Unlearning Gender Reading List
Recently a friend reached out to ask me for resources- her client is a cisgender therapist who made it clear they wanted a way to understand trans identities. My friend wanted to know if I recommend any specific books, videos, or websites.
I’m terrible at self-promotion, so I failed to mention my QUEER BOOK BLOG. Instead I culled a top four 101 Reading List from my bookshelf. I have many books about transness and queerness, and I selected these four books with the context of the audience being a curious cisgender person, rather than someone already more versed in various concepts of gender or queerness. I stand by them. If you know anyone who is looking for a first step to unlearning the insidious ways prescriptive gender oppresses everyone, these are a fine start:
Gender Outlaw, On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us by Kate Bornstein.
This is a book originally published in 1995 and recently revised. The blurbs inside the front cover claim it is “the first book of gender theory written by a transgendered (sic) person.” Kate Bornstein is a kind of pioneer, and her sense of humor keeps the book from reading like a book of theory.
2. Queer Theory Now, From Foundations to Futures by Hannah McCann and Whitney Monaghan
This, on the other hand IS plainly a book of theory, albeit a very approachable one. (recommendations for unapproachable ones are also available LOL). After years of many discussions with my peers about wanting to do things differently in almost every category from business to personal relations, this is the book that taught me the wheel was already made and its name was QUEER. What a relief. This book traces the genealogy of queer theory with the intent to fuel discussions about what the future of queerness will be.
3. First Person Queer, Who we are (so far), A collection of personal essays edited by Richard Labonte’ and Lawrence Schimel
Make some new friends: first-person accounts are the easiest way to hear marginalized voices without needing to know a person in that group. There are a lot of these types of anthologies available. Reach out if you want to know about others.
4. Life Isn’t Binary, On Being Both, Beyond, and In-Between by Meg-John Barker and Alex Intaffi
The non-binary lens of transness sits on the foundation of toil offered by generations of binary trans people. For so long, and to a certain extent, still, “passing” as one of two genders was essential to baseline survival because passing allows trans people to “fly under the radar” of people who to this day, still love to discriminate against (best case) and murder (worst case) people who cannot or will not abide the rules of prescriptive gender. Being non-binary is an embodiment that throws this caution to the wind by eschewing prescriptive gender altogether. This book reveals how the binary thinking at the root of gender issues shows up in other societal constructs to maintain a powerful status quo. Enjoy!
