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document updated 14 years ago, on Nov 1, 2010
Library books

My goals are:

  1. Most people ignore / are unaware of how complex gender actually is. (not just from a "transgender perspective"... gender has a pervasive effect on all our lives) So far, my understanding of the extent/complexity of gender has been expanding rapidly. I'd like start nearing the asymptote, and have some idea of where it's at, some idea what the scope/complexity of gender is.
  2. What is / should be my approach to gender-variance? Certainly it's non-binary, that seems clear. But is it / should it be a straightforward mix of man/woman, lying somewhere on the same plane? Genderfuck? "Post-transgender"?
    • I feel like the cultural identities and fashion ideals of "man" and "woman" have been WELL-explored, while very few people have explored what non-binary identities might look like, from a fashion perspective or otherwise. It almost seems like taking the easy way out to say "we're in between those two, so we'll just appropriate their identities and mix the two". I'm sure there are alternatives. (on the other hand, the goal is not solely to be alternative — if there are entrenched elements that work, and it's clear they work for a reason, there's no need to change them up just to be different)
    • Going to BurningMan and other places where there's lots of transfolk is one way. (probably the best way)
    • Another way is to read as DIVERSE books as possible, to try to gain a broad vocabulary and different perspectives for how extremely queer identities are conceived.
  3. Expand my vocabulary as much as possible. Though some outsiders have complained that I'm "making up words", this RadioLab program had a profound effect on me — if you don't have the vocabulary to discuss a concept (even if only inside your head), then you can't/don't really understand that concept.
book TOC library GR note
Gender Outlaw [1992] —Kate BornsteinTOClibraryGRWhy have I not bought this yet? Or at least read it?
@HWLC-6F
@DePaul/LincPk
@NW
Please Select Your Gender [2010] —Patricia GherovicilibraryGRThe first two sentences grabbed me by the throat, and the rest of the book didn't let go. Also, this seems (despite the cover art) to be a good book to lend to my therapist, as it's authored by a respected cisgender therapist.
@DePaul/LincPk
@Loyola/Cudahy
@NW
Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue [1999] —Leslie FeinberglibraryGR
@HWLC-6F
@Loyola/Lewis
Imagining Transgender: An Ethnography of a Category [2007] —ValentineTOClibraryGRSuggests that transgender and gay identities have long been conflated, even by people when choosing what to self-identify as.
@DePaul/LincPk
@NW
@Loyola/Cudahy
The Transgender Studies Reader [2006]TOClibraryGR
@DePaul/LincPk
@NW
@Loyola/Cudahy
Nobody Passes [2006]TOClibraryGR
@HWLC-6F
@DePaul/LincPk
@NW
@Loyola/Cudahy
My Husband Betty [2003]TOClibraryGRThis is well-recommended by lots of people... but might it also be helpful for B's situation? While CD-oriented books are a dime-a-dozen (come out of the closet people!), this is like THE ONLY ONE that addresses it from the partner's perspective.
@HWLF-6F
The Riddle of Gender [2005]TOClibraryGR
@HWLC-6F
@DePaul/LincPk

Locations
HWLC Chicago Public Library's main building ("Harold Washington") M-Th 9-9, F/Sa 9-5, Su 1-5
NW NorthWestern's main (EVANSTON) library varies thru schoolyear; currently Su-Th -3a F/Sa -11:45p
DePaul/LincPk DePaul's main library ("Lincoln Park Stacks", "John T. Richardson") varies thru schoolyear; currently Su-Th -mid F/Sa -9
Loyola/Cudahy one of Lyola's two main libraries
Loyola/Lewis one of Lyola's two main libraries

Libraries that I have used:


[ GenderQueerChicago's book recommendations ]

This document is somewhat different from others on this website: