Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender by Kit Heyam

17 reviews

lbelow's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

5.0

This is the kind of book that for years I have been looking for. It looks at the past with an openness that reflects the breadth of the trans experience. Rather than pointing to a list of people who meet certain criteria, the author expounds on the trends and situations of the past and the multi-layered reasons for acting in gender-nonconforming ways—from the economic and social/political in Western/European history to reasons intrinsically tied with sexuality, (non-white) culture, and spirituality. I may not have finished this book with a laundry list of definitely trans figures, but I'm left with a buoying feeling that people like me have always existed.

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lettuce_read's review against another edition

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4.0

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leweylibrary's review against another edition

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challenging informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

I DEVOURED this in one sitting so 🙌 As a history major in college, I appreciate this book and how it approaches trans history so much. Obviously the language we have now was not always around, but that doesn't mean trans people were not. I appreciate how the author explains so many of the flaws in how we study history--needing hard proof of someone's queerness and considering them cis by default unless proven otherwise and how hard that is to do. I appreciate that this book really is an exploration of gender nonconformity across many cultures, races, etc. Not only was the research and everything else about the content fantastic, but I loved how it was structured (issue-based more than chronological). This book has me thinking a lot about a recent book I read about women rulers of the past bending gender and their reasons for doing so, and I love it when I can make connections like that. I feel quite strongly that everyone should read this book and hopefully have a better understanding not just of trans people and their history but also of how we have looked at gender in the past, present, and future.

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bookmark3brodi's review

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informative reflective sad fast-paced

2.75

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booksjessreads's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

I really really enjoyed this book and I think this is an essential read.

Kit Heyam really brought trans history to life through this book. It was thoroughly researched and the most enlightening and significant part of the book, is that is focusses on a global perspective of trans history. I really liked their approach to this book since it was more holistic and offered a very intricate, nuanced and thorough analysis of trans history.

I literally have no words that could do this justice. I think the writing flowed well and was written in a respectful and reflective way. I listened to Kit read the audio and this made it an even better experience. However, the downside to this was there were so many facts that I wanted to write down and research, but as I often listen to my audio whilst travelling, I couldn't do that. I am going to get my hands on a physical copy so that when I re-read, I can go back through and take my time with their work.

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arsenic_'s review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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