Starred review from March 19, 2018
Musician, scholar, and trans rights activist Lester tours the history, activism, and common experiences of people whose sense of gender falls outside of the binary of “male” and “female” in this winning collection of essays. The author offers perspective and clarity on issues that, time and again, are stumbling blocks to trans acceptance and celebration of human gender diversity, such as the conflation of sex and gender in everyday forms of speech or, more pointedly, when people use arguments about XX/XY chromosomes to invalidate trans people. Lester addresses the caricatures of trans people in mainstream media, the disproportionate harassment and violence trans people face, and the pressure to conform to gendered expectations. Lester, who identifies as nonbinary, draws on personal history including more than a decade “experiencing life at the margins of sex and gender,” as well as pop culture. In one essay, Lester recounts reading the 1928 novel The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall and recognizing a shared experience in the novel’s “murky and complex” descriptions of gender. While the work is clearly written with a nontrans audience in mind, this book will likely also be an affirming read for many trans people, especially young ones, who may find in its pages recognition from a fellow traveler. Agent: Laura Macdougall, United Agents.
May 15, 2018
In their debut work, composer Lester sets out to answer many questions about the trans experience and how society accepts or rejects trans individuals. From how and whether to treat transgender children to the impact of trans celebrities and the press's treatment of trans people, Lester provides arguments using research that ranges from social to hard science. Lester is consistently empathetic and therefore sometimes seems less than confident as they both defend their point and concede that other, conflicting experiences are equally valid. As a result, plenty of the discussions are left open to debate. In one instance, regarding the concept of sex vs. gender, Lester contradicts themselves in a later chapter. Still, they cover a significant amount of material, making this a great sampler for broader study. While the subject is an important one and Lester writes with sensitivity, this work struggles to take a firm stand, except in the notion of the importance of acknowledging the plurality of transgender experiences. VERDICT Despite its flaws, this work is accessible for both scholars and readers interested in trans rights and a useful companion to Charlie Craggs's To My Trans Sisters.--Abby Hargreaves, Dist. of Columbia P.L.,
Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
May 1, 2018
Lester's lucid, insightful book arrives at a time when trans people and issues are much in the news?think celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner or trans people in the military or the current transphobic controversy about bathroom laws, all of these rooted in considerations of gender that they (the author employs the gender-neutral pronoun) address cogently and comprehensively. The most personal parts of Lester's story, those that describe what it is like to be trans in the context of their own lifes, are those that invite the most empathy but also offer the most accessible information in a book that also addresses more abstruse topics such as sex and gender or the broader, more philosophical issues of feminism and being trans. These require especially careful reading but are rewarding in shedding light on essential topics. In addition, the author addresses trans history, the existence of gender-nonconforming children, and more. The book is cautiously optimistic about the future of the trans experience, auguring a positive future that will surely be hastened by such important works as this one.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)