Transgender Books & Film

When I was first transitioning one of the things that helped me most with coming to terms with my identity and navigating the world as a transgender person was reading books and watching film (especially documentaries) with transgender subjects. I put this list together so those new to transition (or their curious friends and allies) have a reference point in terms of trans media that is available.

This list is by no means complete - there are scores of movies with "trans" characters (often as marginalized sex workers), so I tried to stick with books and film that positively represented trans and gender variant folk rather than trying to compile a complete list of every book or film that happens to have a trans character.

If you have any suggestions for a title to add to this list, leave it in the comments below or e-mail me at charliewarhol@gmail.com

Books: 

Leslie Feinberg
Transgender Warriors : Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman 
Transgender Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue 
Stone Butch Blues 

Kate Bornstein
Gender Outlaws: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us 
Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely
A Queer and Pleasant Danger, a memoir

Jenny Finney Boylan
She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders 
I'm Looking Through You: Growing Up Haunted: a Memoir

Self-Made Men: Identity and Embodiment among Transsexual Men, Henry Rubin

Emergence, Mario Martino

Body Alchemy, Loren Cameron

Becoming a Visible Man, Jamison Green

Transfigurations, Jana Marcus, Jamison Green [foreward]

Second Son: Transitioning Toward My Destiny, Love, and Life, Ryan Sallans

Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man, Chaz Bono

Susan Stryker
Transgender History
Gay by the Bay
The Transgender Studies Reader 
GenderQueer: Voices From Beyond the Sexual Binary, Joan Nestle, Riki Wilchins, Clare Howell

The Testosterone Files: My Hormonal and Social Transition from Female-to-Male, Max Wolf Valerio

Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity, Matt Bernstein Sycamore (editor)

Morty Diamond [editor]:
From the Inside Out: Radical Gender Transformation, FTM and Beyond 
Trans/Love: Radical Sex, Love & Relationships Beyond the Gender Binary

Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity, Julia Serano

Transmen and FTMs: Identities, Bodies, Genders, and Sexualities, Jason Cromwell

Just Add Hormones, Matt Kailey

Trumpet, Jackie Kay

Parrotfish, Ellen Wittlinger

Becoming Alec, Darwin Ward

Hung Jury

Film 

Documentary

Southern Comfort

Trained in the Ways of Men

Red without Blue

The Brandon Teena Story

Transgeneration

The Cockettes

Screaming Queens

Gendernauts

Enough Man

Sex Change Hospital

She's a Boy I Knew

No Dumb Questions

Prodigal Sons

Becoming Chaz

Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She

Fiction/Dramatizations 

Boys Don't Cry

Albert Nobbs

Soldier's Girl

The Crying Game

Trans America

By Hook or Crook

Ma vie en Rose

Hedwig & the Angry Inch

The Adventures of Sebastian Cole

Transposes FTM Graphic Novel Due Later this Year

Dylan “NDR” Edwards is a FTM artist, writer, and cartoonist who lives in Austin, Texas. He is currently working on a graphic novel entitled Transposes about seven transgender men due later (October-ish) this year.

via Northwest Press:

"Transposes is a nonfiction graphic novel by Dylan Edwards exploring the fascinating lives of seven transgender men who also happen to be gay, bisexual, or otherwise non-straight. It’s an amazing window into the lives of these men, both the major events in their lives and the day-to-day ones, and paints a wonderfully human portrait." 

You can preview Transposes here.

For more on Transposes, see the Transposes Index and connect on Facebook for the latest news from Dylan.

Dylans' other work includes TrannyTunes, The Outfield (about queers in sports) and Politically InQueerect, a satirical look at a gay Republican couple and their friends.

Coming Out to Parents + Resources

A couple nights ago I posted a video to my YouTube channel in which I interview my mom about what it was like for her when I came out as trans. I thought perhaps it would be helpful to those who are struggling with how to come out to their parents, or for parents who are struggling with the multitude of feelings they are experiencing after their child has just come out to them.

My mom is quite uncomfortable in front of the camera, but she has a great message and I am really glad she agreed to film this video with me. We are a close family and my parents (especially my mom) had a rough time when I first started transitioning. Though it was extremely difficult in the beginning stages of my transition, in the six plus years I have been on testosterone they have come a long way.

My parents are amazing people and I am not only really proud of them, I am grateful for them as well.



Here is the link to PFLAG and the Parents of FTM Transsexuals Yahoo group that I mentioned in the video.

PFLAG is a great resource because it has local chapters scattered throughout the United States and parents can take comfort in the fact that they are not alone in this experience. PFLAG's transgender page has a lot of great information and resources too.

A question I am often asked is how I came out to my parents. There are many ways to come out - in person, over the phone, in an e-mail, or a letter. I came out to my parents in person, but I wrote letters to the rest of my family. The trans coming out conversation was hard enough to have with my parents, so for my large extended family I wrote letters; having that conversation over and over starts to get emotionally wearing.

A letter can often be a good method to use (even with parents) because it allows them time to think about what was said in the letter and unlike a face-to-face conversation or telephone call, there is no chance for the exchange of harsh words or for things to get out of hand - it allows time to process. After all, you have probably thought about the trans thing as long as you can remember, but they just heard about it and are probably entirely overwhelmed. Giving them space and allowing them time to process also means they might do some research for themselves and come into the "follow up" conversation more informed.

Here are a few other videos about coming out from 2009 and 2008, respectively.

Coming Out and Family (April 2008)

Don't Hesitate: Coming Out to Family (March 2009)


My parents and I took a long time to get where we are today - we did it with continuous, open communication, a fierce perseverance, and unconditional love. There are going to be a lot of rough moments, but there will be a lot of beautiful ones, too; it just takes time. Persevere.

Resources for Parents of Transgender Children: 

Trans Youth Family Allies (TYFA) TYFA is a wonderful organization and resource with a special section for parents of transgender children called “TransParent Journeys” with a list of parents' blogs and family stories.

TransActive is a non profit organization that serves the needs of transgender and gender nonconforming children and their families. TransKids Purple Rainbow is an organization founded by the father of a young transgender girl that is dedicated to empowering trans youth and their families and educates peers, governmental and religious institutions as well as school and medical communities on trans youth.

Parents of Transgender Kids Facebook 

For even more FTM and SOFFA mailing lists, check out the “Finding Community” page on Transguys.com.

If your parents are readers, a great book to send their way is “True Selves: Understanding Transsexualism: For Families, Friends, Coworkers, and Helping Professionals” by Mildred Brown and Chloe Rounsley. Though it was written back in 1996, it still remains a relevant resource and one of the better books written about transsexualism for SOFFAs.

You can also download “Our Trans Children” (5th edition) from the PFLAG website for free. [pdf file]


If you have any questions or you'd like to talk more directly, shoot me an e-mail at charliewarhol@gmail.com, or you can connect with me on Facebook. 

trans-themed books & dvds

a quick overview of trans-themed books and films. this is by no means a comprehensive list.