The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice
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- Create Date：2022-04-30 09:51:46
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- Author：Shon Faye
- ISBN：0141991801
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Summary
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
'Few books are as urgent as Shon Faye's debut 。。。 Faye has hope for the future - and maybe so should we' Independent
'Unsparing， important and weighty 。。。 a vitally needed antidote' Observer
'A moving and impressively comprehensive overview of trans life' Vogue
Trans people in Britain today have become a culture war 'issue'。 Despite making up less than one per cent of the country's population， they are the subjects of a toxic and increasingly polarized '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 marginalized 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。
'Fundamentally not a culture-war book。 It operates outside the narrow coverage of trans people in the mainstream， and lays bare the inarguable facts' New Statesman
'Monumental and utterly convincing - crystal clear in its understanding of how the world should be' Judith Butler
'Few books are as urgent as Shon Faye's debut 。。。 Faye has hope for the future - and maybe so should we' Independent
'Unsparing， important and weighty 。。。 a vitally needed antidote' Observer
'A moving and impressively comprehensive overview of trans life' Vogue
Trans people in Britain today have become a culture war 'issue'。 Despite making up less than one per cent of the country's population， they are the subjects of a toxic and increasingly polarized '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 marginalized 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。
'Fundamentally not a culture-war book。 It operates outside the narrow coverage of trans people in the mainstream， and lays bare the inarguable facts' New Statesman
'Monumental and utterly convincing - crystal clear in its understanding of how the world should be' Judith Butler
Reviews
Joana Maia
，
A vital read for EVERYONE。 "That we can be both highly at risk of rape by men and blamed for rape by feminists is made possible because the media constructs trans women simultaneously as deviant men and as dangerous women。 The transfeminist Julia Serano has described this as ‘transmisogyny’: a unique and severe form of misogyny specifically directed at trans women （and， I would add， transfeminine non-binary people）。 While trans women， trans men and non-binary people alike experience transphobia， A vital read for EVERYONE。 "That we can be both highly at risk of rape by men and blamed for rape by feminists is made possible because the media constructs trans women simultaneously as deviant men and as dangerous women。 The transfeminist Julia Serano has described this as ‘transmisogyny’: a unique and severe form of misogyny specifically directed at trans women （and， I would add， transfeminine non-binary people）。 While trans women， trans men and non-binary people alike experience transphobia， transmisogyny is reserved for those whose gender identity sits closer to womanhood on the spectrum。" 。。。more
Georgie
，
Extremely informative and well written。 I learnt a lot and I appreciated the discussions on the intersections with racism， sexism and homophobia。
Gabby Humphreys
，
Wanna reduce your bank account？ Well keep on reading because I am about to demand that you all devour this book。If you don’t know @shon。faye， she’s a fabulous activist， writer， presenter， and woman who must require lots of hyphens in her job role。 She’s mainly known for her voice on LGBTQ+ and mental health issues。The Transgender Issue does what it says on the tin。 It discusses the issues faced by trans people in modern UK times， and it does this so well。This book is so educational without feeli Wanna reduce your bank account？ Well keep on reading because I am about to demand that you all devour this book。If you don’t know @shon。faye， she’s a fabulous activist， writer， presenter， and woman who must require lots of hyphens in her job role。 She’s mainly known for her voice on LGBTQ+ and mental health issues。The Transgender Issue does what it says on the tin。 It discusses the issues faced by trans people in modern UK times， and it does this so well。This book is so educational without feeling like a textbook， it’s chatty but without feeling like it’s an unimportant coffee gossip， and it’s long without feeling like a slog。In this， Shon writes with a ridiculous amount of precision。 It feels edited to perfection; with every sentence having a purpose， every point backed up with research， and every tone of voice managing to be informative but welcoming。Shon so brilliantly discusses how surface-level many news sources are with their concerns。 Like， okay， after this which toilet stress how about moving on to job discrimination， sex work， homelessness， how sex sells in the media， how racism comes into this， how tories and trans rights literally do not go together， and I could go on。 It’s truly brilliant。There’s so many popular topics discussed， but again， in great detail。 For example， TERFs are discussed， but this isn’t simply JKR highlighted。 It’s “classic feminists” like Germaine Greer examined （avoid） and the history of feminism being outright transphobia。 For this reason， I believe that this book is pretty timeless。 The only reason I’m hesitant to say that is because I am hopeful that things will drastically change sometime soon。Read this， talk about it， educate people on these matters。Side note: @jamie_windust spoke a long time ago （I think on the @dontsaltmygame podcast） about how it is not the responsibility of non-binary people to educate you on this topic。 They’re already dealing with more shit than you and， come on， the resources you can access are endless。 To me， this view applies to all topics in which you have privileges。 And that， is why you should read this book。 And Jamie’s too cos that’s a banger。 。。。more
Cocodras
，
Trans es un ensayo sobre la situación de las personas trans en el Reino Unido。 Desde hace algún tiempo me interesa el tema de la disforia de género。 Siempre ha estado presente en mi vida porque hubo una persona con este problema （y digo problema porque lamentablemente fue hace mucho tiempo y no pudo vivir como la persona que realmente era） en mi entorno familiar。 Pero en los últimos tiempos， está siendo bastante triste leer ciertas noticias。 Cuando supe de este libro， me lancé a comprarlo e incl Trans es un ensayo sobre la situación de las personas trans en el Reino Unido。 Desde hace algún tiempo me interesa el tema de la disforia de género。 Siempre ha estado presente en mi vida porque hubo una persona con este problema （y digo problema porque lamentablemente fue hace mucho tiempo y no pudo vivir como la persona que realmente era） en mi entorno familiar。 Pero en los últimos tiempos， está siendo bastante triste leer ciertas noticias。 Cuando supe de este libro， me lancé a comprarlo e incluso fui a escuchar a Shon Faye en la presentación。No estoy de acuerdo con ella en todo; en algunos temas coincidimos plenamente， pero leer Trans me ha servido， además de para tener una visión diferente y quizás más amplia del tema， para enfrentarme a mis propias creencias y prejuicios， para replantearme muchos puntos y para reflexionar。 La autora hace asequible un texto que podría ser árido y está complementado con una extensa bibliografía al final。Quisiera destacar también la traducción de Rosa María García。 No solo rompe las reglas para adaptarse al texto （bien！） sino que nos explica con detalle términos intraducibles y justifica algunas de sus decisiones para que comprendamos mejor el texto en castellano。Me ha servido para conocerme un poco más a mí misma。 No creo que pueda hacer nada para mejorar el mundo， para que sea más justo， como dice el subtítulo， espero al menos ser más tolerante。 。。。more
Alex Davies
，
A hugely important text and should honestly be required reading。
Kate Burgess
，
4。5 ⭐️
Clive F
，
This book really broadened my perspective on the implications of being transgender， and the responsibilities that society has towards those who identify as transgender。 Although I didn't agree with everything in here by any means， it gave me a lot to think about， and definitely changed my understanding of the complexities。 Given the Office of National Statistics estimates there to be between 200，000 and 500，000 trans people in the UK， this is not a small issue， and society's often shameful respo This book really broadened my perspective on the implications of being transgender， and the responsibilities that society has towards those who identify as transgender。 Although I didn't agree with everything in here by any means， it gave me a lot to think about， and definitely changed my understanding of the complexities。 Given the Office of National Statistics estimates there to be between 200，000 and 500，000 trans people in the UK， this is not a small issue， and society's often shameful response reflects poorly on us all。 Some good points: Shon Faye interviewed many transgender people， and their stories and personal experiences come through vividly。 There is also an impressive depth of research on the problems that trans people face in our societies - from problems accessing appropriate medical care through everpresent prejudices （in particular from the media， both right wing and more traditionally liberal）， to much higher levels of unemployment and criminal prosecution。 Although many of these were perhaps predictable from the outside （if unexpected in magnitude）， some were not: see， for example， the often complex interactions between feminists， lesbians， and trans people。 There are many many good examples throughout the book， but to pick out one， we can look at the way in which many in the media are happy to fan the flames of moral panic about trans women and the risk they pose to cis women。 They do this by hilighting very rare incidents， such as the incidence of abuse of women by trans women in prison， whilst failing to note the much higher incidence of abuse by male wardens or male police。 Even inside women's prisons， of the 97 recorded sexual assults by other prisoners from 2016 to 2019， only 6 were recorded where a transgender prisoner was the assilant。 That's 2 per year。 Only sixty trans people are in prison having been convicted of a sexual assault。 The book comments: The rhetorical importance given to this small cohort can be exhausting for the 200，000–500，000 trans people in Britain who fear being tainted – and denied civil rights – by association。 This alone puts any moral panics into a totally different perspective， but isn't what the media have as their headline。The book was also strong on the history of trans people and their treatment。 A lot of this was UK-centric， and none the worse for that， I felt。 There are （so I learned） notable differences between trans communities in the UK and in the US， for example， some of which are historical， but others of which are to do with their interactions with others in the LGBTQ communities。 I found these puzzling， but many of these things are path-dependent， and ultimately all one can say is things may have turned out otherwise。There are some points where Faye's strong socialist line goes too far， at one point saying for example:There can be no trans liberation under capitalism。 This is a fact。 The problem with lines like this， attention-grabbing though they are， is that （a） almost all western countries are going to be capitalist for the forseeable future， given the economic dominance of the model， and that even if that were not the case then （b） there are no examples of trans liberation in non-capitalist societies。 China， for example， has a shocking record here。 Does this mean there can be no trans liberation anywhere， ever？ I sincerely hope not！ Faye goes on to justify this point thus:In short， capitalism across the world still relies heavily on the idea of different categories of men’s work and women’s work， in which ‘women’s work’ （such as housework， child-rearing and emotional labour） is either poorly paid or not paid at all。 In order for this categorization to function， it needs to rest on a clear idea of how to divide men and women。 This， for sure， needs to change， but capitalism does not depend on this idea （and again it's a feature of most non-capitalist societies as well - again， see China）。 Faye unfortunately then doubles down by saying:Capitalism also requires a certain level of unemployment to function。 If there were enough work to go round， no worker would worry about losing their job， and all workers could demand higher wages and better conditions。 The only societies in the modern era which claimed to have no unemployment are communist ones， where the track record for higher wages and better conditions is not exactly shining。All this is simply to say that I didn't agree with everything in this book， but the balance was very much in the favour of things I found both thought-provoking and mind-changing。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Beth Hill
，
I read this for a book club and couldn't put it down。 I read this for a book club and couldn't put it down。 。。。more
Maria
，
Fantastic book about a very important topic。 Well written， compelling and definately gave me a lot of things to think about。 It is the first book about transgender people I have read， and that is probably also why so much of it was an epiphany for me。 My favourite quotes:"Access to abortion and access to trans healthcare are often attacked in similar ways: principally by overstating the incidence and likelihood of regretting either process， and an intense， disproportionate focus in the media abo Fantastic book about a very important topic。 Well written， compelling and definately gave me a lot of things to think about。 It is the first book about transgender people I have read， and that is probably also why so much of it was an epiphany for me。 My favourite quotes:"Access to abortion and access to trans healthcare are often attacked in similar ways: principally by overstating the incidence and likelihood of regretting either process， and an intense， disproportionate focus in the media about individuals who do regeret their personal choices， as a way to undermine the principle of choice generally。""Access to abortion and access to trans healthcare are often attacked in similar ways: principally by overstating the incidence and likelihood of regretting either process， and an intense， disproportionate focus in the media about individuals who do regeret their personal choices， as a way to undermine the principle of choice generally。""On the right， trans people are simultaneously and， again， paradoxically - framed as a powerful and dogmatic cultural elite and as infantile， pathetic 'snowflakes' who revel in their fragility and sensitivity。" 。。。more
Rodrigo
，
An exhilarating critical read。 This book is masterful and necessary。 It's importance really cannot be understated。 Buy it for your Grandma， buy it for your neighbor。 I can't even begin to list just how much I learned。 How angry it made me。 How ashamed it made me in realizing my own shortcomings and ignorance as a trans ally。 How much I didn't see or even think to see。 I took my time with this one， reading multiple chapters several times just wanting to sink in as much of Faye's writing and argum An exhilarating critical read。 This book is masterful and necessary。 It's importance really cannot be understated。 Buy it for your Grandma， buy it for your neighbor。 I can't even begin to list just how much I learned。 How angry it made me。 How ashamed it made me in realizing my own shortcomings and ignorance as a trans ally。 How much I didn't see or even think to see。 I took my time with this one， reading multiple chapters several times just wanting to sink in as much of Faye's writing and arguments as I could。 。。。more
Larry
，
A book of two halves for me。 I really enjoyed the analysis of the main issues affecting transsexuals in today's Britain but I found some of the arguments overly-ideological。 7/10 A book of two halves for me。 I really enjoyed the analysis of the main issues affecting transsexuals in today's Britain but I found some of the arguments overly-ideological。 7/10 。。。more
Grá
，
an important and educational read about the reality of living as a trans person in the UK。 highly reccomend this to everyone。
Karl Wardlaw
，
A heartbreaking expose of what trans people have to face to become who they really are。 A lot of people would do well to read this。
Carlos Recamán
，
Cuatro pensamientos:1。- Por un lado es un libro centrado en las problemáticas específicas del colectivo trans/queer en Reino Unido， y apenas hay información sobre lo que sucede más allá de los países anglos。2。- Por otro lado las problemáticas que vivimos en España son tan similares que no es muy difícil extrapolarlas。 Las personas reaccionarias son como las familias felices: todas se parecen entre sí y además producen bastante asco。 3。- Frente a obras más teóricas （Butler， Halberstam et al。） o m Cuatro pensamientos:1。- Por un lado es un libro centrado en las problemáticas específicas del colectivo trans/queer en Reino Unido， y apenas hay información sobre lo que sucede más allá de los países anglos。2。- Por otro lado las problemáticas que vivimos en España son tan similares que no es muy difícil extrapolarlas。 Las personas reaccionarias son como las familias felices: todas se parecen entre sí y además producen bastante asco。 3。- Frente a obras más teóricas （Butler， Halberstam et al。） o más centradas en la experiencia subjetiva de les autores （Serano， Habib）， Trans es un libro eminentemente pragmático que construye un panorama de la actualidad analizando tanto los aparatos legales & policiales como las cositas que hemos ido sufriendo en estos últimos años。 Cositas que， por cierto， [spoiler] son muchas， muy malas y muy violentas。4。- ¡Es uno de los pocos ensayos que conozco con una traducción legible！ 。。。more
Izzykhl
，
sehr starkinterdisziplinär， kapitalismuskritisch， selbst reflektiert。
Alison
，
There wasn't a lot here that I found new， but it is a well packaged explanation of the core issues that would be useful for those relatively new to the topic。 Or I guess， people who live in Britain， where the dominant coverage of trans issues seems to revolve around something that bears no resemblance to trans lives。Which is to say， I guess， that this isn't a feel-good-girl-power trans memoir: Faye covers homelessness， discrimination and the reality that sex work is a common occupation for trans There wasn't a lot here that I found new， but it is a well packaged explanation of the core issues that would be useful for those relatively new to the topic。 Or I guess， people who live in Britain， where the dominant coverage of trans issues seems to revolve around something that bears no resemblance to trans lives。Which is to say， I guess， that this isn't a feel-good-girl-power trans memoir: Faye covers homelessness， discrimination and the reality that sex work is a common occupation for trans folks denied other employment opportunities and often family support。 This settles alongside the discussion about puberty blockers and jails which dominate so much of the media cycle in Britain， calming talking through the issues。 。。。more
Margaret Coulter
，
A fantastic book which speaks not just to the liberation of trans people but everyone。
Ginny
，
Good informative book， but not a very accessible read。 It read more like an academic paper than an informative book。 It would have benefited from a less academic tone and some structural changes; the chapters were too lengthy and the whole thing didn't really flow。 Good informative book， but not a very accessible read。 It read more like an academic paper than an informative book。 It would have benefited from a less academic tone and some structural changes; the chapters were too lengthy and the whole thing didn't really flow。 。。。more
Leo
，
TW: transphobia， racism， deadnaming， misgendering， violance towards trans people， murder， rape， sexual assault， abuse， prisons， misogynior， ableism， withholding of medical care， suicideWhy is transphobia so rampint in the UK and gaining momentum elsewhere in the world？ This book covers many answers and the fallacies behind them， and reasons we all benefit from trans liberation。
David Gilani
，
An absolute 5 stars， must read of a book！ When you think about transgender issues。。。 what do you think about？ unisex bathrooms？ Participations in elite sporting events？ pronouns on passports？ That's what you would think based on what is talked about most ABOUT trans people from a media narrative perspective。 Faye's book perfectly breaks down how the issues that people have about trans folk are very different from the issues that transgender folk actually face。 The book focuses a lot more on pove An absolute 5 stars， must read of a book！ When you think about transgender issues。。。 what do you think about？ unisex bathrooms？ Participations in elite sporting events？ pronouns on passports？ That's what you would think based on what is talked about most ABOUT trans people from a media narrative perspective。 Faye's book perfectly breaks down how the issues that people have about trans folk are very different from the issues that transgender folk actually face。 The book focuses a lot more on poverty and housing that you might expect， but then very quickly you understand why those are things that are much more likely to affect trans folk than other demographics in society。 It's also great at pointing out the ways in which the UK is far behind the US when it comes to trans acceptance generally and yet how there are forces within the US Republican Right that are trying to split the LGBT block by separating out rights for trans people。 It's an incredibly timely read given that Boris Johnson's Government in the UK has just done the exact same thing。 I。e。 declaring that trans people don't deserve legal protection from conversion therapies in the same way that gay， bi and trans folk do。 。。。more
Liam Anthony
，
A really excellent and thought-provoking piece。 Of particular note were the intersectionality， the focus on how socio-economic reality and policy affects trans people in the UK and abroad， the recognition of trans lives outside of the now palatable gender identity politics that concern themselves with appearance more than radicalism， as well as the punitive and state-sponsored violence against trans people and all people within society。I quite liked that this was a mix of personal and common sen A really excellent and thought-provoking piece。 Of particular note were the intersectionality， the focus on how socio-economic reality and policy affects trans people in the UK and abroad， the recognition of trans lives outside of the now palatable gender identity politics that concern themselves with appearance more than radicalism， as well as the punitive and state-sponsored violence against trans people and all people within society。I quite liked that this was a mix of personal and common sense approach， without as much recourse to Gov statistics - which themselves can preclude meaningful discourse around a problem until it's （often belatedly） represented in insufficient self-reported/staff-reported data at institutions with quotes on inclusivity （and evidently exclusivity）。My only structural thought is that I think the discussion of prison - and how trans people are often rock-and-a-hard-place coerced into criminality with prison as a form of self-fulfilling prophecy - could have benefitted from coming last。 So much of it depends on criminality as the result of socioeconomic exclusion， and while the economic exclusion was discussed really effectively earlier in the book， the anti-trans feminism and middle-class palatability that we ran through in 'Ugly Sisters' chapter would have really pre-informed and set a really valuable platform for discussions around trans criminality through socioeconomic coercion （via distress and poverty）。Only content gripe would be the （I think not fully-founded） go-to assumption that a handful of non-gender-conforming people in western history and a few examples of cultures with non-binary identities outside of western Europe indicates that trans identities were widely accepted in pre-industrial society。 Some of the later chapters make recourse to evidence that shows that this wasn't the case and it seems like a little bit of a blind spot。 Very much worth reading for everyone imo 。。。more
Imogen
，
Heavy to read obviously but so so glad I did， incredibly compelling to follow and definitive in its wide ranging perspective
Lee Osborne
，
I'm going to keep this short， as I don't really feel it needs a long review。 Whether you agree with what the author says in this book or not， it's important because it's *actually written by a trans person*。 Many of the loudest and most strident voices expressing concerns around transgender rights and issues are cis people who don't have a dog in the race， and talk about trans people as if they're just some theoretical problem， rather than real actual people， just trying to get on with life。That I'm going to keep this short， as I don't really feel it needs a long review。 Whether you agree with what the author says in this book or not， it's important because it's *actually written by a trans person*。 Many of the loudest and most strident voices expressing concerns around transgender rights and issues are cis people who don't have a dog in the race， and talk about trans people as if they're just some theoretical problem， rather than real actual people， just trying to get on with life。That's where the value of this book lies。 It provides a very sobering picture of what affects trans people， and how it does， in the midst of a world that is very paranoid about them。 Whether you agree with all the author says or not， it's an authentic voice in a shrill and angry debate that feels like it belongs to another age。 Very thought-provoking and very useful。 。。。more
Eleri
，
Very glad I read this。 I appreciated the shift of perspective from fixating on abstract theoretical discussions on who does or doesn't 'qualify' as a woman， towards thinking about what life is actually like for trans people today and the practical steps that would improve their well-being。 The dissection of the way discussions are distorted in the media was particularly clearly articulated， I guess because Shon Faye is very personally familiar with this。 There were a few places where the tone gr Very glad I read this。 I appreciated the shift of perspective from fixating on abstract theoretical discussions on who does or doesn't 'qualify' as a woman， towards thinking about what life is actually like for trans people today and the practical steps that would improve their well-being。 The dissection of the way discussions are distorted in the media was particularly clearly articulated， I guess because Shon Faye is very personally familiar with this。 There were a few places where the tone grated on me a bit， analogies seemed a bit stretched or small points I disagreed with， but the core thrust of the book was spot on and I'd recommend everybody reads it。 。。。more
Lex Adriaensen
，
wow， so much to say about this book。 this definetly wasn't good for my mental health。 Strong feelings that this book was written for cis people， since I didn't really learned anything and it basically triggered me all the time。。。 important book tho， to all my cis friends， please read this book （if you have the mental space for it） our existance enriches this world wow， so much to say about this book。 this definetly wasn't good for my mental health。 Strong feelings that this book was written for cis people， since I didn't really learned anything and it basically triggered me all the time。。。 important book tho， to all my cis friends， please read this book （if you have the mental space for it） our existance enriches this world 。。。more
Lisselot M。 Plaza
，
A simple guide/ honest testimony to being human （and trans） today。 A must！
edga net
，
The book I wanted out of glitch feminism
Jules
，
This is a valuable book with an informational and educational approach。 It will undoubtedly help allies and would-be allies and increase empathy for transgender people in all who read it。 However， it is very North Atlantic （predominantly British） in its focus。 Those who， like me， assume from the title that this will be a rigorously academic and theoretically underpinned argument for social justice will be disappointed。
Daniel Eales
，
Very compelling。 The way the book is able to contextualise the horrific culture across Britain in a targeted direction is amazing， both for how to understand that culture - and how to fight against it for trans liberation。 There really is much to be done， and not much time to ensure that it is done as so many people continue to suffer。 It simply is just an important book to read
Ross Hunter
，