Scan barcode
A review by bradley
Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman by Leslie Feinberg
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Leslie Feinberg (zie/hir) is one of the most important figures in modern trans history. You've probably at least heard of hir book, Stone Butch Blues in passing, but zie has a wide collection of writings, all about the importance of intersectional activism, including Transgender Warriors.
This book is told with a unique and interesting framing device: its a history as told from the point of view of a memoir of sorts. Leslie recounts memories from hir childhood and adulthood that left hir with questions about the history of trans people. As the book progresses, we see hir answer these questions for both hirself and the reader.
A great thing to note is that Leslie Feinberg and Susan Styker (author of Trans History: The Roots of Today's Revolution), while both covering trans history, hardly overlap, so reading both will not feel repeditive. Stryker admits in Trans History that the book predominantly features trans women/fems post-WWII, while Feinberg studies the world at large, the beginning of trans expression, from the age of huntergatherers to around modern times (the book having been published in 1996). As a trans masculine woman, zie takes care to find examples of trans men/mascs in hir history as well.
Feinberg takes care not to leave out the fluid and nonbinary genders of non-European countries, such as the Two Spirit people of the American Indians, and the many various identities from Asia and Africa. Zie talks at length about the intersection of the oppressed, calling for trans activists to stand with women, people of color, lesbians/gays/bisexuals, Jewish people, disabled people, and the impoverished in a rousing speech toward the closing of the book. Leslie's last words before hir death in 2014 were "Hasten the revolution! Remember me as a revolutionary communist." I'm glad to say that I, at least, do, having been inspired by the entire length of this book.
One thing to keep in mind when reading is that this book was written in 1996, when the word "transgender" was first coming into prominence. Feinberg, along with author Kate Bornstein (Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us) whos's quote features on the cover of the paperback, popularized the word transgender, coined by Virginia Prince in 1987 or 1988. However, as Feinberg recognizes in the preface, the trans movement is relatively young, and these words are subject to change (which they have). The word transgender didn't always have the same implication as it does today, though Leslie gives a brief disclaimer in the beginning of the book which explains it better than I probably could.
In this book, the word transexual man is used to describe an AFAB person who identifies as a man. The word transgender man would be used to describe an AMAB person who identifies as a man, but who's gender expression was highly feminine. Sometimes, as zie recognizes, they overlap and the difference between the two isn't an easy distinction. Feinberg explains this in detail in the preface, in an intuitive way that makes sense to even me, someone who's vobaculary hasn't ever really included the word transexual. Due to this change of language, it can get just a tad confusing in some parts, but if you are patient and persistant, it is easy to overcome.
Transgender Warriors was not only informative but fun and inspiring to read. If you are looking to learn more about the people who made transgender history and culture what it is today, this book is a must-read, though I encourage every trans person to read and internalize Feinberg's words.
Note: I've listed quite a few content warnings in the 'minor' category. Being a history of trans people and a call to intersectional activism, there are a lot of graphic things that are mentioned once and then not brought up again. These are neither perpetrated by Feinberg nor dwelled upon.
This book is told with a unique and interesting framing device: its a history as told from the point of view of a memoir of sorts. Leslie recounts memories from hir childhood and adulthood that left hir with questions about the history of trans people. As the book progresses, we see hir answer these questions for both hirself and the reader.
A great thing to note is that Leslie Feinberg and Susan Styker (author of Trans History: The Roots of Today's Revolution), while both covering trans history, hardly overlap, so reading both will not feel repeditive. Stryker admits in Trans History that the book predominantly features trans women/fems post-WWII, while Feinberg studies the world at large, the beginning of trans expression, from the age of huntergatherers to around modern times (the book having been published in 1996). As a trans masculine woman, zie takes care to find examples of trans men/mascs in hir history as well.
Feinberg takes care not to leave out the fluid and nonbinary genders of non-European countries, such as the Two Spirit people of the American Indians, and the many various identities from Asia and Africa. Zie talks at length about the intersection of the oppressed, calling for trans activists to stand with women, people of color, lesbians/gays/bisexuals, Jewish people, disabled people, and the impoverished in a rousing speech toward the closing of the book. Leslie's last words before hir death in 2014 were "Hasten the revolution! Remember me as a revolutionary communist." I'm glad to say that I, at least, do, having been inspired by the entire length of this book.
One thing to keep in mind when reading is that this book was written in 1996, when the word "transgender" was first coming into prominence. Feinberg, along with author Kate Bornstein (Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us) whos's quote features on the cover of the paperback, popularized the word transgender, coined by Virginia Prince in 1987 or 1988. However, as Feinberg recognizes in the preface, the trans movement is relatively young, and these words are subject to change (which they have). The word transgender didn't always have the same implication as it does today, though Leslie gives a brief disclaimer in the beginning of the book which explains it better than I probably could.
In this book, the word transexual man is used to describe an AFAB person who identifies as a man. The word transgender man would be used to describe an AMAB person who identifies as a man, but who's gender expression was highly feminine. Sometimes, as zie recognizes, they overlap and the difference between the two isn't an easy distinction. Feinberg explains this in detail in the preface, in an intuitive way that makes sense to even me, someone who's vobaculary hasn't ever really included the word transexual. Due to this change of language, it can get just a tad confusing in some parts, but if you are patient and persistant, it is easy to overcome.
Transgender Warriors was not only informative but fun and inspiring to read. If you are looking to learn more about the people who made transgender history and culture what it is today, this book is a must-read, though I encourage every trans person to read and internalize Feinberg's words.
Note: I've listed quite a few content warnings in the 'minor' category. Being a history of trans people and a call to intersectional activism, there are a lot of graphic things that are mentioned once and then not brought up again. These are neither perpetrated by Feinberg nor dwelled upon.
Content Warnings
Minor: Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry