I hope this topic hasn't been done before many times. :P
i'm looking for some new reading material, so maybe this will give me some ideas, hah.
what are your favourite trans themed books, and do you have any specific reasons why?
Phallus Palace is one of the most popular FTM books around. It's a great read!
The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula Le Guin, and Middlesex, by Geoffrey Eugenides, are both (in their very different ways) more intersex-themed but well worth reading as explorations of fluid gender.
Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher (http://blog.jericanation.com/2011/02/almost-perfect.html)
It might not be the easiest book to find, but Venus Plus X is a science fiction novel by Theodore Sturgeon that explores a modern man's adjustment to life in a future society called "Ledom" where Humanity is a species with only one gender. I usually reccommend this to anyone who asks for a work of fiction that seriously explores the politics of gender and/or sexuality.
As for nonfiction, As Nature Made Him: the Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl by John Colapinto examines the life of two twin boys, one of whom was surgically reassigned as female at birth because of a circumcision accident. As most people on these forums could expect, the boy's innate internal gender came to express itself and he rejected all attempts to foist a female role onto him. And while the subject of the book is undoubtedly the experience of an FTM (or perhaps an unwilling MTFTM depending on how you look at it), it resonated with me very deeply as someone who considers herself MTF.
Venus Plux X is a great book - even though it's still somehow steeped with the assumptions of its era, it also leaps way ahead of them at the same time.
Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger is a decent read.
I found it interesting when I was younger because I learned from the title that Parrotfish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parrotfish) are sequential hermaphrodites, which means they are born as one sex, but can later change into the alternate sex. :)
Here are some of my favourites:
'Luna' by Julie Ann Peters is a lovely read. A YA (Young Adult) fiction Touching and rich in symbolism.
'Transparent' By Cris Beam.
'Becoming A Visable Man'. Biography by Jamison Green
'Both Sides Now'. Biography by Dhillon Khosla
'The Testosterone Files'. Biography by Max Wolf Valerio
'Sex changes: The Politics of ->-bleeped-<-' By Patrick Califia
'The Phallus Palace' By Dean Kotula is a very good, informative read aswell, as mentioned.
'Parrotfish' I didn't enjoy, found it fairly bland and a bit stereotyping but generally am pleased to see YA fiction addressing FtM visability at all.
I am about to read another YA fiction 'Almost Perfect' by Brian Katcher from the reviews I've read it sounds well written.
Ranma 1/2 (http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/)- The main character is a guy who changes in to a girl every time he gets splashed with cold water, so in a sense apart time F2M and a sometimes M2F and an all the time gender steriotype breaker; mostly after the middle though...
I guess The Bone Doll's Twin by Lynn Flewelling would count. It's a fantasy book about a king who kills all his female relatives, as it is supposed to be a queen on the throne. There are two twins born, a boy and a girl. The daughter has a spell put on her to look like the boy, and the son is killed in her place. He then haunts her throughout her life as she is raised in his place. Eventually she finds out that she is a girl and saves the kingdom, and they all live happily ever after. It's a fairly good book.
Quote from: Padma on March 11, 2011, 03:02:42 AM
The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula Le Guin
Definitely!
There are a number of Heinlein stories to look at.
All You Zombies is a good short story that involves a sex change character. Some people suggest
I Will Fear No Evil, but that is not one of my favorites.
I recommend
Time Enough for Love. There are several gender change characters in it. One is Heinlein's old character Andrew Jackson Libby, the inventor of faster than light travel. He is rejuvenated as Libby Long because the doctor said there was a genetic anomaly and did tests to determine what sex Andrew really should have been. Libby said that she was in a place of light, and someone kept asking, "Do you want to be a boy or a girl?" until she said, "I want to be a girl."
Both Sides Now, by Dhillon Khosla, is a decent book. It's about the author's journey through womanhood, and his transition to male. His story is not the same as everyone else's, (of course....), but the book does focus a lot on being treated differently as female and male, hormones, relationships, work, and surgeries.
"I Will Fear No Evil" by Robert A. Heinlein, haven't read it for many years but remember it as being excellent.
Even better are the two Tahar ben Jelloun books on transgender: "The Sand Child" and "The Sacred Night". Both of which deal with transgender and gender issues in a North African context. If you can read French please read it in the original or even the Italian translation. The English translation is a little stilted and fails to generate the dreamlike atmosphere of the original. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sand_Child (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sand_Child)
Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality
by Sue-Ellen Jacobs ,
It's not transgender themed, but Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami, has a wonderful character who's FTM. He's a librarian described in a way that makes me think he looks like Masafumi Gotoh or Kazuhito Ohba's character in Versus...
