harebear's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
I can vividly remember reading ‘My Pullups Parable’ for the first time and thinking...yes! I’m so glad this wonderful piece of transgender history has been conserved, and I especially recommend it if you’ve been missing your queer community lately.
camprocter's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
OP was in its early years when I first started transitioning, but I was a teenager then and couldn't buy it, so instead I spent my time browsing the images/excerpts that were available online and researching the contributors. Although this book features only a handful of articles from each issue, it's been a real pleasure to access this, finally, when I myself have recently been enjoying ten years living as trans. It was interesting to see how things have progressed in that time - the earlier issues seem so dated now (I was so fondly reminded of the term "genderqueer", which I strongly identified with as a teen and had all but forgotten about now). But in any case, this book is a record of history, and I hope so many others get to access it too.
oliverlang's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Sometimes I wonder how I'd be different if I'd been a successful cis-dude athlete. I'd probably be a major d-bag. Or if I sucked, I probably would have gone on to become a sad government lawyer.
—
It was only after choosing to transition that I wanted anything from this life, that I was able to choose anything, to commit, to achieve. I was adrift before that, a ghost ship floating on a dark sea. In choosing to transition, I was choosing to live, and choosing to be the captain of my ship, to inhabit it. In choosing to transition, I made a powerful discovery: I am the only person responsible for my life. Despite where I come from, how I grew up, what I've been through, what has happened to me — what happens next is my responsibility.
bradley's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
This book touched me in a way I didn't expect. Reading Original Plumbing felt like trans elders, brothers, sisters, aunties, and uncles--ie the previous generation of trans folks--lovingly taking my hand and showing me what they were doing when they were my age, and slowly and seemlessly transitioning to present day, where I, as a young trans person, find myself in present, the next generation of this culture, to take and preserve and play with and have fun, and pass down to the next generation after me.
I've been searching for a while for self-care focused specifically for the trans experience and I felt like i found it in the pages of this book. This isn't just a record of culture. It shares the art, literature, movies, tattoos, and poems by trans men, teaches us about trans history and trans Icons, and showcases unique styles of trans fashion. It serves as a resource for young trans men who don't know how to navigate the world of (trans)masculinity. Every subject is brooched candidly with love and care.
Mac and Kayiatos take care to spotlight nonbinary, genderqueer, and agender trans mascs, gender nonconforming trans men, and non-OP and non-horomone trans men so as to ensure trans mascs of any gender identity or expression would feel like they are a part of a vast and beautiful community full of so much love and diversity. Racism, mental illness, misogyny, and toxic masculinity in trans men's communities are addressed and every issue features people of color, so every theme is touched by the different experiences trans men of color experience.
This book only came out last year, but I very much hope to see it become a classic, mandatory reading for trans nonfiction. I'd love for young people across the globe to see the contents of this book and feel as attatched to this community of trans brothers as I do.
I've been searching for a while for self-care focused specifically for the trans experience and I felt like i found it in the pages of this book. This isn't just a record of culture. It shares the art, literature, movies, tattoos, and poems by trans men, teaches us about trans history and trans Icons, and showcases unique styles of trans fashion. It serves as a resource for young trans men who don't know how to navigate the world of (trans)masculinity. Every subject is brooched candidly with love and care.
Mac and Kayiatos take care to spotlight nonbinary, genderqueer, and agender trans mascs, gender nonconforming trans men, and non-OP and non-horomone trans men so as to ensure trans mascs of any gender identity or expression would feel like they are a part of a vast and beautiful community full of so much love and diversity. Racism, mental illness, misogyny, and toxic masculinity in trans men's communities are addressed and every issue features people of color, so every theme is touched by the different experiences trans men of color experience.
This book only came out last year, but I very much hope to see it become a classic, mandatory reading for trans nonfiction. I'd love for young people across the globe to see the contents of this book and feel as attatched to this community of trans brothers as I do.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing
There's a lot of nude photographs in here. Obviously it is Artistic and Cultured but i thought you should know.
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