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© GenderTalk 2007

All program and website
contents © GenderTalk &
Gender Education & Media, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Suggested Reading

Compiled by Gordene O. MacKenzie, PhD and Nancy Nangeroni
updated May 2010

Transition & Coming Out Issues
Employment
Health Issues
Relationships
Understanding Gender Diversity

Masculinity
Politics of Transgenderism
Theory and Academic Perspectives
Science of Gender
Crossdressing
Photography

The most comprehensive and up-to-date reading list about transgender issues for children, teens, and their parents can be found at the TYFA Reading List.

Transition and Coming Out issues *

* Recommended for family, friends, co-workers
Howey, Noelle (ed) (2000). "Out of the Ordinary: Essays on Growing Up with Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Parents", Stonewall Inn Editions, New York
Stories provided by these children of gay, lesbian and transgender parents, addressing the difficulties that challenge these children in a society that is not always understanding of differences.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Boenke, Mary ed. (2003). "Transforming Families: Real Stories About Transgendered Loved Ones" (2nd ed.), California: Walter Trook Pub.
Written by parents, siblings, significant others, spouses, grandparents and friends of transgender persons. Captures a broad range of experiences and perspectives; contains a list of resources. A great introduction to trans issues for friends and family members.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Evelyn, Just (1998). "Mom, I Need to Be a Girl," California: Walter Trook Pub.
Written from the perspective of a mother whose daughter comes out to her as a M2F trans person. She cites the difficulties they overcame and how she aided her daughter with her transition. Great for parents dealing with gender questioning or trans-identified children.
The book is out of print, but the entire text is available online (with the author's permission) for viewing here, or to download in pdf format here.
Brown, Mildred & Rounsley, Chloe Ann (l996). "True Selves: Understanding Transsexualism for Family, Friends, Coworkers and Helping Professionals," San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
A comprehensive and widely respected text on transsexualism. Great for gaining in-depth understanding of all the issues involved. 'Must reading' for transsexuals, very helpful for friends and family who have a serious interest.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Stuart, Kim Elizabeth, (1991). "The Uninvited Dilemma," Beaverton, OR: Metamorphous Press.
One of the first good books on the personal experience of transsexualism, and, although somewhat dated, still one of the best available. This book can be very helpful for interested friends and family members, as well as transpersons themselves.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)

Employment issues

Walworth, Janis, (1998) "Transsexual Workers: An Employer's Guide" Center for Gender Sanity.
An invaluable reference for employers, managers, human resources personnel, and others, about how to handle a transsexual employee's transition from one sex to the other.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Walworth, Janis, (1998) "Working with a Transsexual: A Guide for Coworkerse" Center for Gender Sanity.
A companion to Transsexual Workers: An Employer's Guide. Written specifically for a transsexual's coworkers. Contains much of the same information as the employer's guide, but here this information is imbedded in the story of a transsexual woman who decides to transition on her job.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Weiss, Jillian, (2007) "Transgender Workplace Diversity: Policy Tools, Training Issues and Communication Strategies for HR and Legal Professionals. " BookSurge Publishing
"Targeted to the needs of employers who are facing transgender issues and want an accessible resource for creating transgender-friendly policies, training management and co-workers, and providing effective communications with clients and customers working with transgender employees. It provides organizational leaders with a roadmap and detailed explanations."
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)

Health Issues

R. Nick Gorton, MD; Jamie Buth, MD & Dean Spade, Esq, (2005). "Medical Therapy and Health Maintenance for Transgender Men: A Guide For Health Care Providers," online: Gnu OSL/copylefted.
Attempts to provide the knowledge necessary to care for transmen before, during, and after transition. Well-written and comprehensive.
Available online for free at Nick Gorton's website

Relationships

Boyd, Helen, (2007). "She's Not the Man I Married", Seal Press, New York
Helen Boyd's husband, who had long been open about being transgender, was considering living as a woman fulltime. What it would mean if her husband actually were to become a woman socially, legally, and medically?
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Boyd, Helen, (2004). "My Husband Betty: Love, Sex, and Life with a Crossdresser," Thunder's Mouth Press.
Smart, insightful, feminist-informed look at male crossdressing by a compassionate wife. A must-read for couples with crossdressing husbands.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Howey, Noelle, (2003). "Dress Codes: Of 3 Girlhoods: My Mother's, My Father's, and Mine", Picador, New York
The daughter of a male-to-female transsexual writes about her perspective on the transition experience with insightful candor.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Feinberg, Leslie, (l993). "Stone Butch Blues," New York: Firebrand Books.
A beautifully written coming-out piece, written as fiction "so I could tell the truth", according to the author. Details an F2M's personal and political struggle for meaning in a transphobic world. Also deals with feminist and gay and lesbian liberation. Although written as fiction, this story rings true.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Scholinski, Daphne (1998) "The Last Time I Wore a Dress A Memoir," Penguin.
A young woman tells the tale of her repeated incarceration by her parents because her gender was not what they thought it ought to be. A shocking tale of intelligence in the face of weighty oppression.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)

