Every one of these gorgeously written books will explode your brain and the stories will transport you, even as they grapple with binaries, traditional roles, narrow expectations, breaking free, who we are…. and who we long to be. Sex, gender, identity, sexuality…as much as anything, this reading list is about being human. Enjoy.
Fiction and Poetry
- Jam on the Vine by LaShonda Katrice Barnett
- Lawnboy by Paul Lisicky
- Memory Mambo: A Novel by Achy Obejas
- Crazy Horse’s Girlfriend by Erika Wurth
- Walker on Water by Kristiina Ehin
- The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
- Crush by Richard Siken
- Wifey by Judy Blume
- My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki
Memoir, Anthology, Non-Fiction, and Essays
- The Women by Hilton Als
- The Bitch in the House edited by Cathi Hanauer
- Meaty: Essays by Samantha Irby
- Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity by Julia Serano
- Butch Queens Up in Pumps: Gender, Performance, and Ballroom Culture in Detroit by Marlon M. Bailey
- Talk Dirty to Me by Sallie Tisdale
- The History of Sexuality, Vol. 2: The Use of Pleasure by Michel Foucault
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Original logo art by Esme Blegvad.