IGW-V3-2p2

A Survey of Transgender Literature
by
John Charles

The following books were chosen to represent the many more that are available with a few things in mind. The intention was to fairly represent both transgendered men and women, and to include fiction and non-fiction, cross-dressing and non cross-dressing, entertainment and informational literature. Roughly speaking, fiction listings represent the first half, nonfiction the second, but a closer look at the book descriptions is advised, since the divisions were loosely made. One of the books is geared towards children. The titles come from Barnes and Noble’s website and are but a small sampling of what’s available for the interested reader. For a more comprehensive listing, it is suggested that one logs on to the Barnes and Noble, or Amazon websites.

Featured Title


Last Time I Wore a Dress: A Memoir by Daphne Scholinski, Jane M. Adams, Jane Meredith Adams Paperback, 224pp ISBN: 1573226963 Riverhead Trade, 1998	At fifteen years old, Daphne Scholinski was committed to a mental institution and awarded the dubious diagnosis of "Gender Identity Disorder." She spent three years—and over a million dollars of insurance—"treating" the problem...with makeup lessons and instructions in how to walk like a girl. Daphne's story—which is, sadly, not that unusual—has already received attention from such shows as 20/20, Dateline, Today, and Leeza. But her memoir, bound to become a classic, tells the story in a funny, ironic, unforgettable voice that "isn't all grim; Scholinski tells her story in beautifully evocative prose and mines her experiences for every last drop of ironic humor, determined to have the last laugh." —Time Out, New York
Trumpet by Jackie Kay Paperback, 278pp ISBN: 0375704639 Knopf Publishing Group, 2000	"Supremely humane.... Kay leaves us with a broad landscape of sweet tolerance and familial love." —The New York Times Book Review In her starkly beautiful and wholly unexpected tale, Jackie Kay delves into the most intimate workings of the human heart and mind and offers a triumphant tale of loving deception and lasting devotion. The death of legendary jazz trumpeter Joss Moody exposes an extraordinary secret, one that enrages his adopted son, Colman, leading him to collude with a tabloid journalist. Besieged by the press, his widow Millie flees to a remote Scottish village, where she seeks solace in memories of their marriage. The reminiscences of those who knew Joss Moody render a moving portrait of a shared life founded on an intricate lie, one that preserved a rare, unconditional love. SYNOPSIS Gender and imagination converge in this exciting new literary novel. Imagine your father dies. Terrible. Now imagine that when he dies, you learn that he is not a he but a she. Trumpet, by award-winning poet and dramatist Jackie Kay, is based loosely on the life of jazz great Billy Tipton -- and it's a shocking, smart, and brilliant story of gender identity and the strength of love.
The Extra Man by Jonathan Ames Paperback, 366 ISBN: 0671015583 Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, 1999	Louis Ives, the narrator of The Extra Man, fancies himself a young gentleman fashioned after his heroes in the books of F. Scott Fitzgerald. He dresses the part - favoring neckties, blue blazers, and sport coats. But he also has a penchant for women's clothing, a weakness that causes him to lose his job as a teacher at a Princeton day school after a bizarre incident involving a colleague's brassiere. Thrust out of Princeton, he heads to New York where he rents a cheap room in the madly discombobulated apartment of Henry Harrison, a failed but brilliant playwright who dances alone to Ethel Merman records, sneaks into Broadway shows, and performs with great style the duties of a walker - an escort for the rich widows of the Upper East Side. The two men, separated in age by more than forty years, develop a relationship that is irascible mentor and eager apprentice, and they form a bond the depths of which neither expected. But Louis, when he's not with Henry, has fascinations that lead him to an unusual community on the fringes of the sex world of Times Square. He develops a secret life there, which he fears will be his undoing and which he must keep hidden from Henry at all costs. SYNOPSIS Young Louis Ives, recently fired from his teaching position for cross-dressing, moves to New York City on a whim and finds himself rooming with a flamboyant, eccentric playwright. Ames's hilarious novel follows the pair to art openings, where they pig out on free food, and transvestite bars, where Louis's obsessions are rekindled.
