A project five years in the making, Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource for the Transgender Community, edited by New York City psychiatrist Dr. Laura Erickson-Schroth, is the result of an unprecedented collaboration between scores of transgender and gender-queer authors. It seeks to become the foundational text of the transgender rights movement much as Our Bodies, Ourselves did for the feminist movement when it was released over 40 years ago.
“One of the most important things about this book is that it is written by and for trans people,” Erickson-Schroth told The Huffington Post. “But that is what makes it so valuable to nontrans people too – it is a view into trans life that is not edited for another audience. Friends and relatives can learn about identity categories and coming out, parents can read about kids, health professionals can find up-to-date preventive and transitional care information, and partners can find tips on relationships – all written by the experts – trans people themselves.”
Part manifesto, part survival guide, the exhaustively researched 600-page tome covers everything including health, legal issues, cultural and social questions, history, gender theory, disabilities and deaf culture, immigration, aging, developing healthy sexual relationships, and much more. All this information is presented in an easy to understand and fun-to-read format that promotes a world view that supports human rights for all people.
The book has received spectacular reviews and is a must-read for those who are transgender, those who are pursuing a dating relationship with a transgender person, and anyone looking to gain a greater understanding of the oftentimes complex and confusing world of gender nonconformity.
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