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1.
The mirror makes no sense - Mark A. Cummings
The Mirror Makes No Sense is a true story of a young man's
journey. This is no ordinary man, Mark Angelo Cummings was born biologically a female. He brings the readers into his life,
sharing his emotions, trials and tribulations. This book has something for everyone. He will make you laugh, cry and get you
to think about your own feelings, towards many controversial subjects. Mark is a spiritual and God loving man. He wants to
create awareness of the much needed unconditional love in our world. Mark's question to you is, are you happy with the reflection
you see in the mirror? If the answer is yes, then you can feel really blessed, because for some of us though, the mirror makes
no sense. Being transsexual is not a sin, a crime, nor deviant behavior. It is however, a birth defect, created at 8 weeks
gestation, where the brain and the body failed to communicate. Because of this birth defect there are hate crimes, suicides,
family break ups, and overall bigotry amongst religious groups. He hopes you take something from his work, but most of all
he prays you open up your hearts and minds, and realize, we are all God's children too
2. The phallus palace:Female
to male transsexuals - Dean Kotula
The Phallus Palace is a bold approach to the subject of
female to male transsexuals (FTMs). Personal testaments from FTMs and contributions from a host of others place the subject
of transsexualism into a historical, medical, psychological and cultural context. Captivating photographs guide the reader
from the FTMs female personae, through surgical operations, to portraits of the men whose self and public identities are finally
revealed as one.
3. As nature made him - John
Colapinto
From Amazon.com:
Once you begin reading As Nature Made
Him, a mesmerizing story of a medical tragedy and its traumatic results, you absolutely won't want to put it down. Following
a botched circumcision, a family is convinced to raise their infant son, Bruce, as a girl. They rename the child Brenda and
spend the next 14 years trying to transform him into a her. Brenda's childhood reads as one filled with anxiety and loneliness,
and her fear and confusion are present on nearly every page concerning her early childhood. Much of her pain is caused by
Dr. Money, who is presented as a villainous medical man attempting to coerce an unwilling child to submit to numerous unpleasant
treatments.
Reading over interviews and reports of decisions made by this doctor, it's difficult to contain
anger at the widespread results of his insistence that natural-born gender can be altered with little more than willpower
and hormone treatments. The attempts of his parents, twin brother, and extended family to assist Brenda to be happily female
are touching--the sense is overwhelmingly of a family wanting to do "right" while being terribly mislead as to what "right"
is for her. As Brenda makes the decision to live life as a male (at age 14), she takes the name David and begins the process
of reversing the effects of estrogen treatments. David's ultimately successful life--a solid marriage, honest and close family
relationships, and his bravery in making his childhood public--bring an uplifting end to his story. Equally fascinating is
the latest segment of the longtime nature/nurture controversy, and the interviews of various psychological researchers and
practitioners form a larger framework around David's struggle to live as the gender he was meant to be. --Jill Lightner
4. Body Alchemy: Transsexual
Portraits CA. 1996 - Loren Cameron
(Review from Amazon.com)
Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits
is a unique and extraordinary photographic collection by artist Loren Cameron. Body Alchemy is Loren Cameron's intensely personal
photo documentary of female-to-male transsexuals (FTMs). A transsexual himself, Cameron brings a sensitive, sophisticated
insider's eye to his subject matter. Using documentary style, a series of before-and-after photographs documenting the transformation
of a number of FTMs in Cameron's transsexual community, his own striking self-portraits, and intimate autobiographical text,
Loren invites the viewer to experience this transformational rite of passage. Loren Cameron's work strikes a warm, familiar
tone that invites the viewer's participation - even when the subject matter is quite startling.
5. From The Inside Out: Radical
Gender Transformation, FTM and Beyond - Morty Diamond
Born female yet little identified with that gender, these
transgender, genderqueer, third gender, and gender variant writers offer personal insights into changing gender identity,
dating, workplace issues, and more. This book shines light on those who identify as FTM (female to male) and also illuminates
those whose gender is more fluid, proving that biology doesn't control destiny.
6. Transmen and FTMs: Identities,
Bodies, Genders, and Sexualities - Jason Cromwell
(Amazon.com review) - Cromwell provides an interesting ethnography
of female to male transsexuals from a FTM perspective in a time when the transgender community is calling for scholarship
about transpeople by transcholars. He gives an insider's perspective of a fairly homogenous type of group of transmen that
capably provides a few new glimpses into female to male transsexual men's stories.
It's a much understudied population, no matter which discipline
is framing the work. Also interesting to consider is how US anthropology is more well versed in gender studies of other cultures,
so this ethnography provides stories from home that resist being ethnocentric. Perhaps the most refreshing aspect of the text
is that it is not theoretically framed by the toxic God-like oppression of the psycho-medicalizing discourse that makes everyday
transgender experiences fit into a disease model of gender identity disorder, body dysphoria, social deviancy, and personal
deficiency.
7. Self Made Men: Identity, Embodiment
and Recognition Among Transsexual Men - Henry Rubin
In Self-Made Men, Henry Rubin explores the production of
male identities in the lives of twenty-two FTM transsexuals--people who have changed their sex from female to male. The author
relates the compelling personal narratives of his subjects to the historical emergence of FTM as an identity category.
In the interviews that form the heart of the book, the FTMs
speak about their struggles to define themselves and their diverse experiences, from the pressures of gender conformity in
adolescence to being mistaken for "butch lesbians," from hormone treatments and surgeries to relationships with families,
partners, and acquaintances. Their stories of feeling betrayed by their bodies and of undergoing a "second puberty" are vivid
and thought-provoking. Throughout the interviews, the subjects' claims to having "core male identities" are remarkably consistent
and thus challenge anti-essentialist assumptions in current theories of gender, embodiment, and identity.
Rubin uses two key methods to analyze and interpret his
findings. Adapting Foucault's notions of genealogy, he highlights the social construction of gender categories and identities.
His account of the history of endocrinology and medical technologies for transforming bodies demonstrates that the "family
resemblance" between transsexuals and intersexuals was a necessary postulate for medical intervention into the lives of the
emerging FTMs. The book also explores the historical emergence of the category of FTM transsexual as distinguished from the
category of lesbian woman and the resultant "border disputes" over identity between the two groups. Rubin complements this
approach with phenomenological concepts that stress the importance of lived experience and the individual's capacity for knowledge
and action.
An important contribution to several fields, including sociology
of the body, gender and masculinity, human development, and the history of science, Self-Made Men will be of interest to anyone
who has seriously pondered what it means to be a man and how men become men. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.
8. Just Add Hormones: An Insider's
Guide to the Transsexual Experience - Matt Kailey
Book Description
Matt Kailey lived as a straight woman
for the first forty-two years of his life, and then he changed. With the help of a good therapist, chest surgery, and some
strong doses of testosterone, Kailey began living life as the man he'd always wanted to be. In Just Add Hormones, he answers
all the questions you've ever had about what it's like to live as a transsexual.
"Parts of Just Add Hormones dwell, wittily, on the author's
own experiences . . . other chapters offer a cheeky insider's discussion of pesky pronouns, pants-packing, bathroom blues,
and on-the-job jitters. But the real worth of Just Add Hormones stems from its thoughtful analysis—at times philosophical,
at times political, and at times polemical—of a life-changing decision."
—Richard Labonte, Q Syndicate
"A heartfelt plea for mainstream American society to understand,
accept and support gender diversity . . . Kailey describes all with frankness, engaging his reader with honesty and a touch
of humor."
—Kirkus Reviews
9. Ftm: Female-To-Male Transsexuals
in Society - Holly Devor
Book Description
"The book alternates specialized academic
analysis with the individual studies, and should be of interest to both professionals who work with transsexuals and scholars
interested in gender theory." - Choice
"Writing with an intelligent and accessible style, Dr. Devor
balances exposition, analysis, and excerpts from her subjects' interviews to present a coherent picture of what social life
is like for FTMs as they find their identity and learn about themselves." - Jamison "James" Green
The author of the groundbreaking book Gender Blending here
turns her attention to the little-known world of female-to-male transsexuals. Who are they? How do they come to know themselves
as transsexual? What do they do about it? How do their families cope? Who loves them? What does it mean for the rest of us?
10. True Selves: Understanding
Transsexualism--For Families, Friends, Coworkers, and Helping Professionals - Mildred L. Brown and Chloe Ann Rounsley
Brown and Rounsley's solidly based introduction to many
aspects of living as a transsexual provides general information about the dilemma of feeling trapped in the wrong physical
gender, about such a person's development, and about locating a gender therapist. Brown and Rounsley also detail the process
of transition between genders, starting with legal and identity changes and proceeding to changing outward modes of self-presentation
(they include sample "coming-out" letters to employers, coworkers, friends, and family members) and dealing with bathroom
issues, hormone treatments, surgical options, and guidelines for finding social support. First-person accounts from transsexuals
augment general readability and put human faces on the issues discussed. Whitney Scott --This text refers to an out of print
or unavailable edition of this title.
11. Finding the Real Me:
True Tales of Sex and Gender Diversity - Tracie O'Keefe and Katrina Fox
Book Description
Finding the Real Me is an extraordinary
collection of real-life stories told by a wide-range of sex and gender diverse people. These healing tales of struggle and
transformation reveal just how creative, resourceful, and adventurous the individuals in this community can be and also helps
to bridge the gap between ignorance and understanding. As each incredible story unfolds we become part of the author's journey
to self-acceptance and join the celebration of their new life. Page by page, we laugh, cry, and learn to appreciate these
wonderful courageous people and the road they walked to be their true selves. Finding the Real Me is a landmark book that
encourages us to embrace diversity, to never fear our differences, and to remain always in awe of our amazing possibilities.
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