Boys like Her: Transfictions Foreword by Kate Bornstein, by Ivan Coyote, Zoe Eakle, Lyndell Montgomery Paperback, 224pp Product Details: ISBN: 0889740860 Press Gang Publishers, 1998	Choosing which public bathroom to use—men's or women's—seems a simple thing most of us do everyday without thinking. That decision raises complex issues, however, for a diverse and growing group of people. "Transgender is the term that has come to refer to all those who blur or bridge the boundary of gender expression they were assigned at birth: cross-dressers, transsexuals, intersex people, Two Spirits, masculine females, feminine males, drag kings, and drag queens." Feinberg (Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to RuPaul, LJ 7/96) identifies as a "masculine, lesbian, female-to-male cross-dresser and transgenderist." During the spring of 1997, Feinberg spoke around the country to such groups as the Texas "T" (Transgender) Party in Richardson, TX, where she addressed 350 heterosexual cross-dressed men and their spouses. She stresses the need for coalitions in the trans-liberation movement. Interspersed among adaptations of those powerful talks are short self-portraits of a wide variety of transgender activists. "Taste This" was formed in 1995 by a group of four writers and performers (Anna Camilleri, Ivan Elizabeth Coyote, Zoe Eakle, and Lyndell Montgomery), who alone or in various combinations tell stories, play music, sing, and "sort of" dance. Their first book is based on material originally written for performance, here transformed into evocative narrative fiction. In her brief foreword, Kate Bornstein refers to these stories as scary and forbidden, told with "great dignity, great gentleness, grace, and gallantry." The handsomely designed volume is illustrated with 75 images of the group on the road and at home. Both titles raise consciousness about different ways of being in the world, and each speaks eloquently to the need for civil rights for all of us. —Jim Van Buskirk, San Francisco P.L.
Danish Girl by David Ebershoff Paperback, 288pp ISBN: 0140298487 Penguin, 2001	It starts with a question, a simple favor asked of a husband by his wife on an afternoon chilled by the Baltic wind while both are painting in their studio. Her portrait model has canceled, and would he mind slipping into women's shoes and stockings for a few moments so that she can finish the painting on time? "Of course," he answers, "Anything at all." With that, one of the most passionate and unusual love stories of the twentieth century begins." "Inspired by the true story of Danish painter Einar Wegener and his California-born wife; this tender portrait of a marriage asks: What do you do when someone you love wants to change? Einar dresses more and more as Lili - the name given to her by Greta - and what started off as a game becomes a way of life for Greta and Einar. With Lili as her muse, Greta's paintings begin to flourish. A French art dealer spots her work and the couple moves to Paris for the sake of Greta's career. In the permissive air of Paris between the wars, Lili is liberated and increasingly becomes Greta's companion on public outings. As Einar fades into memory they realize that a choice must be made: Lili or Einar. Greta finds a surgeon-psychologist at the Dresden Municipal Women's Clinic, and Einar travels to Germany to become, once and for all, Lili Elbe.