Understanding Gender Diversity

Bornstein, Kate (1996). "Gender Outlaw: On men, Women, and the Rest of Us," New York: Routledge.
Transactivist Kate Bornstein asks the question: what is a man and what is a woman?
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Bornstein, Kate (1998). "My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely," New York: Routledge.
Transactivist Kate Bornstein returns us to the question of what is a man and what is a woman, this time with tests throughout the book to test our gender awareness.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Burke, Phyllis, (1996). "Gender Shock: Exploding the Myths of Male and Female," New York, Doubleday.
Documents the misuse of "Gender Identity Disorder" diagnosis to mistreat and inappropriately institutionalize gender non-conforming children.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)

Masculinity

Jensen, Robert (2007) "Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity," South End Press
A vital and brilliant treatise on modern masculinity and the effect of pervasive pornographic portrayals on men and manhood.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)

Politics of Transgenderism

MacKenzie, Gordene, (l994). "Transgender Nation," Ohio: Popular Press.
Critiques the medicalization and popular representations of trans persons, and the early trans liberation movement from a socio-political perspective. Proclaims it is not the trans person who is ill and in need of treatment, but rather the culture.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Feinberg, Leslie (l998). "Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink and Blue," Boston: Beacon Press.
A call to action for those interested in creating social justice. Feinberg points out similarities between GLB struggles and those of trans persons, particularly around issues of silence and shame. S/he passionately calls for building coalitions across oppressions.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)

Theory and Academic Perspectives

Stryker, Susan (2008) "Transgender History," Seal Press.
A chronological presentation of transgender history in the United States, from a strong feminist perspective, with emphasis on West Coast activity.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Serano, Julia (2007) "Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity," Seal Press.
Serano shares her experiences and observations -- both pre- and post-transition -- to reveal the ways in which fear, suspicion, and dismissiveness toward femininity shape our societal attitudes toward trans women, as well as gender and sexuality as a whole.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
More, Kate & Whittle Stephen eds. (2000) "Reclaiming Genders: Transsexual Grammars at the Fin de Siecle," Washington: Cassell Pub.
Transgender theory explored by a group of international trans scholars and activists. Thought-provoking essays exploring trans experience from an interdisciplinary perspective. A great text for transgender studies courses at the university level.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Wilchins, Riki Anne, (l997). "Read My Lips: Sexual Subversion and the End of Gender," New York: Firebrand Books.
Written by the transactivist founder of GenderPac. This book heightens awareness as to how we are all oppressed by a dual gender system, challenging our traditional ideas about gender.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Ekins, Richard (l997). "Male Femaling: A Grounded theory Approach to Cross-Dressing and Sex-Changing," New York: Routledge.
A social psychologist from the UK develops a theory of cross-dressing and takes a closer look at the meanings of sex and gender.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Bullough, Vern L. and Bullough, Bonnie (1993) "Cross Dressing, Sex and Gender," University of Pennsylvania Press.
A hitorical view of crossdressing, covering a wide range of cultures and periods. Provides a thorough historical perspective of the practice, including medical, biological, psychological, and sociological findings presented in modern scientific literature.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)

Science of Gender

Roughgarden, Joan (2004). "Evolution's Rainbow : Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People," University of California Press
Reexamines comfortable assumptions about gender identity and reevaluates Darwin's theory of sexual selection. A highly-regarded book by a world-class population biologist.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Colapinto, John (2000) "As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised a Girl," Harper Collins.
Exposes a famous medical gender reassignment case as a complete failure, and a well-documented misrepresentation of the malleability of an individual's gender.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Bagemihl, Bruce (1999). "Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity," New York: St. Martin's.
A revealing examination of sexual diversity among wildlife that conclusively refutes the "it isn't natural" argument.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)

Crossdressing

Anders, Charles, (2002). "The Lazy Crossdresser," California: Greenery Press
Crossdressing made easier, a witty common-sense guide that contains lots of practical tips.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Vera, Veronica, (1997). "Miss Vera's Finishing School for Boy's Who Want to be Girls," New York: Doubleday.
Actual experiences from the dean of the world's first "cross-dressing academy." Explores cross-dressing from a very different "treatment" perspective, designed to explore the whole person.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)

Photography

Allen, Mariette Pathy (2003). "The Gender Frontier," Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany
A compassionate, broad photographic overview of the transgender community and transgender activist efforts. Winner of the 2004 Lambda Literary Award in the transgender/genderqueer category.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Cameron, Loren (1996). "Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits," San Francisco: Cleis Press.
Visual presentation of female-to-male trans bodies that challenge our traditional notions of what a man is.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)
Pathy Allen, Mariette, (1991). "Transformations: Crossdressers and Those Who Love Them," New York: Routledge.
This out-of-print photography book provides compellingly sympathetic images of crossdressers with their loved ones.
Buy at Amazon.com (supports GenderTalk)