Trans: A Quick and Quirky Account of Gender Variability


J. Jack Halberstam - 2018
    However, with this increased visibility has come not just power, but regulation, both in favor of and against trans people. What was once regarded as an unusual or even unfortunate disorder has become an accepted articulation of gendered embodiment as well as a new site for political activism and political recognition. What happened in the last few decades to prompt such an extensive rethinking of our understanding of gendered embodiment? How did a stigmatized identity become so central to U.S. and European articulations of self? And how have people responded to the new definitions and understanding of sex and the gendered body? In Trans*, Jack Halberstam explores these recent shifts in the meaning of the gendered body and representation, and explores the possibilities of a nongendered, gender-optional, or gender-queer future.

Flat: Reclaiming My Body from Breast Cancer


Catherine Guthrie - 2018
    However, after years writing about women’s health and breast cancer, Guthrie is thrust into the role of the patient after a devastating diagnosis at age thirty-eight. At least, she thinks, I know what I'm up against.She was wrong. In one horrifying moment after another, everything that could go wrong does—the surgeon gives her a double mastectomy but misses the cancerous lump, one of the most effective drug treatments fails, and a doctor's error may have unleashed millions of breast cancer cells into her body.Flat is Guthrie’s story of how two bouts of breast cancer shook her faith in her body, her relationship, and medicine. Along the way, she challenges the view that breasts are essential to femininity and paramount to a woman’s happiness. Ultimately, she traces an intimate portrayal of how cancer reshapes her relationship with Mary, her partner, revealing—in the midst of crisis—a love story.Filled with candor, vulnerability, and resilience, Guthrie upends the “pink ribbon” narrative and offers a unique perspective on womanhood, what it means to be “whole,” and the importance of women advocating for their desires. Flat is a story about how she found the strength to forge an unconventional path—one of listening to her body—that she’d been on all along.

Testosterone: An Unauthorized Biography


Rebecca M. Jordan-Young - 2019
    That's a lot to pin on a simple molecule.But your testosterone level doesn't actually predict your competitive drive, appetite for risk, sex drive, strength, or athletic prowess. It isn't the biological essence of manliness--in fact, it isn't even a male sex hormone. So what is it, and how did we come to endow it with such superhuman powers? This unauthorized biography pries the much-maligned T free from over a century of misconceptions.Testosterone's story begins long before the hormone was even isolated, when scientists first went looking for the chemical essence of masculinity. Over time, this molecule provided a handy rationale for countless behaviors--from the boorish to the enviable. Today, as competitive athletes turn to testosterone for competitive advantage, and we continue to debate what it means to be a man or woman, it is back in the news again. What we think we know about has stood in the way of an accurate understanding of its surprising functions and effects. Rebecca Jordan-Young and Katrina Karkazis focus on what testosterone does in six domains: reproduction, aggression, risk-taking, power, sports, and parenting. and let us us see the real testosterone for the first time.

The Possibility of Sex: How Naïve and Lustful Men are Manipulated by Women Regularly


Alan Roger Currie - 2012
    Many self-help books are available to single women that shed light on the various types of men to avoid in today's dating scene.What about advice for single men on what types of women they should avoid?There are a number of women in society who would make any man a wonderful wife, girlfriend, or platonic friend.Then there are other women who only look to take advantage of men who are naive and highly libidinous for their own egotistical and/or financial advantage.Book Author Alan Roger Currie releases yet another book (in both a paperback and Kindle eBook version) that is filled with his unique brand of knowledge and wisdom related to how single men and women verbally communicate their romantic and sexual desires and interests to one another.Currie once again highlights the fact that when a man expresses his romantic or sexual desires, interests and intentions to women in a very "cautious," "vague," "ambiguous," or "beat-around-the-bush" manner, that the man potentially opens himself up to be misled and taken advantage of by women who are seasoned manipulators of men.

Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality


Helen Joyce - 2021
    In just ten years, laws, company policies, school and university curricula, sport, medical protocols, and the media have been reshaped to privilege self-declared gender identity over biological sex. People are being shamed and silenced for attempting to understand the consequences of redefining ‘man’ and ‘woman’. While compassion for transgender lives is well-intentioned, it is stifling much-needed inquiry into the significance of our bodies.

Female Brain Gone Insane: An Emergency Guide For Women Who Feel Like They Are Falling Apart


Mia Lundin - 2009
     Unlike other hormone books on the market, Female Brain Gone Insane is less focused on physiological changes such as bone loss and weight gain and instead tackles the legitimate panic and distress women feel as they experience symptoms associated with emotional and intellectual turmoil, including mood swings, loss of concentration and/or memory, and mental acuteness, to name a few. Women who have asked 'Why do I feel like I am losing it? 'How can I cope with the emotional changes I am experiencing?' and 'Will I ever feel like myself again?' will find real and compassionate help in this emergency guidebook. What's even more unique, is the author's contention that changes in the brain that affect a woman's mood, memory, concentration, and acuteness may not always be a hormone imbalance caused by menopause or other female-specific issues, as doctors often misdiagnose, but imbalances induced by the stress and anxiety levels associated with our fast-paced lifestyles that affect us at a deeper level. Bottom line, the key to a woman's well being is balanced brain chemistry, and Female Brain Gone Insane offers customizable solutions for every woman. Without lumping all women into one category, Female Brain Gone Insane helps each woman identify the symptoms of her particular emotional and psychological problems---be they depression, panic attacks, memory loss, or even acting out of character, and then offers support, information, and treatment so that she can rebalance herself.  The core of the plan is to use bio-identical hormones (using the right hormone at the right time) and supplements carefully chosen to manipulate brain chemistry so that the body is happy again! Women will be liberated from their emotional turmoil with step-by-step, tailor-made rescue prescriptions based on the author's thriving practice of more than 3,000 satisfied patients. No more misdiagnoses or 'Band-aid' treatments such as antidepressants, birth-control pills, or even unnecessary surgeriesUnique philosophy, accompanied with a combination of bio-identical hormones, nutritional supplements, good food, including targeted amino acid therapy, and lifestyle changes allows women to truly manipulate and support their brain chemistry  Readers learn the basic science behind the intricate dance between their hormones and brain chemistry and are then encouraged to respect and identify their own emotional and physical symptomsIdentifies the underlying causes of emotional symptoms and addresses women's unique bio-chemical composition with a new and unconventional approach to integrating bio-identical hormones, targeted amino acid therapy, and other nutritional supplements.

The Female Brain


Louann Brizendine - 2006
    Though referenced like a work of research, Brizedine's writing style is fully accessible. Brizendine provides a fascinating look at the life cycle of the female brain from birth ("baby girls will connect emotionally in ways that baby boys don't") to birthing ("Motherhood changes you because it literally alters a woman's brain-structurally, functionally, and in many ways, irreversibly") to menopause (when "the female brain is nowhere near ready to retire") and beyond. At the same time, Brizedine is not above reviewing the basics: "We may think we're a lot more sophisticated than Fred or Wilma Flintstone, but our basic mental outlook and equipment are the same." While this book will be of interest to anyone who wonders why men and women are so different, it will be particularly useful for women and parents of girls.

The Antidote For Everything


Kimmery Martin - 2020
     Georgia Brown’s profession as a urologist requires her to interact with plenty of naked men, but her romantic prospects have fizzled. The most important person in her life is her friend Jonah Tsukada, a funny, empathetic family medicine doctor who works at the same hospital in Charleston, South Carolina and who has become as close as family to her.Just after Georgia leaves the country for a medical conference, Jonah shares startling news. The hospital is instructing doctors to stop providing medical care for transgender patients. Jonah, a gay man, is the first to be fired when he refuses to abandon his patients. Stunned by the predicament of her closest friend, Georgia’s natural instinct is to fight alongside him. But when her attempts to address the situation result in incalculable harm, both Georgia and Jonah find themselves facing the loss of much more than their careers.

The Pull of the Stars


Emma Donoghue - 2020
    Into Julia's regimented world step two outsiders—Doctor Kathleen Lynn, a rumoured Rebel on the run from the police, and a young volunteer helper, Bridie Sweeney.In the darkness and intensity of this tiny ward, over three days, these women change each other's lives in unexpected ways. They lose patients to this baffling pandemic, but they also shepherd new life into a fearful world. With tireless tenderness and humanity, carers and mothers alike somehow do their impossible work.In The Pull of the Stars, Emma Donoghue once again finds the light in the darkness in this new classic of hope and survival against all odds.

Sexuality Now: Embracing Diversity


Janell L. Carroll - 2004
    Janell Carroll clearly conveys foundational biological and health issues, extensively cites both current and classic research, and addresses all material in a fresh and fun way; her book helps teach students what they need, and want, to know about sexuality. Her focus takes into account the social, religious, ethnic, racial, and cultural contexts of today's students. Dr. Carroll has used feedback from the first edition to add even further value to this popular title-streamlining student pedagogy and providing dynamic learning opportunities through Active Summaries at the end of chapters, a new online student tutorial, new video components, and content for Classroom Response Systems. This continues to be the text most representative of today's students, incorporating new sexual position art, a new pronunciation guide, and (for instructors) a new cross-cultural Slang Guide.