Sirena Selena by Mayra Santos-Febres, Stephen Lytle (Translator) Hardcover, 224pp ISBN: 0312252277 Picador, 2000	One evening while drugged out of his mind and picking over garbage in the backstreets of San Juan, a fifteen-year-old homeless boy is singing boleros in a mesmerizing voice that transfixes anyone who listens. Hearing the silken melodies coming from the alley behind her nightclub, drag queen Martha Divine is convinced that the boy's uncanny beauty and irresistible voice will be her ticket to fame and fortune. And so is born the legendary performer known as Sirena Selena." "Brought by Martha to audition for one of the luxury hotels in the Dominican Republic, Selena casts his/her spell over Hugo Graubel, one of the hotel's rich investors. Graubel is a powerful man in the Republic, married with children, but hiding his true sexual nature. Sirena, determined to escape the poverty and abuse s/he suffered as a child, engages Graubel in a long seduction in this mordant, intensely lyrical tragicomedy. Boston Globe The erotically charged language that fuels the narrative voice is a feat, a wonder, and Santos-Febres uses it to read, in the curves and hollows of the human body, the torment, joy and plain old mess it is to be alive." —(Ernesto Mestre, author of The Lazarus Rumba)
Transvestite Memoirs And the Story of the Marquise-Marquis de Banneville by Abbe de Choisy Paperback, 142pp ISBN: 0720609151 Owen, Peter Limited, 1997	These authentic memoirs constitute a remarkable document in the history of transvestism, and provide a first-hand account of manners and morals in late seventeenth-century French society. In a light, intimate style praised by Sainte-Beuve, Choisy recounts his scandalous and entertaining escapades as a transvestite. Reared as a girl by his ambitious mother, the young Choisy dressed in girls' clothes, wore earrings and patches, and was admired by 'Monsieur', Louis XIV's homosexual transvestite brother. As the abbot of Saint Seine, Choisy continued to delight in extravagantly feminine attire and in the seduction of young girls, often with the unsuspecting assistance of their parents. Also included in this volume is the charming transvestite story of the Marquis-Marquise de Banneville, thought to have been written by Choisy in collaboration with Charles Perrault.
Breakfast on Pluto by Patrick McCabe Hardcover, 199pp ISBN: 0060193409 HarperCollins Publishers, 1998	Patrick McCabe creates Mr. Patrick "Pussy" Braden, the enduringly and endearingly hopeful hero(ine) whose gutty survival and yearning quest for love resonate in and drive the glimmering, agonizing narrative in which the Troubles are a distant and immediate echo and refrain. As Breakfast on Pluto opens, her ladyship, resplendent in housecoat and head scarf, reclines in Kilburn, London, writing her story for the elusive psychiatrist Dr. Terence, paring her fingernails as she reawakens the truth behind her life and the chaos of long-ago days in a city filled with hatred. Twenty years ago, she escaped her hometown of Tyreelin, Ireland, fleeing her foster mother, Whiskers - prodigious Guinness-guzzler, human chimney - and her mad household (endless doorstep babas!), to begin a new life in London. There, in blousey tops and satin miniskirts, she plies her trade, often risking life and limb among the flotsam and jetsam who fill the bars of Piccadilly Circus ("You want love? That what you want, orphaned boy without a home? Then die for it! Die! Die, sweet Irish!). But suave businessmen and lonely old women are not the only dangers that threaten Pussy's existence. It is the 1970s, and fear haunts the streets of London and Belfast as the critical mass of history builds up, and Pussy is inevitably drawn into a maelstrom of violence and tragedy destined to blow his fragile soul asunder. SYNOPSIS Patrick McCabe blew critics and readers away with his novel The Butcher Boy, the story of Francie Brady, a working-class boy in Northern Ireland whose life becomes a violent storm. That novel won the 1992 Irish Times-Aer Lingus Award and was nominated for Britain's Booker Prize. McCabe has returned to Northern Ireland with his new novel Breakfast on Pluto, which in its own zany way is an Irish Breakfast at Tiffany's, with a goodly dose of "The Crying Game" thrown in. Starring Patrick "Pussy" Braden, a woman in a man's body who knows how to make magic in the squalid world around her, Breakfast on Pluto is a literary event. McCabe is truly coming into his own, and this new book is wild and wonderful.
