Transgender: An umbrella term (adj.) for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. The term may include but is not limited to: transsexuals, cross-dressers and other gender-variant people….Transgender people may or may not decide to alter their bodies hormonally and/or surgically. (“GLAAD Media Reference Guide”) 
It isn’t quite enough to collect words and press them to skin as an announcement of all the things we are and have been and might be and question. Words that mark one’s gender and the blur that has begun to birth its way out. It is also about taking the time to take these words apart and search out their gestures and movements.
Here is the thing. There are gaps between bodies and what is learned and what we need to learn about. We search shelves in order to understand what keeps shifting in us and around us. What is unclear should be questioned.
Before, bodies were left to disrobe against a vocabulary that was not always their own. The impact of owning an alphabet that feels as honest as one’s skin can be. The necessity to find a sound that sounds like what one feels like….
Trans Bodies, Trans Selves is a comprehensive, reader-friendly guide for transgender, gender non-conforming folk and trans allies, with each chapter written by transgender or genderqueer authors. Inspired by Our Bodies, Ourselves, the classic and powerful compendium written for and by women, Trans Bodies, Trans Selves is widely accessible to the transgender population, providing authoritative information in an inclusive and respectful way and representing the collective knowledge base of dozens of influential experts.
This is not just a book; It is a movement of history, a clarification of voices, a reconfiguration of gender on a body. Each full-figured chapter takes the reader through an important transgender issue, such as race, religion, employment, medical and surgical transition, mental health topics, relationships, sexuality, parenthood, arts and culture, and so much more. There is no text as thorough as this. Hopefully this is just the beginning of many more books such as this.
Get your shelves ready!
Aimee Herman 