Trans & Nonbinary 101
Arm Yourself for the Current Culture War!
Recently, a friend asked for reading recommendations for a better understanding of trans and nonbinary people. I was happy to oblige, but I figured I’d share with the rest of the class.
[UPDATE: check out “Trans & Nonbinary 201” for more!]
Foundational Texts
These are considered the founding documents of the contemporary trans movement. Terms and concepts may be outdated, but these readings are important in understanding the current foundation of the trans movement, especially in the United States.
“The ‘Empire’ Strikes Back: A Posttranssexual Manifesto,” Fourth Revision by Sandy Stone, originally published in 1987
“Transgender Liberation: A Movement Whose Time Has Come” by Leslie Feinberg, originally published in 1992
Stone Butch Blues, 20th Anniversary Author Edition by Leslie Feinberg (NOTE: Fiction but Semi-autobiographical), originally published in 1993
Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, Second Edition by Judith Butler (WARNING: Hardcore Philosophy Book), originally published in 1990
Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity, Third Edition by Julia Serano, originally published in 2007
Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution, Second Edition by Susan Stryker, originally published in 2008
Intersectional Feminism
People of color often suffer the most from transphobia, even if they are not trans or queer. This is because of the colonial and White supremacist nature of the White European gender binary and its policing. As such, it’s essential to understand the oppression and history of people of color to combat racism and transphobia because the two are forever linked. It also teaches us how fractured, fluid, and nonscientific things like womanhood, gender, and femininity have been throughout history.
Women, Race & Class by Angela Davis (1981)
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde (1984)
Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center by bell hooks (1984)
Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment by Patricia Hill Collins (1990)
“Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color” by Kimberlé Crenshaw (1991)
Intersectional Transfeminism
Combining the last two sections, here is a selection of recommended readings for understanding the racist and colonial history of transphobia and the gender binary and how it still affects people of color and trans folk today.
decolonizing trans/gender 101 by b. binaohan (2014)
Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex, eds. Eric A. Stanley & Nat Smith (2015)
Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley Snorton (2017)
Queer and Trans Migrations: Dynamics of Illegalization, Detention, and Deportation, eds. Eithne Luibheid & Karma R. Chavez (2020)
Black Trans Feminism by Marquis Bey (2022)
Modern Transgender Literature
Political science, theory, and history are fun, but what about good stories well told about/by trans and nonbinary people? Well here is a selection of fifteen contemporary books about/by trans and nonbinary folk! It’s a nice combination of different trans people of differing identities in different genres. Try not to limit yourself! These are personal recommendations on my part, so it’s more fiction than anything. But if you want more recommendations, check out the Lambda Literary Awards for Transgender Nonfiction, Fiction, and Poetry; follow any of these authors on social media (they usually share recommendations or spotlight other queer/trans works); and look up trans* anthologies! There are so many books by trans people that I can never list all of them.
Format: Title by Author (Year) [Genre] {Gender of Author(s)}1
Nevada by Imogen Binnie (2013) [Novel] {Trans woman}
The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard, eds. Tom Léger & Riley MacLeod (2013) [Short Story Collection] {Various}
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock (2014) [Memior] {Trans woman}
Small Beauty by jia qing wilson-yang (2016) [Novel] {Trans woman}
Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us, Revised Edition by Kate Bornstein (2016) [Memior] {Nonbinary/transfem}
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon (2017) [Sci-fi] {Intersex/nonbinary}
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi (2018) [Novel] {Nonbinary/ọgbanje}
Little Fish by Casey Plett (2018) [Novel] {Trans woman}
Lo Tericario/The Tertiary by Raquel Salas Rivera (2018) [Poetry] {Nonbinary/transmasc}
Hull by Xan Phillips (2019) [Poetry] {Trans man}
Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) by Hazel Jane Plante (2019) [Novel] {Trans woman}
The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar (2020) [Novel] {Nonbinary/transmasc}
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters (2021) [Novel] {Trans woman}
Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki (2021) [Sci-fi] {Trans woman}
Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke (2021) [Novel] {Trans man}
I tried my best to use the identities the writers themselves use or have been referred to in press releases and publications (interviews, bios, articles, profiles, etc.). As such, while certain authors can fall under multiple categories, I prioritized self-ID. Also, I apologize in advance if any of these are out-of-date, I tried my best to be as accurate as possible at the time of writing.