LGBTQIA2S+: Recommended Books

An iconic writer's lapidary memoir of a life spent pursuing a dream of artistic truth while evading the truth of her own gender identity, until, finally, she turned to face who she really was. Sante's memoir braids together two threads of personal narrative: the arc of her life, and her recent step-by-step transition to a place of inner and outer alignment.

Readers will be educated and enlightened about gender-expansive people who have made a difference in our history and who continue to help raise awareness of diversity and inclusion in current society.

He/She/They clearly and compassionately addresses fundamental topics, from why being transgender is not a choice and why pronouns are important, to more complex issues including how gender-affirming healthcare can be lifesaving and why allowing trans youth to play sports is good for all kids. With a relatable narrative rooted in facts, science, and history, Schuyler helps restore common sense and humanity to a discussion that continues to be divisively coopted and deceptively politicized.

An essential anthology of leading academics, activists, and artists on the state of queer studies today.

As graphic artist Rhea Ewing neared college graduation in 2012, they became consumed by the question: What is gender? This obsession sparked a quest in which they eagerly approached both friends and strangers in their quiet Midwest town for interviews to turn into comics. A decade later, this project exploded into a sweeping portrait of the intricacies of gender expression with interviewees from all over the country.

This book is for everyone. Because we can all be allies. As an ally, you use your power--no matter how big or small--to support others. You learn, and try, and mess up, and try harder.

This reference helps readers navigate the perilous odyssey those of an LGBTQ orientation had to face in an age less enlightened than our own, when an attraction to members of the same gender could lead to horrendous abuse.

Breaking down misconceptions and providing definitions, this much-needed guide is for anyone wanting to fully understand non-binary and genderqueer identities.

Professor and gender diversity advocate Lee Airton, PhD, explains how gender works in everyday life; how to use accurate terminology to refer to transgender, non-binary, and/or gender non-conforming individuals; and how to ask when you aren't sure what to do or say.

If you've ever questioned the logic of basing an entire identity around what you have between your legs, it's time to embark on a daring escape outside of the binary box.

A captivating memoir that will change the way we look at identity and equality in this country. Before she became the first transgender person to speak at a national political convention in 2016 at the age of twenty-six, Sarah McBride struggled with the decision to come out--not just to her family but to the students of American University, where she was serving as student body president.

This book provides a crucial resource for readers who are investigating trans issues. It takes a diverse and historic approach, focusing on more than one idea or one experience of trans identity or trans history.

Transgender Cinema gives readers the big picture of how trans people have been depicted on screen.

What is the difference between sex and gender? What is the impact of gender-role stereotypes on our lives, our relationships and the world? What does gender mean to you? The Psychology of Gender looks at our biology, history and culture to consider the impact of gender roles and stereotypes, and addresses the 'dilemmas' we have regarding gender in a post-modern world.

Born intersex - a term that describes people who are born with a variety of physical characteristics that do not fit neatly into traditional conceptions about male and female bodies - Rosie's parents were pressured to consent to normalizing surgery on Rosie, without being offered any alternatives despite their concerns. Part memoir, part guidebook, this powerful book tells the authors' experience of refusing to have Rosie operated on and how they raised a child who is intersex.

The Remarkable Rise of Transgender Rights explains the growth of the transgender rights movement despite its marginalized status within the current political opportunity structure.

Travers takes the reader inside the day-to-day realities of trans kids who regularly experience crisis as a result of the restrictive ways in which sex categories regulate their lives and put pressure on them to deny their internal sense of who they are in gendered terms.

This twenty-first century activists' guide to upending mainstream ideas about race, class, and gender carves out a path to collective liberation through the Black radical tradition.

LGBTQ Social Movements provides an accessible introduction to mainstream LGBTQ movements in the US, illustrating the many forms that LGBTQ activism has taken since the mid-twentieth century. Covering a range of topics, including the Stonewall uprising and gay liberation, AIDS politics, queer activism, marriage equality fights, youth action, and bisexual and transgender justice, Lisa M. Stulberg explores how marginalized people and communities have used a wide range of political and cultural tools to demand and create change.

A collection of letters written by successful trans women sharing the lessons they've learned on their journeys to womanhood, celebrating their achievements, and empowering the next generation to become who they really are.

