Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice by Shon Faye

13 reviews

pobi's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

5.0

It's a tough read because of the transphobia it discusses, but also it's general message is one of hope and progress. Sets out difficult to understand things very clearly and I definitely feel like I've learnt stuff. While focused primarily on Britain it does try to make the message more universal at times. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Deadnaming, Violence, and Transphobia

Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Racism, Police brutality, Dysphoria, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Hate crime

bronzeageholly's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

 A stark and striking look at the facts and figures regarding the moral panic around trans people (mostly focusing on the UK, but with brief look at the USA). 

 

Shon Faye writes incredibly well, succinct and clear, with inarguable analysis and case for improving the lives of trans people. I would advise reading this book as a whole to understand the links between each social issue thoroughly. Yet, I would also suggest picking up the specific chapters that you may feel you lack a full awareness of (e.g., homelessness or incarceration or domestic violence). Each picks apart and expertly counters misinformation and shares the reality of living as a trans person in the UK. 

 

While I whole-heartedly recommend this book, it is also very very hard-hitting. It took me a long time to read due to needing to take a lot of breaks. Please be aware of any trigger warnings when you pick up this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Classism, Body shaming, Police brutality, Misogyny, Dysphoria, Outing, Lesbophobia, Hate crime, Death, Violence, Rape, Racism, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Sexism, and Physical abuse

Minor: Addiction, Mental illness, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia

katharina90's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

4.5

This book highlights the importance of intersectionality in the context of trans liberation. It really shines in the last two chapters where the author dissects the normalization of transphobia in British left-leaning/'progressive' spaces, as can be seen in the prevalence of anti-trans feminism in the UK and anti-trans sentiments within the LGBTQ+ community. 

"There can be no trans liberation under capitalism." 

"The whiteness and unexamined colonialism of mainstream UK feminism correlate directly with its tendencies towards transphobia." 

"[T]heory should only ever play second fiddle to the practical work of movement-building, resource-allocation, care and solidarity."

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Transphobia, Classism, Deadnaming, Rape, and Suicide

evanorlando's review

challenging informative medium-paced

4.5

5/5 in the sense that every cisgender person should read this. It is brilliantly written and perfectly encapsulates the transgender experience in modern day. However, if you are a transgender person interested in social politics and your rights - like myself - you will find this an incredibly difficult read. If you are transgender, relatively informed and anti-capitalist in all the right ways, you probably won't gain any new insight into transgender liberation. And because of the nature of essay writing, there are tons of statistics relating to transgender suffering. It is for these very reasons I think anyone who has firsthand experience of transphobia or simply is transgender in the UKs currently political climate, should not read this book - if only for the sake of their own mental health as in short this book can appear a collation of our communities suffering. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Police brutality, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

emmalouisereads's review

challenging informative medium-paced

4.5

This is a must read for trans allies in the UK. The book is well researched and cites sources, it will be a helpful resource to have if you’re ever have to debunk a TERF’s arguments.

I don’t know if it’s a book that’ll convince the average transphobe to change their mind. People who don’t know much about the difficulties trans people face (especially in the UK) will find this book enlightening.

I’m glad this book exists

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Rape, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Self harm, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Racism, Misogyny, and Hate crime

Content warnings are in the context of a non-fiction book

keegan_leech's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

I think pretty much everyone should read this book. Its one limiting factor is a focus on the UK, but it is an informative and extremely well-written exploration of the modern political landscape and its approach to trans rights. It's also a concisely-written argument for trans liberation being a necessary component of all modern social justice movements.

Read this book. It is an antidote to simplistic, anti-intellectual discussions of the "debate" about trans rights, and a history and overview of the modern trans rights movement. It is extremely worthwhile.

Shon Faye is clearly a very good writer, and manages to interrogate her subjects with an efficiency and clarity that makes them seem immediately straightforward. I can't say how accessible the book would be to someone with no exposure to concepts like queer and feminist theory, but like I say, it is extremely approachable, and I feel that it would appeal to people with just about any degree of experience with the subject. Similarly, while Faye is clearly writing from and for the left wing, I think her arguments are clear enough that this would be a good book to someone interested in trans politics, but who doesn't consider themselves a leftist.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, Racism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Hate crime, Suicide, Sexual assault, Rape, and Police brutality

nialiversuch's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Classism, Suicide, Lesbophobia, Body shaming, Hate crime, Misogyny, and Transphobia

Moderate: Body horror, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Abortion, Death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Sexism, Biphobia, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Slavery

bectothebooks's review

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Racism, Medical content, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: Fatphobia, Abortion, Mental illness, Outing, Police brutality, Rape, and Suicide

hannahbailey's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

Difficult to rate so I won't for now (may return later). Definitely worth a read, especially for those not particularly clued up on the 'transgender issue'.

My main takeaway, which was a point repeated throughout the book, was "trans liberation cannot happen under capitalism". Each chapter, whilst focusing on different elements of trans experience in our society, drives home this point. Everything leads back to capitalism (and the patriarchy). With these structures in place, cis people will continue to view trans people as 'other', 'abnormal', 'non-conforming' etc. The first two chapters were the most enlightening for me as Faye explores the impact of legislation and education (or lack thereof) enforced by the UK government over the last 40 or so years. It's common knowledge that the progression of trans rights is slow and often sabotaged by those on the extreme right-wing, but the latter chapters of this book detailing the sabotaging from within the LGBTQ+ community was also enlightening to read.

My one issue was how long the chapters were. Each chapter could have been trimmed down without losing any meaning. It would be great to see these chapters split into mini manifestos or pocket penguins as I think this would make them more accessible to a wider range of people. The chapter on class could have benefitted from more research to back up Faye's observations too

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, and Misogyny

Moderate: Murder, Sexual violence, Violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Trafficking, Outing, Medical trauma, Hate crime, and Suicide

catherinedsharp's review

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

4.25

This text was incredibly informative! Despite it being dense in writing, I devoured it and found that I jelled well with the writing style.

Despite being an emotionally difficult book to read, I found it very important to educate myself with it and Shin Faye discusses being transgender within a variety of contexts. 

I would highly recommend, especially to those who would like to learn more about the issues of transgender people. The style is relatively accessible to all and Shon Faye writes in a way that educates whilst also being engaging.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Deadnaming, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, Police brutality, Racism, Abortion, Death, Classism, and Sexual assault