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Stone Butch Blues, Leslie Feinberg,
1993. (fiction)
This coming-of-age story speaks to the
heart of anyone who grew up a little
different, for whatever reason,
but is especially poignant to those of us
who grappled with gender issues. The
novel chronicles the life of Jess (rhymes
with Les) Goldberg (kinda like Feinberg)
as he comes to terms with who he is,
first as a lesbian, then as a transman,
and beyond. The story follows Jess as
his find himself in the gay bars and
factories of the McCarthy era, when it
was illegal to cross-dress, the Stonewall
era, and later.
Always poignant, this lyrical and
beautifully written novel transcends the
extremes of the sadnesses and joys of
becoming and embracing yourself. A
classic that belongs on the bookshelf of
anyone who's had to fight to be himself.
-- Jay Malone
(Editor's note: Jay is an F2M and
professional writer and editor living in
Northern Virginia. He can be reached at
novatransinfo@yahoo.com.)
| DCATS BOOKSHELF |
As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who
Was Raised as a Girl.
John Colapinto. (Non-fiction)
David Reimer is dead.
This tragic tale of what happens when
mistakes, ego, and personal vendettas
drive medicine predates this terrible
fact. Reimer, the subject of this book,
killed himself last year. Reimer, born
Bruce Reimer, underwent sex
reassignment surgery as an infant after
he was horribly damaged during a
botched circumcision.
On the advice of physicians who
argued that gender is about nurture
and not nature, his parents renamed
him Brenda and unsuccessfully
attempted to raise him as a girl
alongside his twin brother, Brian. As a
teen, though, and after a miserable
childhood, Brenda learned the truth
and opted to return to his birth sex.
This objective and disturbing book is at
its best at the end when the voices of
David and Brian are heard as adults
looking back on the past.
-- Jay Malone
Was Raised as a Girl.
John Colapinto. (Non-fiction)
David Reimer is dead.
This tragic tale of what happens when
mistakes, ego, and personal vendettas
drive medicine predates this terrible
fact. Reimer, the subject of this book,
killed himself last year. Reimer, born
Bruce Reimer, underwent sex
reassignment surgery as an infant after
he was horribly damaged during a
botched circumcision.
On the advice of physicians who
argued that gender is about nurture
and not nature, his parents renamed
him Brenda and unsuccessfully
attempted to raise him as a girl
alongside his twin brother, Brian. As a
teen, though, and after a miserable
childhood, Brenda learned the truth
and opted to return to his birth sex.
This objective and disturbing book is at
its best at the end when the voices of
David and Brian are heard as adults
looking back on the past.
-- Jay Malone
True Selves: Understanding Transexualism - Mildred Brown & Chloe Ann Rounsley ------------------------- Trans Forming Families: Real Stories About Transgendered Loved Ones - Mary Boenke, Editor -------------------------- Boys Like Her: Trans Fictions by Taste This ------------------------ Gender Outlaw - Kate Bornstein ----------------------- My Gender Workbook - Kate Bornstein ------------------------ Stone Butch Blues: A Novel - Leslie Feinberg ------------------------- GenderqUEER: Voices from beyond the Sexual Binary - Edited by Joan Nestle, Clare Howell & Riki Wilchins |
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