really interesting and accessible new perspective on the current state of gender history and its limits. very refreshing to read work pushing for something different to the sanitised and falsely objective narratives of traditional histories of gender non-conformity by expanding 'trans' history. i like the idea of history having ethical potential especially to challenge bigotry and narrow-mindedness and that trans history can actually encompass all aspects of gender disruption, rather than just focusing on trans* identity.
very broad historical overview and first person perspective, felt like having a conversation with an academic which was cool, but not my favourite way to read history. Read a little like theory but with strong historical grounding that was purposefully intersectional.
4.75/5!

keelin's review against another edition

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informative slow-paced

3.5

tckgrace's review against another edition

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5.0

This book has been unbelievably impactful to my transition and my experience and understanding of gender. I’ve recommended it to all the trans people I know. Heyam is one of the most thoughtful and careful writers I can think of, and it was such a breath of fresh air to witness them examine the subjects of history and gender with such nuance.

I’m going to be thinking about the people, stories, ideas laid out in this book for a long, long time.

laurapoulosky's review against another edition

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4.0

This study of gender identity in several cultures and centuries is illuminating and sensitively written. There's no way to write a comprehensive history of this topic, especially in such a short book, but this is a fascinating sample that brings up many important points.

lesbianbimb0's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

readerbot_lu's review

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hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

Did I like it? Yes
Do I recommend it? Yes

Positives

I like how this book embraces an expansive definition of trans with regard to historical and present-day community, acknowledging that people can be part of multiple communities which may not make sense to outsiders. I felt like this framework worked well in exploring how gender, sexuality, and the body have been linked in different ways and for different reasons over time and in different cultures.

Though the author is a white nonbinary person, I felt like they made efforts to be acknowledge how this affects their perspective and were respectful to people of color they discussed.

Negatives

I normally like listening to works read by their creator, but I actually found Kit Heyam to be hard to understand at times.

ostarkweather's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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