Scan barcode
A review by nic55
Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley Snorton
2nd finished read for #TransRightsReadathon!
While I appreciated the project of this book, I feel like I only digested 50% of the content. And this is not the fault of the author! This is definitely written for an academic audience in mind, so it’s not necessarily meant to be accessible. The ideas were definitely enlightening: how gender has been/continues to be racialized, how this realization sheds light on gender’s variability/flexibility, how Black folks explored gender pre and post slavery…all of it was eye opening. Regardless, I was struggling to follow the ideas being explored because they were expressed in both dry and very academically dense language. It was still a valuable read (and honestly needs a reread in the future) but I wouldn’t recommend for those looking for a straightforward history of Black trans experiences in the US.
While I appreciated the project of this book, I feel like I only digested 50% of the content. And this is not the fault of the author! This is definitely written for an academic audience in mind, so it’s not necessarily meant to be accessible. The ideas were definitely enlightening: how gender has been/continues to be racialized, how this realization sheds light on gender’s variability/flexibility, how Black folks explored gender pre and post slavery…all of it was eye opening. Regardless, I was struggling to follow the ideas being explored because they were expressed in both dry and very academically dense language. It was still a valuable read (and honestly needs a reread in the future) but I wouldn’t recommend for those looking for a straightforward history of Black trans experiences in the US.