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmkimg.bmcdn.jp%2Fcarlife%2Fimages%2FSocietyBBS%2Fbbs_4441155_876A600D8A5BEFBB867AB7772E937FB1s.jpg&hash=b39697d903a3ab64204dea07e8a80bbd932e1e6c)
but he's gay (why, bishonen?)...
Ah well. Murakami did a great job of presenting a character who's not only trans, not only FTM, but also gay (showing a great deal of insight into how diverse we are), and of course wrote the main character, who's a teenager on the run, to be completely confused and not at all understanding, but very sympathetic.
"I don't care what you are. Whatever you are, I like you,"...
"I know I'm a little different from everyone else, but I'm still a regular human being. That's what I'd like you to realize. I'm just a regular person, not some monster. I feel the same things everyone else does, act the same way. Sometimes, though, that small difference feels like an abyss. But I guess there's not much I can do about it."
Beautiful. I know the feeling exactly.
I also recommend 'Luna' by Julie Ann Peters. It's Young (Teenage) Adult fiction set in the view of an MtF TG's younger sister. It sounds off but the book is a very good one. Gives some insight into what it's like for 'everyone else'. :]]
Gah, no one here has mentioned Kate Bornstein?!?! Gender Outlaws is definitely my favourite book that I've read about being trans~It's got a really neat style to it that's part politics, part memoir. I also read a book called The Riddle of Gender: Science Activism and Transgender Rights. That was really interesting, it detailed a lot about the politics and history of the movement, as well as exploring some of the biological factors of being trans.
And I've got my trust textbook-esque LGBT Bible~~~ it's called I Could Not Speak My Heart, it's a collection of essays from the University of Regina about different topics surrounding Lesbian, Gay, Queer, and Trans issues. I found it in the used section of a local bookstore and I almost cried when I read the title, I was working a job where I couldn't come out at the time because my mother worked in the same building.
I Am J was really good. It's a book about a teenage transguy. It's a new book, pretty sure it came out this year. I'd recommend it.
Luna was alright. I did not like Parrotfish.
So much fiction. I should lighten up more. I used to read tons of science fiction, lol I could at least go back to that.
The last trans book I read was The Riddle of Gender. It's kind of a sampler of current scientific (including social science) thought on gender and ->-bleeped-<-. It got a little stilted at times, and was written/compiled by a complete outsider, but I enjoyed it very much.
I think the one I read before that was Transgender Metamorphosis. It was similar, but mostly excerpts from full memoirs.
I read John Money's Man and Woman, Boy and Girl before that. Fascinating and at times infuriating. Interesting, though.
I just got done reading " Becoming Alex" that was pretty detailed and right on what a lot of FTM's go through it was easy to read but it got the point across I liked it.
The Last Time I Wore a Dress: A Memoir by Daphne Schoinski (though I think it's Dylan now).It's about a girl who was put in a mental institution for being an "inappropriate female." In the institutions, they made her wear make-up, tried to teach her to walk like a girl, etc. Interesting read.
Trumpet, by Jackie Kay.
Quote from: Lee on July 26, 2011, 05:54:40 AM
I guess The Bone Doll's Twin by Lynn Flewelling would count. It's a fantasy book about a king who kills all his female relatives, as it is supposed to be a queen on the throne. There are two twins born, a boy and a girl. The daughter has a spell put on her to look like the boy, and the son is killed in her place. He then haunts her throughout her life as she is raised in his place. Eventually she finds out that she is a girl and saves the kingdom, and they all live happily ever after. It's a fairly good book.
One of my very favorite trilogies. I wish flewelling had written more with these characters and continued their story line... I like her nightrunner series, but I liked the tamir trilogy better :/
I have been reading Chaz Bono's book, "Transition: The Story of How I Became A Man," and that has been an interesting read thus far! :)
I want what i want by Geoff Brown was the only fiction I can remember reading,it was made into a film with Anne Heywood playing Roy/Wendy in the early 70s. My story by Caroline (Tula) Cossey was a good non fiction book though I think she was intersex rather than transexual
Whipping Girl by Julia Serano- It's pretty much my bible/manifesto.
Eon and its sequel, Eona. These are fictitious books that you may find in the teen or young adult fantasy section of your bookstore. I loved these books so much that I couldn't put them down once I started reading them. While gender isn't the whole theme of the books, there is a lot to do with gender roles, being transgender, being forced to be someone you're not, forbidden love and more. The author is amazing, too. I picked up the first book on a whim, and had finished it and bought the next one by the next day.
The main character (Eona) is living as a male, despite being female. She's a very strong protagonist, and a wonderful portrayal of women not being weak or incapable. It is by necessity that she is living as male, not by her choice.
Another prominent character in the books is a two spirit woman (Lady Della). The second book, especially has a lot to do with her. She's really a great character, full of depth.
