Essay anthology review: Gender Euphoria (2021) edited by Laura Kate Dale.

Do you ever ask yourself where the good news of trans, non-binary or intersex people are? why is it always negativity and badness? These pathetic transphobic/non-binary-phobic/intersex-phobic comments such as "trans men are biological women", "people cannot be non-binary" or "intersex people just get corrected". These are just some of the negative comments I have heard or read. Maybe like me, you want some trans joy. Maybe you want people talking of intersex people in a positive light. Maybe you want happier stories  of non-binary people. Well it is a good job I am here to provide you with an "antidote" to all the negative and hateful juju. Yes this is another insightful blog post for you, my readers...

Here I am bringing you of an anthology book of essays entitled Gender Euphoria which funnily enough sums the book up well. I have forgotten how I came to pick this book up but it has been such a beautiful read. With all the hatred and negativity that transgender, non-binary  and intersex people face, it was so rewarding to read of some positivity. Also it gave me hope.

Seeing the front and side of the book were joyous too. This was before I had even read it. The front cover is decorated with a transgender flag background. On the side there are flags for the various communities - transgender, genderqueer, genderfluid, agender, non-binary and intersex. Then I opened it.

Having read the book, what stuck to me the most was how the authors' stories were all so varied. The authors themselves were varied with some of them identifying in the book as transgender, agender or intersex to name three examples. This for me was a excellent idea to include such a variation of identities. It enabled more stories to be told without stories sounding too repetitive. Each author did have their own story to tell.

Further to this, the editor Laura Kate Dale did acknowledge the negativity that transgender, non-binary and intersex people face - ‘I'm not going to pretend that the world isn't sometimes a bit miserable for non-cisgender people’.¹ But this books does not focus on all the negativity and rightly so. There is too much of it so to read this was a refreshing change. The book is honest, heartwarming and diverse. It offers something you do not get often in a way that allows readers to think how things could be for those who are transgender, non-binary or intersex. This book is an alternative. This is something we could do with more! I loved reading it from the first to the last page. I spent hours reading it across the two days I travelled to the one time I went to Brighton Pride. If you want happiness and hope in a book then this is it. Gender Euphoria is a solid and euphoric 10/10 for me!

I hope that somewhere out there, someone reads this and realises this book is just what they need!




Until next time,


Thomas.


Footnotes:

¹ Laura Kate Dale, "Introduction," in Gender Euphoria, ed. Laura Kate Dale (Unbound, 2021), 3.


Bibliography:

Dale, Laura Kate. "Introduction" in Gender Euphoria edited by Laura Kate Dale. Unbound, 2021.

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