On Wednesday, the President overturned an Obama-era directive that gave transgender students the right to use the bathroom of their choice, to participate in school sports, access to single-sex facilities like lockers rooms, and more. Apparently, “making America great again” means undercutting the rights of the most vulnerable members of our society. It’s a move motivated by fear and ignorance, and one that must be fought through understanding.
What follows is a list of seventeen writers who illuminate issues of gender and sexuality and who make our world larger through their powerful stories and writing. This list is, of course, incomplete. Please add your favorite trans writers in the comments. We also hope you’ll consider sharing this list, and the books on it, with your friends and family.
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I’m Looking Through You: Growing Up Haunted: A Memoir
The Dream of Doctor Bantam
Hold Me Gorilla Monsoon
Some Assembly Required: The Not-So-Secret Life of a Transgender Teen
The Masker by Torrey Peters
The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard (Lambda Literary Award: Transgender)
A Safe Girl to Love
Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws
Nevada
Man Alive: A True Story of Violence, Forgiveness and Becoming a Man (City Lights/Sister Spit)
All the Birds in the Sky
Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue
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Other trans writers you should be reading:
Katherine Cross has written for Bitch Media and Feministing. Cross describes herself as a sociologist, feminist, political writer, and trans Morticia Addams.
Sarah Nyberg has done a lot of work around online harassment and even made a Twitter bot that tricks trolls into arguments.
Gabby Bellot is a staff writer for Lit Hub and has written amazing work all over the Internet.
Alok Vaid-Menon is a nonbinary transfeminine writer and entertainer.
Meredith Talusan writes on minority and transgender issues for BuzzFeed and many other fantastic publications.
