Synopses & Reviews
With a New Afterword by the Author
In this fascinating, personal journey through history, Leslie Feinberg uncovers persuasive evidence that there have always been people who crossed the cultural boundaries of gender. Transgender Warriors is an eye-opening jaunt through the history of gender expression and a powerful testament to the rebellious spirit.
Review
"Men and women have had their histories. This is the history book for the rest of us." Kate Bornstein, author of Gender Outlaw
Review
“[Transgender Warriors] does far more than document the history of transgenders. It delves into the transgender experience, inviting the reader to consider a spectrum of gender possibilities.” Linda Gebroe, San Francisco Chronicle Book Review
Review
“No book since Toni Morrison’s Beloved gives so much and holds itself so well. History becomes art, the political becomes transformative, the personal becomes universal.” Craig Hickman, Gay Community News
Synopsis
"The foundational text that gave me life-changing context, helping me to understand who I was and who came before me."--Tourmaline, activist and filmmaker
Transgender Warriors is an essential read for trans people of all ages who want to learn about the towering figures who have come before them--and for everyone who is part of the fight for trans liberation.
This groundbreaking book--far ahead of its time when first published in 1996 and still galvanizing today--interweaves history, memoir, and gender studies to show that transgender people, far from being a modern phenomenon, have always existed and have exerted their influence throughout history. Leslie Feinberg--hirself a lifelong transgender revolutionary--reveals the origin of the check-one-box-only gender system and shows how zie found empowerment in the lives of transgender warriors around the world, from the Two Spirits of the Americas to the many genders of India, from the trans shamans of East Asia to the gender-bending Queen Nzinga of Angola, from Joan of Arc to Marsha P. Johnson and beyond.
About the Author
Leslie Feinberg is author of the underground classic Stone Butch Blues. One of Curve magazine's 15 most influential in the battle for gay and lesbian rights, s/he is also winner of the ALA Gay and Lesbian Literature Award, the Lambda Literary Award, and the Firecracker Alternative Book Award for nonfiction.