Intent is Everything

queerbookclub:

Here’s the second of two lists aimed at promoting more diverse queer lit - the first, of 2012 qpoc books, is here. It should be said that there’s no way this list is exhaustive, or even close. If I was unsure about a book’s contents (that is, if I was unsure if the trans content/characters were prominent, or if I thought the book might be exploitative), I tended to give weight to who the author is (that is, I was more likely to include books I know were written by trans people). Of course, I’ll be happy to add books to the list if you have any suggestions that fit the theme! Here’s what I found, arranged by genre:

poetry
Seasonal Velocities: poems, stories and essays by Ryka Aoki
Dialectic of the Flesh by Roz Kaveney

nonfiction/memoir
A Queer and Pleasant Danger: The True Story of a Nice Jewish Boy Who Joins the Church of Scientology and Leaves Twelve Years Later to Become the Lovely Lady She is Today by Kate Bornstein
Real Man Adventures by T Cooper
Bumbling Into Body Hair by Everett Maroon
Transition: Becoming Who I Was Always Meant to Be by Chaz Bono
Rise of the Videogame Zinesters: How Freaks, Normals, Amateurs, Artists, Dreamers, Drop-outs, Queers, Housewives, and People Like You Are Taking Back an Art Form by Anna Anthropy
Cooking In Heels: A Memoir Cookbook by Ceyenne Doroshow
Transposes by Dylan Edwards
No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics edited by Justin Hall
Why Are Faggots So Afraid of Faggots?: Flaming Challenges to Masculinity, Objectification, and the Desire to Conform edited by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
Transitions of the Heart: Stories of Love, Struggle and Acceptance by Mothers of Transgender and Gender Variant Children edited by Rachel Pepper
Against Equality: Prisons Will Not Protect You edited by Ryan Conrad

fiction
Heidegger Stairwell by Kayt Burgess
Roving Pack by Sassafras Lowrey
First Spring Grass Fire by Rae Spoon
The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard edited by Tom Léger and Riley MacLeod

science fiction & fantasy
The Drowning Girl by Caitlín R. Kiernan
The Spark by Susan Jane Bigelow
Beyond Binary: Genderqueer and Sexually Fluid Speculative Fiction edited by Brit Mandelo

young adult
Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills
Being Emily by Rachel Gold
One in Every Crowd by Ivan E. Coyote
Happy Families by Tanita S. Davis

children’s/picture books
When Leonard Lost His Spots: A Trans Parent Tale by Monique Costa and Marina Shupik
The Adventures of Tulip, Birthday Wish Fairy by S. Bear Bergman and Suzy Malik
Backward Day by S. Bear Bergman and KD Diamond

Many thanks to Giovanni’s Room, Malinda Lo, the GLBTRT of the ALA, this trans women in fiction wiki and many goodreads users for providing the resources that made compiling this list feasible!