Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice by Shon Faye

12 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

tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

 This isn’t a happy book. Seven chapters detailing the ways trans folks in the UK are hard done by the government, the medical establishment, the media, and the feminist movement make hard reading for those of us who stand, and/or love those who stand, under the trans umbrella. Nor did I find it the straightforward, super-obvious roadmap to trans liberation that many of the blurb-writers claimed it to be. Still, Faye’s bold voice and unflinching critiques of both the forces that try to crush trans folks and the tactics that (mostly white, middle class, cishet) moderate liberals think will save us make this book a balm for what ails us. (Spoiler alert: it’s capitalism. Capitalism is what ails us.) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Forced institutionalization, Transphobia, and Medical content

Moderate: Hate crime, Drug use, Medical trauma, Racism, Xenophobia, Classism, Death, and Murder

laurahartfield's review

challenging emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime, Murder, Homophobia, Racism, Transphobia, and Rape

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

booksjessreads's review against another edition

challenging informative medium-paced

4.5

This book is absolutely incredible. There is not much that I can say in a review here that will genuinely do this justice. I think it is all incredibly well researched and written, and is genuinely one of the best nonfiction books I have ever read. 

One thing that stopped me from giving it 5 stars, was how jam-packed it is with information. At the same time, this is also what I like about it. Let me explain. I tried to read the print copy of this in 2022 but it reads almost like a text book (please don't let this put you off though its amazing!) I found it super heavy, but since I liked what I read, I decided to just give it a break and come back to it. Later down the line, I picked up the audiobook and consumed it within a matter of days. Shon Faye narrates the audio and makes it such a rich experience. However, there was so much information that I occasionally felt overwhelmed. Although, I completely didn't mind since it was genuinely just so good. I think I am going to attempt the print edition next time I read it, so that I can go over anything that I missed. There is no doubt that this book is heavy, so I recommend you take your time.

This book is essential. I recommend this to anyone and everyone. It is written convincingly and contains such a diversity of sources to enrich the content and reading experience. Please just read it and take your time to digest it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Misogyny, and Homophobia

Moderate: Infertility, Mental illness, Medical content, Deadnaming, Murder, Violence, Outing, Suicide, and Death of parent

tuesday_evening's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Transphobia, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Medical content, Violence, Classism, Deadnaming, Death, Bullying, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization

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

chorleychalk's review

challenging informative reflective fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Murder, and Transphobia

Moderate: Dysphoria, Medical trauma, and Domestic abuse

achingallover's review

challenging hopeful informative inspiring slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, Classism, Body shaming, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Outing, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, and Transphobia

pachelrooley's review

challenging informative inspiring medium-paced

4.5

This book is important, informative, compassionate and insightful on it's topic, refusing to engage with devaluing arguments and instead clearly and methodically showing exactly how the systems in the UK today impact trans people, and points a path to how this can change in the future. Most of all though, this book is absolutely exquisitely written. I tend to have a hard time finishing non-fiction even if I find the topic interesting, but this book was so engaging, the pacing so well done, the links between topics so seamless that it was as easy to read as a book on difficult topics could ever be. I really look forward to reading more from this author! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia, Violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Homophobia, Hate crime, Bullying, Alcohol, and Addiction