Dear Sir or Madam?: The Autobiography of a Female-to-Male Transsexual by Mark Nicholas Rees Hardcover, 288pp ISBN: 030433393X Continuum International Publishing Group, 1997	Her perplexed parents saw their daughter as a very awkward adolescent. Brenda Rees hated being 'awkward', and hated even more her female role and body. No one seemed to understand that 'she' was really a 'he'. Young Brenda saw no hope of relieving this conflict; her apparently unique condition condemned her to isolation, verbal abuse and misunderstanding. She spent five useless months in a psychiatric hospital. But at the age of twenty-seven, Brenda discovered the existence of transsexualism. She was not alone, and it appeared that help was at hand. Dear Sir or Madam tells of Brenda's struggle through adolescence and into adulthood - her search for understanding, the long and tortuous process of becoming Mark, his legal battles and his media exposure. In becoming himself, Mark was enabled to live a richer and fuller life than he could ever have done as Brenda. The book is an account of how it is possible for a known transsexual to be accepted by society. In 1994 Mark was elected as a Borough Councillor by the people amongst whom he has lived all his life.
Handsome Heroines: Women as Men in Folklore by Shahrukh Husain Paperback, 288pp ISBN: 0385484054 Doubleday & Company, Incorporated, 1996	Handsome Heroines is a dashing collection of stories based on classic folktales from around the world with one thing in common: all of the protagonists are women who masquerade as men. They dress like men for various reasons - to save king, country, kin, and their own lives or to get revenge, love, and power. Sometimes they just do it for fun. After receiving recognition for their achievements as men, they reveal their true gender, shattering the myth of the helpless female and thereby transforming their status as women forever. Publisher's Weekly Intrigued since girlhood by the tale "of a blacksmith's daughter who married a reckless young king, then dressed herself as a man to rescue him from a wicked princess" Shahrukh Husain, a practicing psychotherapist, spent years searching for more such stories in folk and fairytale collections and from storytellers. Handsome Heroines: Women as Men in Folklore is the culmination of her quest. She says that in these stories, "women who dressed as men therefore expressed a valid female fantasybreaking away from the bondage of gender. For a woman, putting away her female garb was as much about putting away the persona that came with it."
M Butterfly by David Henry Hwang Paperback, 112pp ISBN: 0452262305 Penguin Group (USA), 1989	Based on a true story that stunned the world, M. Butterfly opens in the cramped prison cell where diplomat Rene Gallimard is being held captive by the French government - and by his own illusions. In the darkness of his cell he recalls a time when desire seemed to give him wings. A time when Song Liling, the beautiful Chinese diva, touched him with a love as vivid, as seductive - and as elusive - as a butterfly. How could he have known, then, that his ideal woman was, in fact, a spy for the Chinese government - and a man disguised as a woman? In a series of flashbacks, the diplomat relives the twenty-year affair from the temptation to the seduction, from its consummation to the scandal that ultimately consumed them both. But in the end, there remains only one truth: Whether or not Gallimard's passion was a flight of fancy, it sparked the most vigorous emotions of his life. Only in real life could love become so unreal. And only in such a dramatic tour de force do we learn how a fantasy can become a man's mistress - as well as his jailer. M. Butterfly is one of the most compelling, explosive, and slyly humorous dramas ever to light the Broadway stage, a work of unrivaled brilliance, illuminating the conflict between men and women, the differences between East and West, racial stereotypes - and the shadows we cast around our most cherished illusions.
Orlando's Sleep: An Autobiography of Gender by Jennifer Spry Paperback, 200pp ISBN: 0934678804 New Victoria Publishers, 1997	An inspiring story of courage and perseverance toward the hardest goal of all - self-acceptance. As a child Spry cherished the moments when he was left alone at home so he could dress up in his mother's clothes. In adolescence he tried to prove his manhood by competitive sailing and heavy drinking. When even marriage and fatherhood failed to make a man of him, John began the long journey towards recognition of herself as Jennifer, a woman and a lesbian.
