Transgender literature
is a collective term used to designate the literary production that addresses, has been written by or portrays people of diverse
gender identity
.
[1]
Transgender literature has grown so rapidly in recent years that it is now the subject of a scholarly work published by a major academic press:
The Routledge Handbook of Trans Literature
.
[2]
History
[
edit
]
Representations in literature of transgender people have existed for millennia, with
Ovid
's
Metamorphoses
(written in the year 8 CE) containing some of the earliest accounts.
[3]
In the twentieth century, it is notable that the novel
Orlando
(1928), by
Virginia Woolf
, is considered one of the first transgender novels in English and whose plot follows a
bisexual
poet who changes gender from male to female and lives for hundreds of years.
[4]
Beyond
Orlando
, the twentieth century saw the appearance of other fiction works with transgender characters that saw commercial success. Among them is
Myra Breckinridge
(1968), a
satirical novel
written by
Gore Vidal
that follows a trans woman hellbent on
world domination
and bringing down
patriarchy
. The book sold more than two million copies after publication, but was panned by critics.
[5]
Many publication that foregrounded transgender individuals and their experience were
memoirs
. Perhaps the earliest example is
Man into Woman
(1933), by
Lili Elbe
. Other acclaimed
memoirs
written by trans people include
Gender Outlaw
(1994), by
Kate Bornstein
;
Man Enough to be a Woman
(1996), by
Jayne County
; and
Redefining Realness
(2014), by
Janet Mock
; among others.
[6]
[7]
Transgender literature emerged as a distinct branch of
LGBTQIA+ literature
in the early twenty-first century, when the number of fiction works focused on trans experience saw a pronounced growth and diversification. This was accompanied by a greater academic and general interest in the area, as well as a process of differentiation from the rest of LGBTQIA+ literature. In recent decades, more books than ever have been written by transgender authors with an intended audience of transgender readers.
[8]
Susan Stryker
’s
Transgender History: The Root’s of Today’s Revolution,
revised edition published 2017, is a guide to the general history of American transgender culture. Both the original and revised editions are short books, but they provide a good overview of transgender history. Stryker covers topics from terminology to social movements. This book can be a good introduction to transgender culture and a guide for those unfamiliar with the LGBTQIA+ community and culture.
[9]
In 2020, Dutch-born
Lucas Rijneveld
, who is
non-binary
, won the
International Booker Prize
with his novel
The Discomfort of Evening
.
[10]
In Spanish
[
edit
]
Among the best known works trans literature in Spanish language are:
Hell Has No Limits
, a novel by Chilean
Jose Donoso
published in 1966 whose protagonist is Manuela, a trans woman who lives with her daughter in a deteriorated town called El Olivo;
[11]
Cobra
(1972), by Cuban writer
Severo Sarduy
, that uses an
experimental narration
to tell the story of a transvestite who wants to transform her body;
[6]
and
Kiss of the Spider Woman
(1976), a novel by
Manuel Puig
in which a young revolutionary called Valentin shares a cell with Molina, who is presented as a gay man but who during their conversations implies that his identity might be of a transgender woman, as its shown in the next passage:
[12]
? Are all homosexuals like that?
? No, there are others that fall in love among themselves. Me and my friends are women. We don't like those little games, those are things homosexuals do. We are normal women that have sex with men.
In recent years, many books in Spanish with transgender protagonists have garnered commercial and critical success. In
Argentina
, one of the most famous examples is
Las malas
(2019), by
Camila Sosa Villada
, which won the prestigious
Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz Prize
.
[13]
The novel, inspired by the youth of the author where she narrates the lives of a group of
transgender prostitutes
working in the city of
Cordoba
, became a critical and commercial sensation, with more than eight editions in Argentina alone and translations to many languages in the first year of publication.
[14]
From recent
Ecuadorian literature
, one example is
Gabriel(a)
(2019), by
Raul Vallejo Corral
, a novel which won the Miguel Donoso Pareja Prize with the story of a transgender woman that falls in love with an executive and faces a discriminatory society in her attempt to become a journalist.
[15]
In children's literature
[
edit
]
According to a 2015
NPR
story, hundreds of books featuring transgender characters have been published since 2000. Although a vast majority of them tend to be targeted to a teenage audience, these publications also consist of picture books for younger children.
[16]
Transgender teenage girl
Jazz Jennings
co-authored a 2014 children's book called
I Am Jazz
about her experience discovering her identity.
[17]
[18]
[19]
Scholastic Books
published Alex Gino's
George
in 2015, about a transgender girl, Melissa, who everyone else knows as George.
[16]
Unable to find books with
transgender
characters to explain her father's
transition
to her children, Australian author Jess Walton created the 2016 children's book
Introducing Teddy
with illustrator Dougal MacPherson to assist children in understanding
gender fluidity
.
[20]
[21]
Additional books listed by
The Horn Book Magazine
include:
- George
(2012) by
Alex Gino
- Red: A Crayon's Story
(2015) by Michael Hall
- The Other Boy
(2016) by M. G. Hennessey
- Lily and Dunkin
(2016) by Donna Gephart
- Alex as Well
(2015) by Alyssa Brugman
- Jess, Chunk, and the Road Trip to Infinity
(2016) by Kristin Elizabeth Clark
- Look Past
(2016) by Eric Devine
- If I Was Your Girl
(2016) by Meredith Russo
- Lizard Radio
(2015) by Pat Schmatz
- Beast
(2016) by Brie Spangler
- The Art of Being Normal
(2016) by Lisa Williamson
[22]
In the past few years, transgender women have been finding publishers for their own picture books written for transgender kids. Some of these books include:
- A Princess of Great Daring
(2015) written by Tobi Hill-Meyer, illustrated by Elenore Toczynski
- Super Power Baby Shower
(2017) written by Tobi Hill-Meyer and Fay Onyx, illustrated by Janine Carrington
- He wants to be a princess
(2019) written and illustrated by Nicky Brookes
- From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea
(2017) written by Kai Cheng Thom, illustrated by Kai Yun Ching & Wai-Yant Li
[23]
- The Girl from the Stars
(2016) written and illustrated by Amy Heart
[24]
- The Sisters from the Stars
(2018) written and illustrated by Amy Heart
Further reading
[
edit
]
Stryker, Susan.
(2017).
Transgender history (Second edition): The Roots of Today’s Revolution
. Seal Press.
Vakoch, Douglas A
.; Sharp, Sabine, eds. (2024).
The Routledge Handbook of Trans Literature
. New York: Routledge.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Karlsberg, Michele (2018-06-21).
"The Importance of Transgender Literature"
.
San Francisco Bay Times
. Archived from
the original
on 2018-06-21
. Retrieved
2020-09-22
.
- ^
Vakoch, Douglas A.
; Sharp, Sabine, eds. (2024).
The Routledge Handbook of Trans Literature
. New York:
Routledge
.
ISBN
978-1-032-43155-0
.
- ^
Haldeman, Peter (2018-10-24).
"The Coming of Age of Transgender Literature"
.
The New York Times
. Archived from
the original
on 2018-10-24
. Retrieved
2020-09-22
.
- ^
Winterson, Jeanette (2018-09-03).
"
'Different sex. Same person': how Woolf's Orlando became a trans triumph"
.
The Guardian
. Archived from
the original
on 2018-09-03
. Retrieved
2020-09-22
.
- ^
Athitakis, Mark (2018-02-23).
"Saluting 'Myra Breckinridge' on its 50th anniversary"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Archived from
the original
on 2018-02-23
. Retrieved
2020-09-23
.
- ^
a
b
Jacques, Juliet (2015-10-21).
"Top 10 transgender books"
.
The Guardian
. Archived from
the original
on 2015-10-21
. Retrieved
2020-09-22
.
- ^
Beemyn, Genny (2021). "Autobiographies". In Goldberg, Abbie E.; Beemyn, Genny (eds.).
