Category: short story


Recommendation: “Not Trans Enough” Excerpt


Xylophone Gender recommends…

this will not define me
An excerpt from the zine “Not Trans Enough”

The entire zine is available here on Etsy. The excerpt is posted on the blog janitorqueer.

genderqueerness appealed to me because it meant that i no longer had to live like a man. it meant that i no longer had to fall short of the ideal of being a man. it meant that i could start to reject the masculinity that is toxic and violent. it meant that i could be this tiny five foot one and a half tall person trying to live a just life in an unjust world. one thing it didn’t mean was that my male privilege just disappeared once i started to identify as genderqueer.

yes, i still benefit from male privilege even though i identify as genderqueer. this male privilege is complicated and contextual. it’s something i never really thought about or ever needed to consider. i feel genderqueer on the inside but i know that most people read me as a dude. being a genderqueer tomboy femme feels right. although my gender identity challenges gender expectations, i still live in this world that genders people as men or women. as de from my interactions with people that are close to me, i get gendered as a man. even though i identify as femme, i do not experience constnt sexual harassment, gendered or sexual violence.

in my early 20s and before i ever identified as queer in any way, i used to wear women’s pants by goth brands like lip service and tripp. the pants were skinny enough to fit my slim petite figure but were really tight around the crotch area. i also used to wear cyber goth platform sneakers. i had a pair of “swear alternative” shoes that had a 4 inch platform. i only wore them out once. i stopped it all. i couldn’t deal with the looks and i didn’t feel comfortable or confident in what i was wearing so i stopped. i was scared. i stopped expressing this femme aspect of myself to feel safe. i traded aesthetics for security.


Posted by on January 1st, 2017 at 08:00 am

recommendations, short story | Comment »

Recommendation: Flying Cups & Saucers


Joss/Ame recommends…

Book cover of "Flying Cups & Saucers - Gender Explorations in Science Fiction & Fantasy".

Flying Cups & Saucers
A science fiction anthology book

I found this gem of a collection whilst wandering through my university’s library — in particular, the few shelves tucked away on the seventh floor containing science fiction anthologies by women and queer people… The short stories it contains are all winners of the James Tiptree, Jr. Award for science fiction and fantasy that explores the boundaries of gender and sexuality. Some are old favorites like Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Matter of Seggri”, while some I had never heard of before and instantly fell in love with, like Eleanor Arnason’s “The Lovers”. All of the pieces play with gender roles and expectations in settings at once fantastical and exquisitely human. If you like speculative fiction, I would highly recommend this book.

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Posted by on May 26th, 2014 at 08:00 am

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Recommendation: Two-Spirit Poetry


Cecelia LaPointe recommends…

There are a few poems on my website that I thought I would share.

I identify as Gender Non-conforming, Genderqueer, Androgynous and Two-Spirit (Niizh Manidoowag — in Anishinaabemowin). I love genderfork!

The Androgynous Man In Brown Pants

I’m sittin’ at the end of this dock,
I’ve walked this way to find my beginning,
The boards of this dock creaking,
As I am the man,
The androgynous man,
With a cigarette hangin’ outta my mouth,

Today I am wearing brown pants,
Black t-shirt,
Flannel shirt in the truck,
Tomorrow I wear jeans,

These people keep passin’ through here,
Keep on passin’ through,
Going somewhere better they say,
Gotta get out of this place,

To some hippie idea of community,
This ain’t going work for me – the working man,
I wave my hand at em’ in disappointment,
Ain’t got time for thinking why these people don’t care,

This hippie idea forgets about the struggle of people like myself,
Residing in towns like Manistee,
Some “progressive” who turns their nose up at this place,
“Oh your from Manistee” in a derogatory tone,
Blinds closed,
Poverty,
Addictions,
Too much of an eyesore,
That town stinks from the pollution,

Keep on going I say,
Wave em’ away,

I am the androgynous man in brown pants,
Reminiscing about the days of family get-togethers,
Hot summer days,
Playing “redneck” horseshoes as some yuppie would say,
But they are just horseshoes to me,
I own this and I ain’t got no shame,
Eating watergate salad,
Thinking about the power lines towering over us in this Hazel Park backyard,
Just a few blocks north of 8 Mile Road,

From the D to the Stee to KBIC,
Don’t belittle,
Don’t be mean,
Bright minds,
Bright hearts,
Get tossed aside near the railroad tracks,
We pick up the pieces,
Mend our families,
Mend our souls,

Ya see I am the androgynous man in brown pants,
Driving the rusted old Chevette,
To a rusted old Ford,

There is always something better,
I try to make all of this work,
A heavy heart like a ball of iron,
Heavy heart from the generations,
Heavy from this identity,
Existing in this body,
Existing in this skin,
Gender deviation,
Equals community alienation,

And I ponder all of this,
As the androgynous man in brown pants,
In a woman’s body,
Here at the lake,
Watching her ways.

» Recommend something. «


Posted by on May 4th, 2014 at 08:00 am

poetry, recommendations, short story | 4 comments »

Recommendation: Attention: People With Body Parts


Lexie Bean recommends…

Line drawings in many colors of many body types.

Attention: People With Body Parts
A book and letter campaign

“Attention: People With Body Parts” commenced as a drive to collect letters from folks who have written to one of their body parts. Our bodies are filled with histories and identities, which change the way people look at each other and look in the mirror. Together, we self-construct and self-destruct our bodies. This project is about accessibility of control, celebration, and space for connection to and from body parts. This project is about establishing safe spaces for anyone who has been told or forced to believe safety is not something he/she/ze/they can find within the home, the body.

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Posted by on April 14th, 2014 at 08:00 am

books, recommendations, short story, websites | 1 comment »

Recommendation: On Being Different


Tarvok recommends…

*On Being Different*. -Tarvok-. Summary: Mr. Spock's advice on being a part of two worlds, yet accepted by neither one. Vaguely based from advice written by Mr. Leonard Nimoy a long time ago. I live my life by this, and I thought maybe that I would share.

On Being Different
A short narration, a fanfiction.

I think this advice might be able to help people. It’s about being in-between two worlds, and maybe what you can do to be happy there, rather than always trying to be one thing or the other because other people wish you’d just “pick a side.”

It’s helped me immensely, so I thought I’d Pay It Forward.

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Posted by on February 27th, 2014 at 08:00 am

recommendations, short story | 2 comments »

Recommendation: X: A Fabulous Child’s Story


A recommends…
Baby X

Baby X is a story of a child raised as an experiment. X is raised just named X, and X’s physical sex is kept a very tight secret. Nobody other than the parents know, and they are sworn to exclusive secrecy, telling everybody who asks that X is neither a boy or a girl: just an X. The story follows Baby X as it grows up without any pressure towards either male or female, encouraged strongly in both areas. X thrives in school, but soon complications arise. It’s a very sweet story with a very, VERY good message.

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Posted by on February 9th, 2011 at 08:00 am

recommendations, short story | 13 comments »

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