Mom, I Need to Be a Girl by Evelyn D. Lindenmuth, Andrew Oswald (Illustrator) Paperback, 128pp ISBN: 0966327209 Walter Trook Publishing, 1998	CUSTOMER REVIEWS Keely, A reviewer, July 22, 2002, All about Daniell's Mother If you're looking for a book related to the subject of transsexuality, there are many out there. But if you're looking for one of human essence and a mother's love, one that will shed a few tears, this is it. There's very little information in this book in terms of scientific, medical or legal issues regarding transsexualism. It is a story about a family that sooner or later supported the new lifestyle of one transsexual woman. Her big brother, David's letter will make you smile and weep. What's more to say? This one is about 'love', and not about hormones, brain, nature vs. nurture, sex reassignment surgery, etc. Tatiana, October 18, 2001, Best autobiography ever read This is a great book to read evn though I've only read it online, but nothing is compared like reading it from the book. I recommend it personally for any parents who have their kids come up and tell them how they feel about their gender. Don't ever take for granted what your child tells you. Here you'll find what you need to learn. Being a transsexual myself made me understand what my parents are feeling right now...I wish they knew english well so that they could read the book and have the knowledge and comprehension what most ts go through and their emotions. Natalie, A reviewer, November 28, 2000, A Must for Transgendered People & Their Families As a transgendered person myself, I found this book to be compelling reading and an accurate portrayal of life as a trangendered teenager. The author is the mother of a trangendered girl and is a biographical account of her and her new daughter's (Danielle's) experiences with correcting Danielle's gender. If your child has let you know that they feel they are the wrong gender, then READ THIS FIRST.
Trans Forming Families: Real Stories about Transgendered Loved Ones by Mary Boenke Paperback, 160pp ISBN: 0966327217 Trook, Walter Publishing, 1999	CUSTOMER REVIEWS Philip, a gay married man with two kids., December 21, 1999, Inspirational and Informative I am a non-transgendered person interested in learning all I can about transgendered folks. I was hoping this book would help me understand the emotional side of the issues faced by transgenders and this book did not let me down, in fact, I often found myself crying because of something a spouse or child or parent or sibling had to say about their transgendered loved one. Inspiring! And there is a wonderful resource list in the back of the book.
Queen of Hearts: A Transsexual Romance Brad Clayton, Deni Carno (Editor) Product Details: ISBN: 0966590007 Format: Paperback, 200pp Pub. Date: May 1999 Publisher: E R Publications	Even before meeting Brad Clayton, I had fallen in love with a dog-eared copy of a part of his manuscript. It was his practice to give copies of his work in progress to friends, who usually claimed it was stolen or lost rather than give it up. Eventually a number of copies were in circulation among the Los Angeles underground, each a little different than the other, signs of his ceaseless revision and alteration. When I finally was able to trace him through a mutual friend, he was not interested in allowing us to publish it. He claimed he had spent the last five years working on a major new work and besides, he was not satisfied with the manuscript. After relentlessly hounding him and his realization that boot-leg copies were beginning to appear, he agreed to do a final editing and allow us to publish The Queen of Hearts. The editing took another three long years, but finally we have the definitive copy of what I believe is a breakthrough book into the world of transsexuality, as well as a wonderful love story and poetic novel. SYNOPSIS The story of Jack and The Queen of Hearts, a straight businessman and an outrageously beautiful and intelligent transexxual prostitute. How the meet, how they live, and how they love...A novel that boldly speaks the truth, tells no lies and makes no apologies...a romance of two people from different worlds realizing desire in each others arms. A Psychological profile of a transsexual love affair written with the sexual directness of Henry Miller, the intimacy of a Frank Harris confessional, with the passion of Rimbaud and Verlaine.
