Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century by Alice Wong

15 reviews

yourfavavery's review

challenging emotional informative

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Ableism, Body shaming, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Transphobia, Sexual content, Police brutality, and Genocide

booksjessreads's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This is such an eye-opening anthology of essays from disabled people to speak their realities of being disabled in such an ablest world. The stories were so deeply personal and evoked so much emotion. I liked how through the audio, the essays felt more like dialogue with the reader, or like an official talk. Alice Wong and Alejandra Ospina read this with the right tone and made it so digestible despite the heavier content. 

This book does not solely focus on disability, but contributors also discuss further intersections of identity, such as gender, sexuality, age, race and religion. This allows the reader to understand how society further disadvantages those with these intersections and offers a deeply moving and rage-inducing account of US society. 

I enjoyed the audio so much I am getting my own print version to get more familiar with the text. This is essential reading and is one of the most informative reads I have read this year. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Racism, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Ableism, Transphobia, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Fatphobia, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Death and Pregnancy

rorikae's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

4.5

'Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century' edited by Alice Wong is a great collection of essays by disabled authors that covers a range of subjects. The collection is broken up into four sections: Being, Becoming, Doing, and Connecting and each section has a number of different essays each written by a different author. 
One of my favorite things about this collection is that it covers so many topics and perspectives. Wong did an exceptional job of gathering a diverse group both in terms of race and sexuality as well as disability and gender identity. As such, this is a great starting point for someone interested in finding more authors to follow and getting glimpses into the struggles and celebrations that come with being disabled. Many of these essays deal with difficult subjects including ableism, sexual assault, racism, and more but equally the essays cover creating space, connection, and community. 
I listened to the audiobook, which was a great experience though my one issue is that some of the essays seem quite short. There are so many essays that the length and specificity varies widely. I found that my favorite pieces tended to be the longer pieces and some of my favorites included 'Radical Visibility: A Disabled Queer Clothing Reform Movement Manifesto' by Sky Cubacub, 'Why My Novel Is Dedicated to My Disabled Friend Maddy' by A. H. Reaume, and 'On NYCs Paratransit, Fighting for Safety, Respect, and Human Dignity' by Britney Wilson. 
I think this is essential reading and I will definitely be using it as a jumping off point to explore more works by these authors. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Racism, Ableism, Mental illness, Homophobia, Hate crime, and Grief

ageckocalledachilles's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Everyone should read this. It covers a multitude of disability rights issues as well as being incredibly intersectional. Some sections discuss very difficult/triggering issues, but many of these come with content warnings 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Acephobia/Arophobia, Medical trauma, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, and Sexism

Moderate: Genocide, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

Minor: Miscarriage

thedisabledreader's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

Although it may not be *the* disabled book, it is certainly a place to start for listening to diverse and individual perspectives within or out of your own communities. These creators, Alice Wong included, are witty and funny yet still maintain the vulnerability and strength necessary to share their experiences in such a public light. They are captivating and open to being wrong, willing to learn and letting the reader do so as well. 

The authors and speakers are all disabled, but there is very little overlap within disabilities. Diversity is not just a theme in this, it is a celebrated requirement. Thoughts are shared on different issues, different identities, different marginalizations and intersections, walks of life, and opinions. Despite the individuality of each story, the stories are well structured and engaging, especially when stories relate or build off similar foundations.

This is the first time I have ever seen one of my chronic illnesses, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, even briefly mentioned in any mainstream media - or anywhere outside of the disabled community on social media. 

The author with EDS wrote an entire story for this. Although it wasn’t necessarily groundbreaking to me in its subject, disabled motherhood, it will remain a part of my life that I can attribute an important ‘first’ to. That’s a feeling I want everyone to feel - and then a million times afterward - and that is a feeling that this book can bring.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Ableism, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Medical content, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Fatphobia, and Classism

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia and Transphobia

elizabethkore's review

challenging hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

A book that should be a modern primer for disability studies and narrative. Covers a variety of topics, centering and advocating for disability narratives. Authors highlighted are from a variety of backgrounds, with physical and/or mental disabilities, and predominately QTPOC identities.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Sexual assault, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Racism, Misogyny, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Medical content, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Hate crime, Grief, Genocide, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Death, Chronic illness, Body shaming, Cancer, and Bullying

Moderate: Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Vomit

spiritedfaraway's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

Stories are the closest we can come to shared experience… Like all stories, they are most fundamentally a chance to ride around inside another head and be reminded that being who we are and where we are, and doing what we’re doing, is not the only possibility.

       – Harriet McBryde Johnson 

Everyone should read this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Racism, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Colonisation, Abandonment, Grief, Police brutality, Transphobia, Terminal illness, Sexism, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Abortion, Domestic abuse, and Fatphobia

Minor: Slavery

pollyhall's review

challenging informative sad tense slow-paced

2.0

 
This was a very slow read, I had to look up a lot of words. I would have liked to see fewer essays but with more depth. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Car accident, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Transphobia, and Violence

emily_koopmann's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Medical trauma

Moderate: Rape, Violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexism, Transphobia, and Suicidal thoughts

clarabooksit's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

4.75

An incredible essay collection. This is a must-read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia

Moderate: Abortion, Miscarriage, and Sexual content

I really appreciated that nearly every essay in this collection begins with content warnings, so the reader knows what they’re about to read.