A few months ago, I was asked to do consulting for a National Geographic Producer and Director. They wanted to do a full documentary on trans life, and were inspired by Becoming Chaz. What did I do? Got them to trans people asap to learn from trans people themselves. I provided the NatGeo P/D with an overview on language and slang, connected them with and facilitated introductions to a number of trans activists and communities (and diverse trans people living different kinds of lives), and told them that before they started they should read a few books.
The doc had its funding pulled, and sadly, NatGeo decided to do a TV take on non-mainstream sexualities. Which they treated like a disrespectful freakshow, and brought in anti-masturbation, Christian sex-negative pundits (profiteers). These were *not* the people I consulted for.
To round out my recommended reading list for NatGeo, I asked my Twitter peeps for recs – I am lucky to have a lot of trans connections in my personal life, and on Twitter. Many people asked if I’d publish the responses in the form of a list. These books are important – the only one I haven’t read is The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You by S. Bear Bergman, and I’ve got that in my Kindle queue right now. These are in alphabetical order by title:
- Best Transgender Erotica edited by Hanne Blank and Raven Kaldera
- Gendered Hearts by Morty Diamond
- The Gender Frontier by Mariette Pathy Allen
- Gender Outlaws by Kate Bornstien
- Gender Trouble by Judith Butler
- My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely by Kate Bornstein
- The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You by S. Bear Bergman
- True Selves by Mildred Brown
- Whipping Girl by Julia Serano
Sorry, I feel like this is a big enough “duh” that I need to correct it – I’m going to order the book recommended (Best Transgender Erotica), of course, but am looking for something online that we can share before the book arrives.
On a similar topic… Violet, could you or one of your brilliant readers recommend some especially hot male cross-dressing erotica? I have a new partner who has recently discussed an interest in dressing up, and I’m want to play along. I thought it would be hot to share some erotica, and trust your recommendations!
I’ve read a fair share of trans man memoirs, and Matt Kailey’s “Just Add Hormones” really sticks out in my mind as memorable and highly readable, just really straightforward and good. Jamison Green could be a little technical/dry at times, Max Wolfe Valerio didn’t come across as a highly sympathetic author (to me, at least), Aaron Raz Link’s book co-authored with his mom is uniquely lyrical and sort of dreamy but also lacks structure, and Dhillon Khosla’s revolves heavily around his own experiences without much commentary on trans issues as a whole.
I can’t wait to read both Chaz’s and S. Bear Bergman’s books, though- I didn’t know about the latter!
She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan
Love the blog