Hello, I am Mae, one of the volunteers at The Glasgow Women’s Library and I have been tasked with creating a collection of books for LGBTQ+ History month. After a few weeks of looking through a big variety of different books, I have finally made my selection of 8 different books.
I’ve tried to make these books as varied as possible so that way there is hopefully a book for everyone. This selection ranges from a simple abridgement of LGBTQ+ history, to fiction, to graphic novels, to an in-depth good for studying history of LGBTQ+ and more!
I hope anyone deciding to visit enjoys looking through my selection!
Finding Out by Deborah T.Meem, Michelle A.Gibson & Jonathon F.Alexander:
Finding Out, Fourth Edition introduces readers to lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-queer (LGBTQ) studies. By combining accessible introductory and explanatory material with primary texts and artifacts, this text/reader explores the development and growth of LGBTQ identities and the interdisciplinary nature of sexuality studies. Now available in a digital ebook format, the fourth edition has been thoroughly updated to include a new chapter on “Trans Lives and Theories”, and new readings. Chapters include more discussions of important and current issues in LGBTQ studies such as the emergence of non-binary identities, and issues of race and class, making Finding Out, Fourth Edition an even more comprehensive introduction to the field.
I picked this book as it goes into extreme detail of the history of LGBTQ+ people. This could be good for studying or if you want to do some fact-checking on some very specific LGBTQ+ history.
Carol by Patricia Highsmith:
Therese is just an ordinary sales assistant working in a New York department store when a beautiful, alluring woman in her thirties walks up to her counter. Standing there, Therese is wholly unprepared for the first shock of love. Therese is an awkward nineteen-year-old with a job she hates and a boyfriend she doesn’t love; Carol is a sophisticated, bored suburban housewife in the throes of a divorce and a custody battle for her only daughter. As Therese becomes irresistibly drawn into Carol’s world, she soon realizes how much they both stand to lose…First published pseudonymously in 1952 as The Price of Salt, Carol is a hauntingly atmospheric love story set against the backdrop of fifties’ New York.
Orlando by Virginia Woolf:
First masculine, then feminine, Orlando is a young sixteenth-century nobleman who gallops through the centuries, from Elizabethan England and imperial Turkey to Virginia Woolf’s own time. Will he find happiness with the exotic Russian princess Sasha? Or is the dashing explorer Shelmerdine the ideal man? And what form will Orlando take on the journey – a nobleman, traveller, writer? Man or . . . woman?
Written for the charismatic, bisexual writer Vita Sackville-West, Orlando is one of Woolf’s most popular and accessible novels, a playful mock biography of a chameleon-like historical figure that is both a wry commentary on gender and, in Woolf’s own words, a ‘writer’s holiday’ that delights in its ambiguity and capriciousness.
I’ve picked these 2 books to go together as a pair. I thought it’d be fun to take LGBTQ+ History month literally and pick 2 LGBTQ+ fiction books written in the early 20th century, one focusing on sexuality and the other on gender.
Gender Euphoria edited by Laura Kate Dale:
So often the stories shared by trans people about their transition centre on gender dysphoria: a feeling of deep discomfort with their birth-assigned gender, and a powerful catalyst for coming out or transitioning. But for many non-cisgender people, it’s gender euphoria which pushes forward their transition: the joy the first time a parent calls them by their new chosen name, the first time they have the confidence to cut their hair short, the first time they truly embrace themself.
In this groundbreaking anthology, nineteen trans, non-binary, agender, gender-fluid and intersex writers share their experiences of gender euphoria: an agender dominatrix being called Daddy , an Arab trans man getting his first tattoos, a trans woman embracing her inner fighter.
What they have in common are their feelings of elation, pride, confidence, freedom and ecstasy as a direct result of coming out as non-cisgender, and how coming to terms with their gender brought unimaginable joy into their lives.
When first looking for something to represent trans people, I looked through books explaining trans rights, the history of trans people and a book talking about the laws currently in place for trans people. But eventually I realised just how much of this is what is already being pushed into headlines and media 24/7 and I don’t feel like we deserve to have any more stressful topics in a month celebrating our history. So in the end I decided to look into the future rather than the past and present, a future that shows an optimistic view of trans people and the positives of what it’s like to be trans.