In the last decade, public discussions of transgender issues have increased exponentially. However, with this increased visibility has come not just power, but regulation, both in favor of and against trans people. Jack Halberstam explores these recent shifts in the meaning of the gendered body and representation, and explores the possibilities of a nongendered, gender-optional, or gender-queer future.

Stein draws from dozens of interviews with transgender people and their friends and families, as well as with activists and medical and psychological experts. Unbound documents the varied ways younger trans men see themselves, and how they are changing our understanding of what it means to be male and female in America.

Transgender individuals face unique challenges when it comes to their physical, psychological, and social health and well-being. This accessible reference investigates these concerns in depth, offering readers insights into topics such as discrimination and access to health care.

Ben Barres was known for his groundbreaking scientific work and for his groundbreaking advocacy for gender equality in science. In this book, completed shortly before his death from pancreatic cancer in December 2017, Barres (born in 1954) describes a life full of remarkable accomplishments―from his childhood as a precocious math and science whiz to his experiences as a female student at MIT in the 1970s to his female-to-male transition in his forties, to his scientific work and role as teacher and mentor at Stanford.

A gritty and gorgeous debut that follows a cast of gay and transgender club kids navigating the Harlem ball scene of the 80s and 90s, inspired by the real House of Xtravaganza made famous by the seminal documentary "Paris is Burning."

An unvarnished accounting of one man's struggle toward sexual and emotional maturity.

Queer people have always found ways to exist and be together, and there will always be a need for queer spaces. In this lavishly illustrated volume, Adam Nathaniel Furman and Joshua Mardell have gathered together a community of contributors to share stories of spaces that range from the educational to the institutional to the re-appropriated, and many more besides.

The 1980s was a period of political and social tumult in Britain and the United States. Facing resurgent conservative forces, feminist and queer activists organized in ways that not only resisted conservative hegemony but also helped to forge new communities, communications, and futures. Resist, Organize, Build casts new light on grassroots campaigns in Britain and the US, looking at feminist and queer work on university campuses, within anti-racist and anti-imperialist movements, in reframing the family, reproduction, and health, and in the establishment of new magazines, book series, and publishing houses.

This book explores a range of issues across the sexual identity and gender diversity spectrum, including issues such as coming out and disclosure, being an ally to LGBTQIA+ people, and addressing the human rights of the LGBTQIA+ members of our community.

Violent Differences is the first book of its kind to focus specifically on queer male survivors and to devote particular attention to Black queer men.

This easy-to-read guide offers information and advice to anyone wanting to understand more about trans experiences. It explains what gender identity is and arms you with the correct terminology to use. Filled with real-life examples and FAQs, it offers helpful strategies to navigate respectful conversations, speak up against transphobia and create inclusive relationships and spaces.

Combining rich archival research with inventive analysis of art and literature, Love's Next Meeting explores the relationship between homosexuality and the Left in American culture between 1920 and 1960.

A visionary, moving and one-of-a-kind anthology of writing on what it means to be trans today and every day.

A collection of essays that demonstrate how LGBT people played critical roles in local, state, and national politics.

Our gender identity is impacted by our personal histories; the cultures, communities and countries we are born into; and the places we go and the people we meet. Pushing the narrative around non-binary identities further than ever before, this powerful collection of essays represents the breadth of non-binary lives, across the boundaries of race, class, age, sexuality, faith and more.

The Savvy Ally: A Guide for Becoming a Skilled LGBTQ+ Advocate is an enjoyable, humorous, encouraging, easy to understand guidebook for being an ally to the LGBTQ+ communities.

This book examines the transgender community's struggle for equality over the last decade, comparing the Obama and Trump administrations' stance on transgender rights policies.

This is both a personal book that offers an account of the author’s own trans* identity and a deeply engaged study of trans* collegians that reveals the complexities of trans* identities, and how these students navigate the trans* oppression present throughout society and their institutions, create community and resilience, and establish meaning and control in a world that assumes binary genders.

This important and accessible book about the evolving treatment of LGBTQ athletes in organized sports should be required reading for anyone involved in the playing, coaching, and administration of organized sports.

On September 3, 1971, Michael McConnell and Jack Baker exchanged vows in the first legal same-sex wedding in the United States. Their remarkable story is told here for the first time--a unique account of the passion and energy of the gay liberation movement in the sixties and seventies.