I Am My Own Woman: The Outlaw Life of Charlotte Von Mahlsdorf, Berlin's Most Distinguished Transvestite Charlotte Von Mahlsdorf, Jean Hollander (Translator) Hardcover, 224pp ISBN: 1573440116 Cleis Press, 1995	Hailed by Der Spiegel as speaking to "the fate of a whole generation of German homosexuals," I Am My Own Woman is the exquisitely written autobiography of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, whose lifelong pursuits of sexual liberty and antique furniture offer a unique perspective on European history. During World War II, von Mahlsdorf murdered his father, dubbed himself Charlotte (after his cross-dressing lesbian aunt's lover) and has lived openly as a transvestite since. Dressed in high-heeled sandals and a good suit, Charlotte has collected furnishings from the Grunderzeit for half a century: in the Third Reich, she "rescued" pieces from Jewish deportees; in the German Democratic Republic, she protected "bourgeois cultural assets" from the Stasi. Now well past sixty, a quietly passionate, steadfast and serene figure, Charlotte shuns makeup, wearing the simplest frocks. The Grunderzeit Museum - which Charlotte and her friends have defended against assault from skinheads - has become a symbol for the German lesbian and gay community.
She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan ISBN: 0767914295 Paperback, 320pp Broadway Books, 2004	She's Not There is the story of a person changing genders, the story of a person bearing and finally revealing a complex secret; above all, it is a love story. Jennifer Finney Boylan explores the remarkable territory that lies between men and women, examines changing friendships, and rejoices in the redeeming power of family. She's Not There is a portrait of a loving marriage - the love of James for his wife, Grace, and, against all odds, the enduring love of Grace for the woman who becomes her "sister," Jenny. She's Not There explores the dramatic outward changes and unexpected results of life as a woman: Jenny fights the urge to eat salad, while James consumed plates of ribs; gone is the stability of "one damn mood, all the damn time." While Boylan's own secret was unusual, to say the least, she captures the universal sense of feeling uncomfortable, out of sorts with the world, and misunderstood by her peers. Jenny is supported on her journey by her best friend, novelist Richard Russo, who goes from begging his friend to "Be a man" (in every sense of the word) to accepting her as an attractive, buoyant woman. "The most unexpected thing," Russo writes in his Afterword to the book, "is how in Jenny's story we recognize our shared humanity." As James evolves into Jennifer in scenes that are by turns tender, startling, and witty, a marvelously human perspective emerges on issues of love, sex, and the fascinating relationship between our physical and our intuitive selves. Through the clear eyes of a truly remarkable woman, She's Not There provides a new window on the often confounding process of accepting ourselves.
True Selves: Understanding Transsexualism--For Families, Friends, Coworkers, and Helping Professionals by Mildred L. Brown, Chloe Ann Rounsley Paperback, 288pp ISBN: 0787967025 Wiley, John & Sons, 2003	Filled with wisdom and understanding, True Selves paints a vivid portrait of the conflicts transsexuals face on a daily basis — the courage they must summon as they struggle to reveal their true being to themselves and others. This classic resource offers valuable guidance for friends, families, coworkers, and professionals who are struggling to understand these people and their situations. Using real life stories, actual letters, and other compelling examples, True Selves gives a clear understanding of what it means to be transsexual and offers practical suggestions for dealing compassionately with these commonly misunderstood individuals.
Transmen and Ftms: Identities, Bodies, Genders, and Sexualities by Jason Cromwell Paperback, 201pp ISBN: 0252068254 University of Illinois Press, 1999	Writing as an insider and an anthropologist, Jason Cromwell presents the first in-depth examination of what it means to be a female-bodied transperson. Through extensive participant observation and open-ended interviews, Transmen and FTMs allows female-to-male transsexuals to speak for themselves and reveal aspects of female gender diversity that do not fit into the ready-made categories of male and female. In clarifying how transmen and FTMs define and validate their lives, as opposed to how society attempts to pigeonhole and belittle them, Cromwell shows how female-to-male transpeople have been made virtually invisible by male-dominated discourses. He considers cross-cultural data on female gender diversity, historical evidence of female-bodied people who have lived as men, and contemporary transmen and FTMs. He also addresses how FTMs and transmen are working to challenge the mental illness model of transness as well as other misconceptions. Transmen and FTMs seeks to reframe the dialogue about gender identity and move away from regarding fixed gender categories as normative. By redefining gender diversity from a manifestation of pathology to a human condition, Transmen and FTMs promotes a fuller understanding of these individuals as persons in their own right.
Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us by Kate Bornstein Paperback, 272pp ISBN: 0679757015 Vintage Books, 1995	Kate Bornstein has been through some changes--a former heterosexual male, one-time Scientologist and IBM salesperson, now a lesbian woman writer and actress. In this work, she covers everything readers want to know about gender (but are too confused to ask) and takes a witty, incisive look at the radical new politics of sexuality and gender. Also includes Bornstein's play, Hidden: A Gender. Part coming-of-age story, part mind-altering manifesto on gender and sexuality, coming directly to you from the life experiences of a transsexual woman, Gender Outlaw breaks all the rules and leaves the reader forever changed.26 black-and-white illustrations. Library Journal Bornstein considers herself a gender outlaw because she breaks the laws of nature. A former heterosexual male and now a lesbian woman, Bay Area Reporter writer, and actor who has appeared on talk shows, she has completed the transsexual process, including surgery. As she considers her workplace the theater, about a third of this autobiographical work is devoted to queer theater, including her play, Hidden: A Gender. The black-and-white photos were not seen but are apparently a significant part of this informative and humorous book.
My Husband Wears My Clothes: Crossdressing from the Perspective of a Wife by Peggy J. Rudd Paperback, 148pp ISBN: 096267625X PM Publishers, Inc., 2003	My Husband Wears My Clothes is the first book to be written by the wife of a crossdresser. Dr. Rudd addresses many of the questions frequently asked by the spouses, families, and friends of crossdressers and candidly explores therelated emotions that range from frustration to elation. Dr. Rudd is a helping professional who reaches out empathetically to all crossdressers and their families. Through her example as the wife of a crossdresser, counselor, and lecturer, she demonstrates that total acceptance is both possible and rewarding. SYNOPSIS My Husband Wears My Clothes is the first book to be written by the wife of a crossdresser. "Clothes don't make the man" has a new meaning. Dr. Rudd addresses many of the questions frequently asked by the spouses, partners, friends, and family members of men who cross gender lines and candidly explores the emotions that range from frustration to elation. This book has been read by hundreds of thousands of crossdressers, the significant people in their lives and helping professionals worldwide and has been featured on numerous television, radio and newspaper shows and articles.
Crossdressing With Dignity: The Case For Transcending Gender Lines by Peggy J. Rudd Paperback, 188pp ISBN: 0962676268 PM Publishers, Inc., 2003	The Scottish man wears a kilt, but is society ready for men who openly express femininity? Can men transcend gender lines and maintain their sense of self-worth and dignity? These are the questions that were asked in a survey of over 800 crossdressers worldwide used as the basis of this book. From an early age boys are taught to follow stereotypes of maleness. When a desire to express femininity exerts a greater force than the desire to live up to the appropriate image for masculinity, conflict may develop. This provocative book addresses these emotions and conflicts and provides solutions. SYNOPSIS The Scottish man wears a kilt, but is society ready for men who openly express femininity? Can men transcend gender lines and maintain their sense of self-worth and dignity? These are the questions that were asked in a survey of over 800 crossdressers worldwide used as the basis of this book. From an early age boys are taught to follow stereotypes of maleness. When a desire to express femininity exerts a greater force than the desire to live up to the appropriate image for masculinity, conflict may develop. This provocative book addresses these emotions and conflicts and provides solutions.