The Sacrifice of Darkness by Roxane Gay, Tracy Linne Oliver, Rebecca Kirby & James Fenner:
A tragic event forever bathes the world in darkness. Follow a woman and a man’s powerful journey through this new landscape as they discover love, family and the true light in a world seemingly robbed of any. As they challenge the world’s notions of identity, guilt and survival, they find that no matter the darkness, there remain sources of hope that can pierce the veil
This graphic novel was written by Roxane Gay who is a bi woman. I felt it would be nice to have more fiction so that way all the books aren’t just non-fictions. I also picked this book because I feel bi women and bi people in general do not get as much attention as they deserve and are always seen as an afterthought when they are in fact just as important as anyone else.
From Prejudice to Pride by Amy Lamé:
From Prejudice to Pride looks at the rise and achievements of the LGBTQ+ movement and the different communities, pioneers and stories of heartbreak and courage that have marched alongside it.
Perfect for readers aged 11 and upwards, this book will inspire courage and pride in young LGBTQ+ people and help answer questions for all readers interested in gender and identity.
Follow LGBTQ+ history from ancient civilisations to the present-day, and learn about key events including the trial of Oscar Wilde, the Stonewall riots, the AIDS crisis, same-sex marriage and changing laws that have impacted on LGBTQ+ life. Gain insight into the shifting attitudes that have challenged lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and the experiences that help us understand what it means to be LGBTQ+ today.
Filled with photographs documenting LGBTQ+ life from the past and present, and from around the world.
I thought this book would be a good contrast to the book Finding Out, it still goes into detail about LGBTQ+ history but it’s much easier to read and also simplified down. Its good if your a casual reader and is there as an option if reading isn’t entirely your thing.
Extra Bold by Ellen Lupton, Farah Kafei, Jennifer Tobias, Josh A.Halstead, Kallena Sales, Leslie Xia & Valentina Vergara:
Extra Bold is the inclusive, practical, and informative career handbook for designers that we’ve all been waiting for. Written collaboratively by a diverse team of authors, the book opens with critical essays that rethink design principles and practices through theories of feminism, racism, inclusion, and nonbinary thinking. Extra Bold features interviews, essays, typefaces, and projects from dozens of contributors with a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds, abilities, gender identities, and positions of economic and social privilege. The book adds new voices to the dominant design canon.
Part textbook and part comic book, zine, manifesto, survival guide, and self-help manual, Extra Bold is filled with stories and ideas that don’t show up in other career books or design overviews. Both pragmatic and inquisitive, the book explores power structures and how to navigate them. Interviews showcase people at different stages of their careers, and biographical sketches explore individuals marginalized by sexism, racism, and ableism. Jennifer Tobias’s original, handcrafted illustrations bring warmth, happiness, humor, and narrative depth. Extra Bold is the design career manual for everyone.
I wanted something showing some LGBTQ+ work within the arts and thought this would be a great choice, with it also being an instruction book, reading this will also help to spread the LGBTQ+ influence further into design.
Working Class Queers by Yvette Taylor:
Who cares about working-class queers in Britain today? Are queers marginal to the study of class, and are the working-classes marginal to queer studies? Yvette Taylor critically engages with the experience of working-class queers through cycles of crisis, austerity, recession and migration to show how they have been underrepresented and demands that this changes.
Drawing on growing academic, radical activism in queer studies and feminism, she critiques the policy, theory and practice that have maintained queer middle-class privilege at the expense of working-class queers.
Although I’ve written earlier saying I did not want to involve much politics I thought the subject of class mixed with queers was very interesting and again this adds another layer of variety for anyone who might be interested in the political side of LGBTQ+.
This ends my list of books selected for LGBTQ+ History month, thank you for reading all of this if you have. If any of these books listed has piqued your interest the please feel free to visit the library and pick up one of the books at the stand!
Thank you, Mae.F
