The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice

There has been a slew of books published recently by well-known transphobes, books that have done little more than regurgitated transphobic rhetoric from the media, nothing new, nothing enlightening. They have been designed to produce ignorance.Shon Faye's book it very different. Instead of spreading ignorance, disinformation and distrust, it enlightens the reader and reveals what it is really like to be trans. One of the main differences between Faye's book and the others is that she actually *talks to trans people*, something the recent publications by transphobes do not. How anyone can write a book about trans people without talking to trans people is beyond me.Beyond that however Faye's writing is accessible and intelligent and really, genuinely informative, even for trans people, some of the information she explores will be new. Trans people's lives are explored in great depth and multidimensionally instead of one-dimensionally for a change. Trans people are portrayed as real people with real world lives and problems just like everyone else and she is clear about the different intersections with race, class, sexuality, age and (dis)ability. The issues she writes about are taken from trans people's point of view and consequently this book is so much more enlightening that the anything else currently published about trans people.If you read this book you will finish by understanding a great deal more about trans people than when you started, which is the opposite of pretty much everything else published in the UK in the last couple of years, especially the stuff written by anti-trans campaigners. You will also start to understand transphobia and how insipid and fascistic it is in the UK. However beyond that she sets out to situate her argument in the context of other liberation struggles because ultimately the fight for trans liberation is also a fight for women's liberation, gay, lesbian and bisexual liberation, against racism and disability discrimination and for class liberation against the fascism of the likes of Trump and the 'Gender Criticals' and the dangers of neoliberal capitalism.This is a truly enlightening book which will not only make you think but will actually make you considerably more knowledgeable about trans people than you were before you started reading. It is written in an accessible style but one that does not insult your intelligence as a reader and it is engaging all the way through.Something different, something new.Thoroughly worthwhile reading and, for a change, a book that totally justifies all the praise it has received in the media, indeed in my view it exceeded expectations by a country mile.

After previously reading 'another book' and being thoroughly disappointed and misled by it, it was so good to find another book that offered a much more verifiable and fairer picture.'The Trans Gender Issue: An argument for Justice' by Shon Faye came as a breath of fresh air. Full of up-to-date facts and data in the now time of the 21st century, her book offers a clear, true and concise look into what our Trans Community faces. I've learnt so much, particularly of the political and media negativity and misleading influences, which allowed me to really question what others are wrongly promoting, along with legislation which has given me a better understanding. I would highly recommend this book, even just for the reason it is written by some one who really knows!

I loved this book, Shon is so insightful and eloquent, it's a pleasure to read. I've educated myself better on the issues faced by Trans people in the UK. Recommended it to all my friends. The only criticism I can make is a few times I felt like Shon's interpretation of some issues was a wee bit radical without an attempt to understand where the other side of the argument is coming from.

The problem, at present, is that it is very difficult to find a book about transgender issues and politics that does not, despite its claim to be balanced, ultimately reveal which 'side' of the debate it represents.This book is no different - though that is not a criticism per se.What I always suggest to people is at least engage with both perspectives. To people who read this book, I say read Kathleen Stock, or Janice Raymond, or Heather Brunskell-Evans. To people who read the latter, I say read Shon Faye.There is little (or at least less) value in reading something that simply confirms what you already think. So I would actually recommend this book most of all precisely to those who are critical of trans-affirmative theory and who are instinctively more sympathetic to critical gender theorists/feminists. The best way to test your views is to engage with the counter-arguments. I would, of course, similarly encourage those who are most sympathetic to trans-perspectives to engage with some of the authors I mentioned above, rather than just dismiss them as transphobes or TERFs or whatever.Shon writes well, often movingly, and presents one of the best representations of trans-perspectives I've encountered.Of course, just like 'the other side', she is at times a little selective - especially when it comes to not contextualising the statistical significance of some of the data she cites, or in relying on anecdotes, or in occasionally presenting subjective views or perspectives as though they are facts. Hence 4 out of 5.For example, a large number of very decent, understanding, and non-prejudicial (liberal) woman are genuinely concerned about the 'toilet/changing-room' issue (which Shon tends to present as though it is some kind of conservative reactionary view only pursued by hardline Republicans). How to balance the right of a trans-identifying woman to enter a female bathroom against the right of a natal woman not to want to share a bathroom with a pre-operative person with intact male genitalia is surely incredibly complex and extremely delicate; and not an issue that should be chalked-up to 'get over it or you're a transphobe' - it requires empathy and negotiation on all sides.But a very good book, and recommended to anyone, alongside reading Stock or Raymond, who wishes to understand just how complex this issue is (and that the person who may have a different view to you is not the enemy, but a person with a different view to you).

The cover of Shon Faye's book was blurbed by no less than five writers of books about transgender topics that profoundly influenced me. When the US edition came out I put it on my shopping list and, once I had eaten into my backlog of unread new books, I ordered my copy. Politics involving trans rights have moved with such speed that in some respects the book feels dated, even with 2021 and 2022 copyright dates.Don't let that dissuade you from buying it! Shon approaches the topic with both rigor and vigor, a keen (and well-researched) sense of history, and righteous critiques of people who stand in the way of trans justice – which as she argues, is justice for *all.* While strongest in her analysis of UK trans politics, the analysis of the situation in the EU and North America is also comprehensive and powerful.The book would be particularly helpful for journalists and political figures unfamiliar with transgender experience and finding themselves having to weigh in on policy and politics. But anyone wanting to understand what reality looks like (distinct from the politics of the moment, which are far afield from the world we actually all live in) will come away with an improved understanding of the subject.

英国の話だが、日本の読者にも（いや、きっと世界中で）広く読まれる必要がある。性器の手術をしたかどうかや、オンライン上の差別への対抗など、トランスジェンダー当事者からしたら「くだらない」言説に足を引っ張られるのではなく、きちんと生活実態に沿った話がなされている。そう、「トランスジェンダー問題」とされる諸々は、そのシステムを構築したシスジェンダーの問題なのだ。著者の現状認識には信頼がおける。3章の階級の話や、4章セックスワークから見てとれるように、トランス当事者といっても状況は大きく異なる。「きちんとした」「恵まれている」トランス像ばかりしか想像できない人々へ、現実はどうなのか示してくれる。イントロダクションからすでに、自殺したトランス女性のエピソードと酷すぎるメディア報道など厳しい現実が示されるのでなかなか読むのは大変だが、避けることのできない、これこそリアルだろう。

Although I live in Australia, I owe the UK so much as it was the place where I reached the pinnacle of my ambition and from that privileged position my true self was born - Shon’s wonderful book describes exactly the struggles, the challenges and the irreplaceable joy that being trans provides - I am an optimist and I know that everyone who reads this well-written and researched book will turn out to be one too - the author has made sure of that.

I'm halfway through, and so far it's a solid book that does what it purports to do: instead of talking about the issues other people have with trans people, it reclaims the political narrative and dives deeply into the issues trans people face. Anyone who's been looking for something informative that isn't a 101 or a memoir should absolutely take a look.The only criticism I have at this point is of some of the praise directed towards the US healthcare system and social support system generally as it relates to trans people (okay, and the editor could've been a bit better). While I do appreciate that I didn't have to wait years for hormone help on this side of the pond, it is beyond bizarre Shon thinks our system is anything to be inspired by in addressing the UK approach!

A very smart and quality write. Speaks to and from the multiple and interwoven angles of cultural politics that impact justice for not just the edges of marginal communities (in this case transgender people) but for all of us.