Becoming a Visible Man by Jamison Green Paperback, 264pp ISBN: 082651457X Vanderbilt University Press, 2004	SYNOPSIS A California transsexual activist offers insights into the challenges of gender dysphoria. Born with a female body, and in a lesbian parent relationship prior to sex reassignment surgery, Jamieson begins his frank personal and analytic account by asking how we know our sex. He discusses the complexities of the answer for those whose sex and gender are mismatched; medical options; psychosocial and legal implications; and media representations of "transpeople." A sociologist introduces Jamieson's identity quest as a core human struggle. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR Library Journal A leading advocate for transsexuality and the author of the "Visible Man" column on the web (www.planetout.com/people/columns/ green), Green argues that the transsexuality movement is a struggle for fundamental human rights. The author is a female-to-male transsexual who deploys his autobiography to illustrate political points about gender and sex diversity. He asserts that transsexuals seek to balance their gender identity (an abiding sense of oneself as a man or woman) with their physical bodies. Like recent literature on the history of the body, this text differentiates biological sex, gender, and sexual orientation. Green's call for tolerance is important, but he fails to answer the concerns of sympathetic gender theorists. For example, Green asserts illogically that gender identity is both a naturally occurring "essence" and a mutable social construction. And despite Green's repeated denials, his arguments inadvertently reify sexual stereotypes. The result is less scholarly than Joanne Meyerowitz's How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States yet less scandalous than Edward Ball's Peninsula of Lies: A True Story of Mysterious Birth and Taboo Love. Recommended with reservation for public libraries and undergraduate libraries. Katherine C. Adams, Bowdoin Coll. Lib., Brunswick, ME Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Finding the Real Me: True Tales of Sex and Gender Diversity by Tracie O'Keefe, Katrina Fox (Editor) Paperback, 293pp ISBN: 0787965472 Wiley, John & Sons, 2003	Finding the Real Me is an extraordinary collection of real-life stories told by a wide-range of sex and gender diverse people. These healing tales of struggle and transformation reveal just how creative, resourceful, and adventurous the individuals in this community can be and also helps to bridge the gap between ignorance and understanding. As each incredible story unfolds we become part of the author's journey to self-acceptance and join the celebration of their new life. Page by page, we laugh, cry, and learn to appreciate these wonderful courageous people and the road they walked to be their true selves. Finding the Real Me is a landmark book that encourages us to embrace diversity, to never fear our differences, and to remain always in awe of our amazing possibilities.
The Transition of Sinful Sadie by Dann Hazel Paperback: 380 pages, $19.95 Writers Club Press, 2002 ISBN 0-595-21170-4	A riveting exploration of fanaticism and terrorism. Dann Hazel’s riveting psychological thriller explodes with passion and conflict as three people “in transition” struggle—with each other, with a culture that misunderstands them, and with themselves—to find comfort in a world in which they do not belong. Paul Lyles (a.k.a. Sadie Bedenbaugh), a male-to-female transsexual, fights desperately to remain in a deteriorating relationship—and his upcoming surgery certainly won’t help. Wally Bedenbaugh, a closeted gay televangelist, finds himself on a collision course with his faith, his spouse and a domestic terrorist. And Duncan Trace, a religious extremist losing touch with reality, follows a murderous path as he plots the destruction of a media empire. Southern dis-Comfort and shenanigans galore... This novel poses an interesting and painful question for gay men. If you had a lover for eight years and then he wanted to become a "she" would you be willing to give up your gay self-identity and continue in what would then be a heterosexual relationship? Okay, what if you were the head of a phenomenally successful televangelist empire and had millions of followers who adored both you as the minister and your "wife" who was really a man—would you then want to risk losing it all if you broke up with "her"? The Transition of Sinful Sadie has to be one of the most unique, absorbing, and entertaining novels I have read in a long time. It has all the intrigue of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's ruined empire, the trappings of a mystery-suspense thriller, a whole rafter full of interesting and twisted characters, as well as a heart as deep as the South. How all the elements play out as this masterful writer weaves his tale is certainly not predictable, and you find yourself rooting for the darndest people. Every time you begin a new segment of the story or start a new chapter, you'll do so with one eye shut, one eye wide open, afraid to look and afraid not to. Almost any one of the characters could hold center stage in the title. Each one is finely drawn with his/her own unique traits. Even the villain is at times a sympathetic character. Well worth the read and deserves great recognition as a truly unique work of fiction. —Ronald L. Donaghe, author of The Salvation Mongers.

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