A review by theaceofpages
The Out Side: Trans & Nonbinary Comics by The Kao, Min Christensen, David Daneman

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

4.5

Ooh this is such a beautiful book. The art is fantastic and as a non-binary person, I loved the representation. The stories are all a bit on the short side (not really surprising when you consider how many contributors there are, although this could probably have been split into multiple anthologies if total page length is the limiting factor) and I did find myself wishing that they went a bit more in depth. That being said, this is definitely a spectacular resource for anyone who may be questioning their gender and for those who want to understand what it's like to not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. Especially since many of the stories are about how the artists came to discover their gender identity. Just be aware that you may need to seek out other books if you want a more in-depth exploration of gender identity. But this is still a fantastic resource with how accessible it is and how the art captures the artists' experiences. I definitely recommend this book and hope that other find answers and understanding and/or see themselves in its beautiful pages

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.

Some notes on some of the content warnings: (All are individually spoilered)

Dysphoria:
I feel like this is kind of two be expected in a book about what it means to not fit into your assigned gender. A lot of the stories do also explore escaping from dysphoria when the artists started living as their true selves though so that is beautiiful.

Transphobia:
A lot of the artists had people who didn't believe them/ feel unseen in who they are and/or internalised transphobia

Sexism: 
Things around gender roles and expectations. About how you aren't allowed to do  because you are y. Mostly around expectations surrounding AFAB people, but a bit of both.
 
Medical content: 
Top surgery
 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings