Welcome to the fourth week of reading Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue by Leslie Feinberg!

If you’re just getting started, here’s a link to the thread for

We’re only doing one chapter per week and the discussion threads will be left open, so latecomers are still very much welcome to join if interested.

As mentioned before… This isn’t just a book for trans people! If you’re cis, please feel free to join and don’t feel intimidated if you’re not trans and/or new to these topics.

Here is a list of resources taken from the previous reading group session:

pdf download
epub download - Huge shout out to comrade @EugeneDebs for putting this together. I realized I didn’t credit them in either post but here it is. I appreciate your efforts. ❤️
chapter 1 audiobook - Huge shout out to comrade @futomes for recording these. No words can truly express my appreciation for this. Thank you so much. ❤️
chapter 2 audiobook
chapter 3 audiobook
chapter 4 audiobook
chapter 5 audiobook
chapter 6 audiobook
chapter 7 audiobook
chapter 8 audiobook

Also here’s another PDF download link and the whole book on ProleWiki.

In this thread we’ll be discussing Chapter 4: “Are You a Guy, or What?”

CWs: Mentions of transphobia, misgendering.

This chapter covers remarks by Feinberg at a True Spirit Conference workshop called “Exploring Our Options”, which are primarily focused on challenging the gender binary and defining ourselves in ways that honor our self-expression.

There are also two great “Portrait” sections here, one by Michael Hernandez and another by Dragon Xcaliber, with both discussing their lived experience in not fitting neatly into the categories that society tries to force us into.

I’ll ping whoever has been participating so far, but please let me know if you’d like to be added (or removed).

Feel free to let me know if you have any feedback also. Thanks!

  • AntifaSuperWombat [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
    7·
    15 days ago

    I feel like the words in this chapter carry a lot more pain and regret with them than the previous ones, but also hope.

    I know damn well how isolating being trans can be, how lonely you can feel if everyone else is different from you. The first time I’ve had a proper conversation with another trans person irl wasn’t even 2 years ago. I don’t want to even imagine how the people at this workshop must’ve felt, with some of them being alone for decades and finally being able to meet likeminded people.

    When I joined Hexbear and tracha now, I finally got to feel like a normal human being and not someone who has to hide part of herself to not offend others or weird them out. It feels so liberating.

    I think those words sum it up perfectly:

    Today we have found each other. And from now on, we never again feel as alone as we’ve felt our entire lives. This is a very important moment for all of us. It’s been a long, arduous journey. But we found each other.

    You are home now.