JCLCassandraG's Completed Shelf

If you have found this book while trying to understand the transition of someone close to you, I beg you to look to real trans perspectives before reading a book by someone whose career is bankrolled by moral panic. Susan Stryker’s thoroughly researched books of trans history, Stephanie Brill’s books on parenting a trans kid, and Kate Bornstein’s super fun work on understanding gender identity & expression provide a fuller portrait of trans life & may even lead you to a new understanding of yourself. One thing being a librarian has taught me is that anyone can publish a book about anything--it certainly doesn't make them an expert or even mean that the book is good or true. This book is a pseudoscientific hate screed masquerading as nonfiction. The author claims to support the trans movement, but in just the first twenty pages, she calls transitioning a “psychological ailment,” suggests young people are transitioning to avoid being sexually assaulted, and misgenders Brandon Teena, a young transman who was murdered after being outed in 1993. To file this level of hatred and confusion under the banner of "Support" is not only deceitful but violent. It also tells me that the author has an agenda that is unconcerned with reality. Throughout the book, pronouns are used as the author sees fit (trans men are only given he/him pronouns—for example—if they pass as men according to her visual standards), interviews about trans teens feature the parents & never the teens themselves, and few sources are cited because there’s hardly anything concrete or factual to back up. A few trans YouTubers featured in a section called "The Influencers" have already spoken out about the author misrepresenting or totally manipulating their stories/interviews. Beyond this, one of the surest signs of bad investigative journalism is someone with no ties to the subject repeatedly making a book about herself; I guarantee you won’t go a few pages without the author telling you some irrelevant and completely boring personal anecdote. This particular brand of impossible-to-cite / fake-anecdotal “Queers Are Coming For the American Family” rhetoric has been used to deligitimize/criminalize queer & trans existence since the McCarthy era stoked the flames of 20th century homophobia (in ways that have impacted healthcare and employment for lgbtq+ people to this day no less). It's old hat--paranoia sells. If you're new to this topic, I hope you'll look for a book in our catalog that considers trans perspectives.