The SAGE Encyclopedia of Trans Studies
. pp. 65?67.
doi
:
10.4135/9781544393858.n21
.
ISBN
9781544393810
.
S2CID
264784608
.
- ^
Rollmann, Hans (2015-09-27).
"How Do You Define the Genre of Trans Literature?"
.
PopMatters
. Archived from
the original
on 2020-09-22
. Retrieved
2020-09-22
.
- ^
Stryker, Susan (2017).
Transgender History: The Roots of Today's Revolution
(2nd ed.). Seal Press.
ISBN
9781580056892
.
- ^
Flood, Allison (2020-08-26).
"Marieke Lucas Rijneveld wins International Booker for The Discomfort of Evening"
.
The Guardian
. Archived from
the original
on 2020-08-26
. Retrieved
2020-09-22
.
- ^
Martinez Diaz, Maria (2011).
"El transexual en El lugar sin limites: monstruosidad, norma y castigo"
(PDF)
.
Revista Humanidades
(in Spanish).
1
: 1?15.
ISSN
2215-3934
. Retrieved
2020-09-22
.
- ^
Moralejo, Juan (2017-11-27).
"El beso de la mujer arana: literatura, sexo y revolucion en Puig"
.
La Izquierda Diario
(in Spanish).
Archived
from the original on 2016-11-29
. Retrieved
2020-09-22
.
- ^
"La argentina Camila Sosa Villada obtuvo el Premio Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz"
.
Infobae
(in Spanish). 2020-11-03. Archived from
the original
on 2020-11-02
. Retrieved
2020-11-02
.
- ^
Smink, Veronica (2020-09-04).
"Es curioso que se peleen por quien recibe primero mi libro, cuando eternamente a las travestis nos han dicho que somos brutas, que no tenemos cultura"
.
BBC
(in Spanish). Archived from
the original
on 2020-09-23
. Retrieved
2020-09-22
.
- ^
Garcia, Alexander (2019-07-01).
"Raul Vallejo aborda la otredad en 'Gabriel(a)'
"
.
El Comercio
(in Spanish). Archived from
the original
on 2019-07-02
. Retrieved
2020-01-05
.
- ^
a
b
Ulaby, Neda
(August 27, 2015).
"
George
Wants You To Know: She's Really Melissa"
.
NPR
. Retrieved
December 5,
2016
.
- ^
Rothaus, Steve (June 25, 2014).
"Jazz Jennings, a 13-year-old trans girl, reads from her upcoming children's book (with video)"
.
Miami Herald
. Retrieved
September 19,
2014
.
- ^
Graff, Amy (September 22, 2014).
"Jazz Jenning's new children's book tells transgender story"
.
San Francisco Chronicle
. Retrieved
December 5,
2016
.
- ^
Herthel, Jessica (September 5, 2014).
"Why I Wrote a Book About a Transgender Child"
.
The Huffington Post
. Retrieved
December 5,
2016
.
- ^
Bausells, Marta (August 12, 2015).
"The transgender teddy bear teaching children about friendship and identity"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
October 20,
2015
.
- ^
Akersten, Matt (October 16, 2015).
"Transgender Teddy will teach kids about gender fluidity"
. Archived from
the original
on October 17, 2015
. Retrieved
October 20,
2015
– via Samesame.com.au.
- ^
Flynn, Kitty (June 29, 2016).
"Out of the Box: Transgender lives"
.
The Horn Book Magazine
. Retrieved
December 5,
2016
.
- ^
CBC Books (July 20, 2018).
"From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea"
.
CBC
. Retrieved
July 24,
2018
.
- ^
Gay Star News (October 18, 2017).
"How this book is helping trans children discover their identity: Queer transsexual dyke Amy Heart reflects on the power of transgender literature"
.
Gay Star News
. Archived from
the original
on July 25, 2018
. Retrieved
July 24,
2018
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
Awards
| |
---|
Festivals
| |
---|
By Country
| |
---|
By media
| |
---|
|