Trans/Portraits: Voices from Transgender Communities


Jackson Wright Shultz - 2015
    In this remarkable book, Jackson Shultz records the stories of more than thirty Americans who identify as transgender. They range in age from 15 to 72; come from twenty-five different states and a wide array of racial, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds; and identify across a vast spectrum of genders and sexualities.Giving voice to a diverse group of individuals, the book raises questions about gender, acceptance, and unconditional love. From historical descriptions of activism to personal stories of discrimination, love, and community, these touching accounts of gender transition shed light on the uncharted territories that lie beyond the gender binary. Despite encounters with familial rejection, drug addiction, and medical malpractice, each account is imbued with optimism and humor, providing a thoughtful look at the daily joys and struggles of transgender life.

The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice


Shon Faye - 2021
    Despite making up less than 1% of the country's population, they are the subjects of a toxic and increasingly polarised 'debate', which generates reliable controversy for newspapers and talk shows. This media frenzy conceals a simple fact: that we are having the wrong conversation, a conversation in which trans people themselves are reduced to a talking point and denied a meaningful voice.In this powerful new book, Shon Faye reclaims the idea of the 'transgender issue' to uncover the reality of what it means to be trans in a transphobic society. In doing so, she provides a compelling, wide-ranging analysis of trans lives from youth to old age, exploring work, family, housing, healthcare, the prison system, and trans participation in the LGBTQ+ and feminist communities, in contemporary Britain and beyond.The Transgender Issue is a landmark work that signals the beginning of a new, healthier conversation about trans life. It is a manifesto for change, and a call for justice and solidarity between all marginalised people and minorities. Trans liberation, as Faye sees it, goes to the root of what our society is and what it could be; it offers the possibility of a more just, free and joyful world for all of us.

The Hormone Diaries: The Bloody Truth About Our Periods


Hannah Witton - 2019
    It exposed a glaring gap - the resources and the spaces to talk honestly about periods just aren't there. And with more and more research showing that your period and your hormones can affect literally every area of your life, this is a problem. Inspired by her YouTube series of the same name, The Hormone Diaries draws on Hannah's own experiences and, through crowdsourcing on her social media platforms, those of her fans too. With her trademark honesty and humour, Hannah explores and demystifies topics surrounding periods, hormones and contraception, to offer readers support, information and advice.The definitive period self-help book 50% of the world has been waiting for!

Loving to Survive: Sexual Terror, Men's Violence, and Women's Lives


Dee L.R. Graham - 1994
    J. Simpson? Why women were no more supportive of the Equal Rights Amendment than men? Why women are no more likely than men to support a female political candidate? Why women are no more likely than men to embrace feminism--a movement by, about, and for women? Why some women stay with men who abuse them? "Loving to Survive" addresses just these issues and poses a surprising answer. Likening women's situation to that of hostages, Dee L. R. Graham and her co- authors argue that women bond with men and adopt men's perspective in an effort to escape the threat of men's violence against them.Dee Graham's announcement, in 1991, of her research on male-female bonding was immediately followed by a national firestorm of media interest. Her startling and provocative conclusion was covered in dozens of national newspapers and heatedly debated. In "Loving to Survive," Graham provides us with a complete account of her remarkable insights into relationships between men and women.In 1973, three women and one man were held hostage in one of the largest banks in Stockholm by two ex-convicts. These two men threatened their lives, but also showed them kindness. Over the course of the long ordeal, the hostages came to identify with their captors, developing an emotional bond with them. They began to perceive the police, their prospective liberators, as their enemies, and their captors as their friends, as a source of security. This seemingly bizarre reaction to captivity, in which the hostages and captors mutually bond to one another, has been documented in other cases as well, and has become widely known as Stockholm Syndrome.The authors of this book take this syndrome as their starting point to develop a new way of looking at male-female relationships. "Loving to Survive" considers men's violence against women as crucial to understanding women's current psychology. Men's violence creates ever-present, and therefore often unrecognized, terror in women. This terror is often experienced as a fear for any woman of rape by any man or as a fear of making any man angry. They propose that women's current psychology is actually a psychology of women under conditions of captivitythat is, under conditions of terror caused by male violence against women. Therefore, women's responses to men, and to male violence, resemble hostages' responses to captors."Loving to Survive" explores women's bonding to men as it relates to men's violence against women. It proposes that, like hostages who work to placate their captors lest they kill them, women work to please men, and from this springs women's femininity. Femininity describes a set of behaviors that please men because they communicate a woman's acceptance of her subordinate status. Thus, feminine behaviors are, in essence, survival strategies. Like hostages who bond to their captors, women bond to men in an effort to survive.This is a book that will forever change the way we look at male-female relationships and women's lives.

Take Me with You


Andrea Gibson - 2018
    Take Me With You, illustrated throughout with evocative line drawings by Sarah J. Coleman, is small enough to fit in your bag, with messages that are big enough to wake even the sleepiest heart. Divided into three sections (love, the world, and becoming) of one liners, couplets, greatest hits phrases, and longer form poems, it has something for everyone, and will be placed in stockings, lockers, and the hands of anyone who could use its wisdom.