced coming out or coming to terms with their own identities; they write about their families, their schoolmates, their teachers, and the queer community they've found throughout their journeys; and they offer messages of love and support to their LGBTQ+ peers. Featuring a foreword by trans actress and model Isis King, this book sends a powerful message to the many LGBTQ+ kids growing up in small towns who feel isolated: We see you, we love you, you are not alone. THESE STORIES ARE VITAL: Across the United States, a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is targeting queer and transgender youth. These stories will not only help queer and trans kids everywhere feel seen and connected to one another, they will shine a much-needed light on the challenges and realities of growing up queer in America. From stories of kids surviving on their own after coming out to close-minded families, to examples of supportive parents who encourage their kids to be proud of who they are, these narratives demonstrate that growing up queer or trans in America is difficult and complicated and normal. This book is a powerful reminder that no matter what your path looks like, you deserve love. IN THEIR OWN WORDS: In this groundbreaking book, LGBTQ+ kids and teens tell their stories in their own words. The submissions that Poth and his Project Contrast team have collected are honest, articulate, and uplifting--these kids deserve to be taken seriously, and this project has given them a platform to share their truth with the world. A PASSIONATE ADVOCATE: Author and photographer Maxwell Poth has been working with LGBTQ+ kids all over the United States since 2017. He started his nonprofit, Project Contrast, to amplify the stories of queer youth and connect them with the community and resources they need to thrive, no matter where they are in the country. His work highlights the unique mental health challenges facing queer and trans young adults, and demands that we stop turning a blind eye to the harm that is caused when we single out those who are different instead of embracing and uplifting them. Perfect for: Queer and trans kids and teens who want to see their experiences reflected in print Parents and family members of LGBTQ+ youth who want to show support or learn more about their loved one's experiences Allies who are inspired by the book's mission and content Anyone interested in understanding the next generation of queer Americans
Harry Benjamin (1885?1986), a German-born endocrinologist, was a pivotal figure in the development of transgender medicine. He was physician to transgender pioneers such as Christine Jorgensen, the 1950s ?Ex-GI? turned ?Blonde Beauty? media sensation, and in turn, she and other collaborators helped to shape Benjamin?s influential 1966 book, The Transsexual Phenomenon. Alison Li?s much-needed biography of Benjamin chronicles his passion for hormones and his lifelong interest in sexology. Drawing from extensive research in archival documents, secondary sources, and interviews, Li tells the story of Benjamin?s early ventures in gerontology and his later work with over a thousand transgender patients. Benjamin?s contributions to treatment, education, research, and networking helped to create the institutional foundations of transgender medicine. Moreover, they set the stage for a radical reconsideration of gender identity, challenging us to reflect upon what it is to be male or female and to envision moving beyond these long-held categories.
Heralded as ?required reading? (Geoff Nunberg) and ?the book? (Anne Fadiman) for anyone interested in the conversation swirling around gender-neutral and nonbinary pronouns, What's Your Pronoun? is a classic in the making. Providing much-needed historical context and analysis to the debate around what we call ourselves, Dennis Baron brings new insight to a centuries-old topic and illuminates how?and why?these pronouns are sparking confusion and prompting new policies in schools, workplaces, and even statehouses. Enlightening and affirming, What's Your Pronoun? introduces a new way of thinking about language, gender, and how they intersect.
In The Transformative Potential of LGBTQ+ Children's Picture Books, Jennifer Miller identifies an archive of over 150 English-language children's picture books that explicitly represent LGBTQ+ identities, expressions, and issues. This archive is then analyzed to explore the evolution of LGBTQ+ characters and content from the 1970s to the present. Miller describes dominant tropes that emerge in the field to analyze historical shifts in representational practices, which she suggests parallel larger sociocultural shifts in the visibility of LGBTQ+ identities. Additionally, Miller considers material constraints and possibilities affecting the production, distribution, and consumption of LGBTQ+ children's picture books from the 1970s to the present. This foundational work defines the field of LGBTQ+ children's picture books thoroughly, yet accessibly. In addition to laying the groundwork for further research, The Transformative Potential of LGBTQ+ Children's Picture Books presents a reading lens, critical optimism, used to analyze the transformative potential of LGBTQ+ children's picture books. Many texts remain attached to heteronormative family forms and raced and classed models of success. However, by considering what these books put into the world, as well as problematic aspects of the world reproduced within them, Miller argues that LGBTQ+ children's picture books are an essential world-making project and seek to usher in a transformed world as well as a significant historical archive that reflects material and representational shifts in dominant and subcultural understandings of gender and sexuality.
Supporting transgender children in school means far more than deciding which bathroom they use or on which sports team they playSchools across the nation are seeing an increasing presence of transgender students and many school leaders, teachers, and community stakeholders feel they have nowhere to turn for resources or guidance for what can be a volatile, confusing, and controversial subject. The parents of transgender children, who are themselves urgently looking for advice and support, often feel thrust into an adversarial position as they become advocates for the safety, wellbeing, acceptance, and happiness of their child. The purpose of this book is to move beyond the unproductive and polarizing debates that occur over which bathroom/locker room they should use, on which sports team they should participate, and whether or not they are a threat to the safety of other students. We can't move beyond these debates until we respectfully consider and address the factors that contribute to this contention in the first place. Aidan Key masterfully cuts through the misinformation and distractions to get at the only issues that truly matter - ensuring our children, ALL of our children - can count on a safe and welcoming learning environment. Trans Children in Today's Schools provides an understanding of the internal and external variables that a trans child navigates as they explore their gender identity and the challenges experienced by these children and their families. Key explores the barriers encountered by schools as they attempt to create gender-inclusive environments, including the resistance of a misinformed society whose only framework of gender is one rigidly set in an only-male/only-female context. Readers will come away with manageable, step-by-step pathways to support and include trans youth in our schools and communities. The book places these ideas - and the youth who embody them - in context within a society whose understanding and expectations of gender norms are at the brink of a paradigm shift.
The bestselling young adult non-fiction book on sexuality and gender! Lesbian. Gay. Bisexual. Transgender. Queer. Intersex. Straight. Curious. This book is for everyone, regardless of gender or sexual preference. This book is for anyone who's ever dared to wonder. This book is for YOU. This candid, funny, and uncensored exploration of sexuality and what it's like to grow up LGBTQ also includes real stories from people across the gender and sexual spectrums, not to mention hilarious illustrations. Inside this revised and updated edition, you'll find the answers to all the questions you ever wanted to ask, with topics like: Stereotypes--the facts and fiction Coming out as LGBT Where to meet people like you The ins and outs of gay sex How to flirt And so much more! You will be entertained. You will be informed. But most importantly, you will know that however you identify (or don't) and whomever you love, you are exceptional. You matter. And so does this book. This book is for: LGBTQIA+ teens, tweens, and adults Readers looking to learn more about the LGBTQIA+ community Parents of gay kids and other LGBT youth Educators looking for advice about the LGBTQIA+ community Praise for This Book is Gay: A Guardian Best Book of the Year 2018 Garden State Teen Book Award Winner "The book every LGBT person would have killed for as a teenager, told in the voice of a wise best friend. Frank, warm, funny, USEFUL."--Patrick Ness, New York Times bestselling author "This egregious gap has now been filled to a fare-thee-well by Dawson's book."--Booklist *STARRED REVIEW*
The fear many women have for their physical safety when out in public is often heightened for trans women of color. Scholars have long examined what it means to be transgender in a cisgender society, how transgender people experience everyday life and violence, and how transgender people make sense of and cope with that violence. However, to understand what causes anti-trans violence, it is necessary to turn to those most likely to perpetrate it: cisgender people. Through extensive interviews and focus groups with cisgender-heterosexual men and cisgender-lesbian, bisexual, and queer women, Thinking Cis examines how cisgender people make sense of gender, attractions to transgender women, and the murders of Black trans women. It also analyzes how the social construction of cisness shapes how we think about race, gender, sexuality and who we consider worthy of living. alithia zamantakis pushes readers to rethink prominent understandings of anti-trans violence and in doing so, argues that it is not simply transphobia that gives rise to murders of trans women but a fear and hatred for what it means to love and desire transgender women.
A Time Must-Read Book of the Year A Publishers Weekly Top Ten Book of the Year A bold, innovative biography that offers a new understanding of the life, work, and enduring impact of Audre Lorde. We remember Audre Lorde as an iconic writer, a quotable teacher whose words and face grace T-shirts, nonprofit annual reports, and campus diversity-center walls. But even those who are inspired by Lorde's teachings on "the creative power of difference" may be missing something fundamental about her life and work, and what they can mean for us today. Lorde's understanding of survival was not simply about getting through to the other side of oppression or being resilient in the face of cancer. It was about the total stakes of what it means to be in relationship with a planet in transformation. Possibly the focus on Lorde's quotable essays, to the neglect of her complex poems, has led us to ignore her deep engagement with the natural world, the planetary dynamics of geology, meteorology, and biology. For her, ecological images are not simply metaphors but rather literal guides to how to be of earth on earth, and how to survive--to live the ethics that a Black feminist lesbian warrior poetics demands. In Survival Is a Promise, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, the first researcher to explore the full depths of Lorde's manuscript archives, illuminates the eternal life of Lorde. Her life and work become more than a sound bite; they become a cosmic force, teaching us the grand contingency of life together on earth.
Asexual: a person who does not have strong sexual feelings toward any gender.
Bisexual: a person who is sexually or emotionally attracted to more than one sex or gender.
Demisexual: a person who doesn't develop sexual attraction to someone until they have a strong emotional connection
Gay: men who are sexually and emotionally attracted to other men. Sometimes used as an umbrella term for someone who is sexually or emotionally attracted to another person of the same sex.
Lesbian: woman who is sexually and emotionally attracted to other women
Pansexual: a person who can be attracted to all different kinds of people, regardless of biological sex or gender identity.
Queer: this word can be used to describe one's sexuality or gender. Formerly used as a slur, the LGBTQ community has reclaimed the word. It typically is used by someone who feels they don't fit neatly into one of these other labels.
Agender: a person who doesn't identify as any particular gender.
Cisgender: a person whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth.
Gender Fluid: a person whose gender identity is not a single gender or is not fixed, but may shift.
Genderqueer: someone who embraces fluidity of gender and rejects static or conventional views of gender. They can identify as both male and female, neither male or female, or a combination of the two.
Non-binary: someone who doesn't identify as exclusively male or female.
Transgender: a person whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.
Video Citation: Persistor Media. (2013). TED Talk: Ending Gender by Scott Turner Schofield. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWubtUnSfA0