Announcing Trans Bodies, Trans Selves second edition
The Trans Bodies, Trans Selves board is proud to announce the release of Trans Bodies, Trans Selves’ second edition, published April 15, 2022.
The Trans Bodies Trans Selves second edition is 50 pages longer than the first, and includes thousands of new contributors with an emphasis on uplifting BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) trans voices. The original 25 chapters have been updated with new material from over 250 trans subject-matter experts, new art, brand new first-person narratives from a survey of over 2,000 trans voices, a foreword written by Kai Cheng Thom, and afterward written by Jennifer Finney Boylan.
The second edition of Trans Bodies pre-orders are already #1 on Amazon’s “Gay & Lesbian” list, generating significant buzz for this essential resource.
It comes as more than 220 anti-trans state laws have been proposed since 2021, limiting healthcare, public space, and athletics access for millions of trans people across America. In the light of this wave of reaction, the new edition includes extensive new material on trans youth and adolescents.
Other updates include reflections on: changes in language used by trans communities, the role of social media in trans lives, new diagrams illustrating updated surgical techniques, and increased exploration of the challenges and complexities within diverse trans communities. It includes hundreds of academic citations, online resources, and over 60 pages devoted specifically to topics affecting trans and gender expansive children and young adults.
“This new edition of Trans Bodies Trans Selves could not come at a better time,” said Kelsey Pacha, President, Trans Bodies, Trans Selves board. “As we see the trans and non-binary communities under attack, from anti-trans legislation to the continuing epidemic of violence, particularly targeting trans people of color, this updated resource is more important than ever for parents, families, advocates, journalists and most importantly, trans and non-binary people. Trans Bodies Trans Selves is not just about information, it is about seeing ourselves, telling our stories and creating community,” continued Pacha.
“This new edition of Trans Bodies, Trans Selves has been updated in the spirit of the first edition and with the same values – it is an expansive, intersectional resource guide on all facets of the lives of trans and nonbinary people of all ages and reflects the many things we have learned as well as acknowledging the progress the community has made in the last eight years. From the critical information related to self-awareness, identity and transition to the ways in which faith & religion, immigration status, race & ethnicity and so many other parts of our complex identities are impacted by our gender identity, this new edition will be a touchstone for a new generation of trans and nonbinary people of all ages, as well as their families and the communities and service providers that care about them/us,” said Laura Erickson-Schroth, founder of Trans Bodies, Trans Selves and Editor of the second edition.
Why It Matters Now
The first edition of Trans Bodies, Trans Selves (TBTS) is one of the most widely-cited and encompassing resources available dedicated to the transgender, nonbinary, and gender expansive communities, written by hundreds of trans contributors. The first edition of TBTS is used in libraries, classrooms, nonprofits, medical schools and clinics, and thousands of homes. The first edition of TBTS also garnered extensive media coverage and came at a critical time for the trans and gender expansive community, allies and so many others for whom the book was a reference and touchstone for information.
Visibility of transgender, gender expansive, and nonbinary people has exploded over the past decade. An increasing number of Americans–over 4 in 10 people–know a transgender person and/or a person who goes by a pronoun other than “he” or “she.”Furthermore, an increasing number of youth are identifying underneath the transgender umbrella, especially as nonbinary. More and more healthcare, educational, and social services providers are aware of their need for up-to-date best practice information on how to best serve their trans constituencies. Although there are increasingly diverse and authentic representations of trans communities in the media, there has been a notablepolitical backlash against transgender people, especially trans children and adolescents. It is vital now, more than ever, for those with diverse gender identities, their loved ones, and their providers to have as much current information on trans and gender expansive communities as possible.
The mission of the Trans Bodies, Trans Selves organization is to improve the world for trans, nonbinary, and gender expansive people in all our diversity through offering reliable information and education, connection and discussion, visibility about the diversity of our community and our issues, and activism about needs of our community. The right resources for trans and gender expansive people, our loved ones, and our providers can make all the difference in creating a better world.
