Transgender Lives: Complex Stories, Complex Voices

Cronn-Mills, Kirstin

3.67

105 ratings by Goodreads

9780761390220: Transgender Lives: Complex Stories, Complex Voices

ISBN 10: 0761390227 ISBN 13: 9780761390220

Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books, 2014

"I didn't hear the word transgender until I was eighteen, when a person I was dating came out as trans. My boyfriend came out as my girlfriend, and I thought, 'What . . . is that?' She said, 'I just don't think I'm a man.' And I said, 'Guess what? Neither do I.' And then the skies parted, and I understood who I was."―Katie Burgess, nonprofit director and community activist/organizer

Meet Katie, Hayden, Dean, Brooke, David, Julia, and Natasha. Each is transgender, and in this book, they share their personal stories. Through their narratives, you'll get to know and love each person for their humor, intelligence, perseverance, and passion. You'll learn how they each came to better understand, accept, and express their gender identities, and you'll follow them through the sorrows and successes of their personal journeys.

Transgender Lives helps you understand what it means to be transgender in America while learning more about transgender history, the broad spectrum of transgender identities, and the transition process. You'll explore the challenges transgender Americans face, including discrimination, prejudice, bullying and violence, unequal access to medical care, and limited legal protections. For transgender readers, these stories offer support and encouragement. Transgender Lives is a space for trans* voices to be heard and to express the complexities of gender while focusing on what it means to be human.

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About the Author:

Kirstin Cronn-Mills, PhD, teaches writing, literature, and critical thinking at South Central College in North Mankato, Minnesota. She writes fiction, poetry, and nonfiction books and articles. Her first young adult novel, The Sky Always Hears Me and the Hills Don’t Mind, was a Minnesota Book Award finalist. Her second―Beautiful Music for Ugly Children, a coming-of-age story about Gabe, a trans* music geek―was a Lambda Literary Award finalist and the 2014 Stonewall Book Award winner for best children's and young adult book about the gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender experience.

Review:

"Cronn-Mills has written an admirably informative and respectful book, exploring the diverse and complex world of transgender identity. Through personal narratives, the reader meets remarkable people who represent a wide range of experiences as they have realized and acted for their gender identities. Cronn-Mills grounds the personal in well-researched and well-organized information about the transgender spectrum and identities; about perspectives and interpretations through history and across cultures; about legal ramifications; and, in a particularly unsettling chapter, medical issues. She includes a timeline of key events and a 'Selected Who's Who.' She also gives the reader an extensive list of fiction, nonfiction, and film and TV sources for further information. This book should be on the shelf in all middle, high school, and public libraries where patrons could be seeking understanding and/or affirmation of the complexities of gender. Bibliography. Glossary. Websites. Index. [Editor's Note: Available in e-book format.] Highly Recommended."―starred, Library Media Connection

(Journal)

"In chapters that blend first-person discourse (apparently based on author interviews or prompts), editorial segues, and objective information, Cronn-Mills offers an overview of a range of gender-nonconforming life experiences. Paying careful attention to vocabulary and terminology preferred by the GLTB(QQIA) community, she navigates the distinction between gender identity and sexual orientation and advances the voices of people who have transitioned from assigned birth gender to current gender, with varying degrees of medical intervention. Whereas the testimonies here are briefer and more frequently interrupted than those of Susan Kuklin's Beyond Magenta (BCCB 2/14), the information concerning hows and whys of hormonal and surgical interventions (as well as the choice to elect neither option) makes this a complementary resource. Although the title refers specifically to transgender persons, Cronn-Miller also includes gay drag performer Dave Gaer, who appreciates his feminine traits without transitioning from his birth identity, and genderqueer Julia Kelleher, who avers, 'I don't think I am really a man or a woman.' Inclusion of these related perspectives broadens the range of issues and offers valuable clarifications for readers who are sorting through what may be an unfamiliar set of life experiences. A timeline of selected transgender events is included, as well as a glossary, a selected Who's Who of trans* Americans, source notes, resources, and index are included. YAs familiar with Cronn-Mills from her Stonewall Award–winning Beautiful Music for Ugly Children (BCCB 1/13) will be particularly pleased to encounter her nonfiction work." ―The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Literature

(Journal)

"In this collection of narrative and photographic portraits, Cronn-Mills introduces her readers to individuals who defy generalization in their lives spanning the transgender spectrum. Natasha, like many others interviewed by the author, says that ever since she was a child she has felt that she had 'to live for myself.' Hayden's sister claims that 'he is the same person.' Brooke 'thinks it is an honor' to represent trans youth. Julia, in her freedom to express her fluid gender identity, says that she is 'just being myself.' Interspersed with the profiles of each individual are informational sections regarding history, language, medical and insurance concerns, and politics. But speaking loudest and clearest are the full-page photographs of the interviewees, who honestly describe the journeys toward their refreshingly genuine life choices. Respectfully included by Cronn-Mills in each portrayal are the allies, friends, and family members, who see only 'the person that [they] love.' Even readers familiar with transgender narratives will grow with deeper understanding and compassion." ―Booklist

(Journal)

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