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ejkimberley's review against another edition
5.0
Over the past 100 years, many have been those queer writers who sought to "find" themselves in history. It's an understandable and very human motivation and need. But it has resulted in some at times very questionable non-specialist readings of cultural and historical contexts which yearn to be understood on their own terms, rather than transposed into an alien cultural context to stand as a symbol of something needful.
Kit Heyam is not one of those writers and Before We Were Trans is not one of those works. This is a respectful and responsible treatment of a broad array of culturally-specific frameworks for gender expression, which is as careful to acknowledge their particularities and uncertainties as a work of this length and breadth could be.
For me, this sits alongside Jules Gill-Peterson's A Short History of Trans Misogyny as a rare example of good history conducted with an interest in gender-non-conforming lives.
Kit Heyam is not one of those writers and Before We Were Trans is not one of those works. This is a respectful and responsible treatment of a broad array of culturally-specific frameworks for gender expression, which is as careful to acknowledge their particularities and uncertainties as a work of this length and breadth could be.
For me, this sits alongside Jules Gill-Peterson's A Short History of Trans Misogyny as a rare example of good history conducted with an interest in gender-non-conforming lives.
justgj's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
bookormr's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
friendofthefrogs's review against another edition
5.0
ITS SO GOOD THE EPILOGUE NEARLY MADE ME START BAWLING THIS BOOK WAS SO COMPASSIONATE AND THOUGHTFUL!!!
ylshelflove's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.0
"[π»]ππ ππππππ πππ πππππ ππππππ πππ
ππ ππ πππππ ππππππ ππ πππ ππππππππππππ
π ππ πππππππ.β
This book highlights the history of non-heteronormative gender expression and identity by sharing the stories of people from different times and cultures. Most of this info was new to me, and I really enjoyed learning about gender presentations across and outside of the gender binary.
Throughout the whole book, Heyam grapples with the balance between demonstrating that trans people have always existed, and being careful not to misconstrue or misrepresent how people from the past understood themselves. Historical artifacts like news articles, personal journals, or letters are certainly evidence of people living outside of gender norms, but there is often no way to know for sure whether or not they would have called themselves βtransgenderβ as we understand the term today.
And while Heyam argues that thatβs not a reason that these people should be excluded from trans history (βemotional connection to the past isnβt a zero-sum gameβ) they argue that part of honoring and respecting the dead is acknowledging the complexity of human identity, expression, and cultural contexts to give them a βhumanising historiographyβ
emlynbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Upon finishing this book I felt compelled to start it over again just to feel all of the feelings I experienced through it. This book is powerful required reading for all queer people. Iβve never felt so part of a community. Truly astonishing.