Showing titles in LGBTQ+ Studies

Across the world today, people of all ages are doing fascinating, creative, messy things with gender. These people have a rich history—but one that is often left behind by narratives of trans lives that focus on people with stable, binary, uncomplicated gender identities. As a result, these stories tend to be recent, binary, stereotyped, medicalised and white. Before We Were Trans is a new and different story of gender.

In None of the Above: Reflections on Life Beyond the Binary, Travis Alabanza considers seven phrases people have directed at them throughout their life. These phrases—some deceptively innocuous, some deliberately loaded or violent, some celebratory—have fundamentally shaped Alabanza, both for better and for worse.

While the fight over gay marriage has been bitterly contested and debated for much of the 21st century, it’s still somewhat difficult to believe that just 50 years ago, homosexual activity was illegal in nearly every state in America. Homosexuals faced discrimination that surpassed that of even African-Americans or suspected Communists, and their lifestyles were so taboo that they were typically considered to be a security risk because it would be so easy for someone who wished to harm the country to blackmail them.

Hidden in the margins of history books, classical literature, and thousands of years of stories, myths and legends, through to contemporary literature, TV and film, there is a diverse and other-worldly super community of queer heroes to discover, learn from, and celebrate. Queer Heroes of Myth & Legend brings to life characters who are romantic, brave, mysterious, and always fantastical. It is a magnificent celebration of queerness through the ages in all its legendary glory.

Buried for decades, the Up Stairs Lounge tragedy has only recently emerged as a catalyzing event of the gay liberation movement. In revelatory detail, Robert W. Fieseler chronicles the tragic event that claimed the lives of 31 men and one woman on June 24, 1973, at a New Orleans bar, the largest mass murder of gays until 2016. Relying on unprecedented access to survivors and archives, Fieseler creates an indelible portrait of a closeted, blue-collar gay world that flourished before an arsonist ignited an inferno that destroyed an entire community.

For Jennifer Boylan, creaking stairs, fleeting images in the mirror, and the remote whisper of human voices were everyday events in the Pennsylvania house in which she grew up in the 1970s. But these weren't the only specters beneath the roof of the mansion known as the "Coffin House".

Josie O'Conner travels to San Francisco in 1951 to locate her gay brother, a private dick investigating a blackmail ring targeting lesbians and gay men. Jimmy's friends claim that just before he disappeared he became a rat, informing the cops on the bar community. Josie adopts Jimmy's trousers and wingtips, battling to clear his name, halt the blackmailers, and exact justice for the many queer corpses.

Abortion touches all of our lives. While statistically nearly everyone knows someone who will receive an abortion in their lifetime, limiting narratives flatten our understanding and assumptions around abortion, while stigma and criminalization stifle discussion. What we lack are the language and tools to provide care and support to all of the members of our communities who receive abortions, before, during, and after them.

Siete pronti a intraprendere un viaggio di profonda scoperta di voi stessi e di guarigione all'interno della comunità LGBTQ+? Scritto da Callie Parker, che ha affrontato queste stesse sfide, questo libro vi offre una guida passo dopo passo per comprendere profondamente voi stessi senza conformarvi alle norme sociali.

The book discusses male-to-female and female-to-male transitions and the hormonal and surgical options that many of them will undertake. It also goes into the risks associated with the various treatment options and for this reason is also a good resource for family members who have been asked to provide emotional support.

Would you believe that 86 percent of LGBT people - from the proud marcher at the Pride Parade to the quiet, closeted teen - spent their childhood in church? More than half of them left those religious communities as adults; three out of four would be happy to come back. For decades now, we have found ourselves caught up in a culture war: us versus them. Good news: There is no them. Our culture war has been a civil war: us versus us. And there is a path toward meaningful peace.

Few issues are as controversial in the church today as the questions and debate surrounding the LGBTQ community. Pastor Fran Leeman and his church avoided all the controversy for decades and then were suddenly thrust into it. Fran boldly chose to invite his leaders and congregation into an intentional process of learning and conversation with no idea where the journey would lead.

From one of the world's foremost intersex activists, a candid, provocative, and eye-opening memoir of gender identity, self-acceptance, and love. My name is Hida Viloria. I was raised as a girl but discovered at a young age that my body looked different. Having endured an often turbulent home life as a kid, there were many times when I felt scared and alone, especially given my attraction to girls. But unlike most people in the first world who are born intersex - I grew up in the body I was born with because my parents did not have my sex characteristics surgically altered at birth.

Este libro nace por la necesidad de relatar una realidad que emergió como discusión pública. Busca visibilizar en qué consiste "transitar", algo que viven diariamente las personas trans en nuestro país. Estos relatos buscan dar a conocer, acompañar y ser parte de las historias de quienes luchan por ser reconocidos por sus identidades, para que se entienda que este tránsito es un proceso personal e independiente, no exento de sentimientos de rechazo, soledad, dolor, penas y alegrías. Una experiencia vital que trasciende cualquier condición etaria, social y cultural.

On January 31, 2011, Zach Wahls addressed the Iowa House Judiciary Committee in a public forum regarding civil unions. The 19-year-old son of a same-sex couple, Wahls proudly proclaimed, "The sexual orientation of my parents has had zero effect on the content of my character." Hours later, his speech was posted on YouTube, where it went viral, quickly receiving more than two million views. By the end of the week, everyone knew his name and wanted to hear more from the boy with two moms.

After author Harlyn Aizley gave birth to her daughter, she watched in unanticipated horror as her partner scooped up the baby and said, "I'm your new mommy!" While they both had worked to find the perfect sperm donor, Aizley had spent nine months carrying the baby and hours in labor, so how could her partner claim to be their child's mommy? Many diapers later, Aizley began to appreciate the complexity of her partner's new role as the other mother. Together, they searched for stories about families like their own.

Gore Vidal: Sexually Speaking presents the author’s often provocative and always engaging thoughts on sexuality. Here, fourteen essays and three rare, vintage interviews published over the past four decades tackle hot-button topics such as gay American founding fathers, sex and the Catholic church, gay bashing and the U.S. Congress, and bedding Jack Kerouac.

This confessional self-help guide explores the complex emotional truth of what it’s like when food, weight, and body image take priority over every other human impulse or action. Activist author Marissa LaRocca’s revelatory tale includes her struggle with her secrets, including sexuality, and how she emerged as an outspoken advocate for gay rights and women’s health issues.

"Transcending Love: A Guide for Families in Accepting a Transsexual Member" is a transformative guide that explores the complexities of transgender identity within the familial context. Authored by a seasoned psychologist and advocate for transgender rights, this book serves as a beacon of hope for families navigating the uncharted waters of supporting their transsexual loved ones.

Although acceptance of difference is on the rise in America, it's the rare gay or lesbian person who has not been demeaned because of his or her sexual orientation, and this experience usually starts at home, among family members. Whether they are excluded from family love and approval, expected to accept second-class status for life, ignored by mainstream arts and entertainment, or abandoned when intervention would make all the difference, gay people are routinely subjected to forms of psychological and physical abuse unknown to many.