Almost perfect by Brian Katcher
Can I add The House of Sleep by Jonathan Coe?
It's fiction rather than biography, and one of the characters is a very sympathetically drawn mtf transsexual.
It's also riotously abs-stretchingly funny in places, and I definitely recommend it ;)
The original playbook of Hedwig and the Angry Inch by John Cameron Mitchell & Stephen Trask, both for its examination of trangendered themes, (though I maintain Hedwig isn't actually transgendered) and for its brilliant narrative structure.
Wandering Son may be the new standard for TG manga, since it's got more to do with down-to-earth issues rather than the usual body-change or male-in-a-dress slapstick, nor is it a sexually-driven work. In the usual contemporary Japanese way, there's a decent amount of ambiguity in certain characters' identities (especially in the early going).
I am actually surprised that no one has mentioned Refuse by Elliott DeLine. It is my first and only transgender themed book. I am in love with it because I feel like I think very similar to the way that the protagonists think.
Here is a quotation:
"Nowadays, I believe sex only tames us. It is just another activity where we
lose ourselves; where we surrender our individuality for approval. We grow
insecure and needy. We compare ourselves to what we are told is sexy; we
begin to believe our various body parts are too big or too small and we beat
ourselves up over it. We seek in our reflections that which will please others,
not what pleases us. We begin to do everything in order to attract a mate.
Graduate school, business classes, indie rock bands, writing novels: all done
for love- for sex. Marriage is a supposed assurance of it. The very nature of
copulation ensures we act out our petty roles, whether hetero or homo. As far
as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as harmony between two human
beings- especially not physically. Sex is a means to possess one another, like
objects, and my interest in being owned is about as strong as my desire to own
someone else. Far too much concentration involved. Far too much
responsibility."
I've only read Sacred Country by Rose Tremain. Darn book almost outed me when I left it lying around and someone read the blurb. It's a good read though, if slightly depressing, I could be biassed as it's set pretty much where I grew up.
If you like sci-fi, Sad Robot Stories (http://cclapcenter.com/sadrobot/) by Mason Johnson has a very brief trans theme in it at one point, but it was handled so beautifully. It's a free download from CCLaP if you have an e-reader.
For Today I Am a Boy (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0544034724/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0544034724&linkCode=as2&tag=lovelybookshelf-20) by Kim Fu is due out in a couple of weeks (I was fortunate enough to get an advance copy). It's a fictional coming of age story that reads like a memoir. Cliche-free and does a good job making the main character's ->-bleeped-<- a quiet unfolding over the course of his childhood.
Not trans, but if anyone is interested in a novel with an intersex protagonist, Golden Boy (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1476705801/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1476705801&linkCode=as2&tag=lovelybookshelf-20) by Abigail Tarttelin was amazing. Gut-wrenching, incredible, with really complex and multi-dimensional characters (definitely a character-driven novel).
Some books that I have enjoyed:
The Transgender Guidebook by Anne Bodecker
101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens Freaks and Other Outlaws by Kate Bornstein
Transgender Emergence by Arlene Istar Lev
Whipping Girl by Julia Serano
Transitions - A Guide to Transitioning for Transexuals and Their Families by Mara Christine Drummond
She's Not There by Jennifer Finney Boylan
She's Not the Man I Married by Helen Boyd
I've just picked up a copy of "the Danish Girl" by David Erbershoff hopefully I'll get to it sometime this week.
"The New Girl" & "The Ole Switcheroo".
Two Get Along Gang fanfics in a long running series. One introduces a porcupine transchick and the other involves a Halloween party where everyone swaps gender roles.
Beautiful Music for Ugly Children
I Am J
(Sorry, I am unsure of the authors. However I am sure these two have been posted about already on here.)
Thanks everybody, i was just looking for something to read! I'll just have to wait for the first two i've ordered (Man Enough and Beautiful Music for Ugly Children) to arrive!
Sorry no new book to had to the list yet :)
I have to say "Transparent by Cris Beam" was so good to me at least (I can relate to alot of things in that book esp when I was a teen)that I thought right I'm going to buy that....I couldnt find it anywhere in Australia so I had to order it from the USA, took 5 weeks to get here but I'm happy now, it came yesterday! :D
I so love Christine from that book, she gave me alotta inspiration.
F2M: The Boy Within by Hazel Edwards and Ryan Kennedy.
(Ryan's a transman btw ;D)
"Golden Boy" by Abigail Tarttelin
This book is about an intersex teenager.
Very nice written, I haven't finished reading yet but I like it a lot.
Quote from: Kiwi on June 15, 2014, 05:47:23 PM
"Golden Boy" by Abigail Tarttelin
This book is about an intersex teenager.
Very nice written, I haven't finished reading yet but I like it a lot.
I read this one a few months ago. Such a beautiful book.