On Transgender Day of Visibility, we celebrate and recognize the contributions of transgender people to our society. Their stories are as unique and nuanced as their lived experiences. While there is an abundance of books that amplify trans voices, these four captivating and powerful reads for all ages highlight the transgender journey and its challenges. We encourage you to explore these stories, today and every day!
I Hate Parties by Jes Battis (Harbour Publishing)
I Hate Parties is a heartfelt poetry collection pulling readers into a world of missed connections, social disasters and life as a queer party that constantly surprises. Author Jes Battis chronicles middle-grade queerness, a kind of meandering surreality and neurodivergence. From difficult desires, panic attacks, and environmental sensitivities, Battis weaves nineties metaphors with current discussions of neurodiversity and trans rights in Canada as they ruminate between past and present. An important and accessible introduction to translife that should be on your TBR list immediately.
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The Berry Takes the Shape of the Bloom by andrea bennett (Talonbooks)
The Berry Takes the Shape of the Bloom is a moving collection of poems about trans parenthood. These poems capture the fluidity of moments in time: sometimes what surfaces is anxiety or anger, sometimes love or eagerness. Some poems bear witness; others hold grudges or shake free of them. Together, author andrea bennett masterfully spotlights enmeshed experiences of gender, family, trans pregnancy, abuse, fear, and becoming.
“The poems pulse with urgency arising from the tension between the line and the life to which it bears witness, between thought and experience.” —Winnipeg Free Press
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Baby Drag Queen by C.A. Tanaka (Orca Book Publishers)
Written by queer, transmasculine and multiracial author C.A. Tanaka, Baby Drag Queen infuses the lived experiences of identity, self-discovery, and resilience with a bold, unapologetic narrative for teen readers. Seventeen-year-old Ichiro is working as a dishwasher to earn money to help his mother out. But it’s not enough. He takes a second job performing drag at a local club after he learns of an upcoming contest offering prize money that would be enough to buy a camper van for him and his mom to live off the grid. But when some of his friends find out about his new evening job, Ichiro worries if they will still accept him.
“Offers an ethnically diverse cast of queer characters navigating identity and emerging adulthood…Dramatic, optimistic, and emotionally engaging.” —Kirkus Reviews
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Transland: Consent, Kink & Pleasure by Mx. Sly (Arsenal Pulp Press)
Transland is a raw memoir that explores a non-binary person’s search for self-worth and belonging within fetish subculture. Author Mx. Sly reflects on their journey from believing fetish communities were a utopia to realizing how even queer spaces can commodify bodies. This eye-opening memoir delves into themes of PTSD, trauma, gender transition, queer relationships, kink and how BDSM helped them understand their gender and transform shame into liberation. From erotic encounters to personal growth, Transland is an exploration of sensuality, strength, and self-reliance that challenges the reader’s expectations of the search for identity.
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