#for those curious the release date is 21 feb 2023

[nyx-b-log]

Am I Trans Enough? by Alo Johnston

thanks to netgalley for the arc!

read: oct 2022

rating: 4*

summary:

see title ;) more seriously, a self-help text written by a therapist for people who are experiencing doubt in and of their transness.

opinion:

this is a really affirming read! or at least it was to me.

to some extent i think this is the kind of book which each reader will get varying mileage out of depending on what they relate to and what they need. cishet people might struggle (but i still believe it could be useful for them! you never know what gender is lurking, plus allyship!), but people who have a more complex relationship with gender will (i believe) find parts that they relate to, if not the whole thing.

the book itself covers a variety of potential trans and nonbinary experiences and historical context, and tho i bounced off the first half (with the exception of the exploration of the strange feeling of trying new pronouns which made me feel a lot better about a fear i'd been diminishing) the second half felt much more practiceable. towards the end there's three separate chapters, one each on being a trans man, woman, and nonbinary.

(the author also acknowledges that this doesn't and can't cover all potential identities and experiences. how you feel about that is up to you.)

and, of course, the gist of the book is that yes, yes you are trans enough.

the chapters themselves are very short, a couple of pages each, and any longer ones are broken up with sub-sections, so it's very easy to read. plus, if anything comes up that you really need to sit and think about for a while - and like me, you have a base need to finish chapters before putting the book down - you can!

but, bear in mind, i don’t technically identify myself as trans (though i use multiple pronouns), so this was more of an interesting reading exercise, with a few hopes that maybe some of those minor niggling doubts were more universal than i'd initially thought. (surprising literally no one, they were).

however, as a person relatively newly playing with gender, i did feel very affirmed and reassured by both the writing style and the content.

it's also, for anyone concerned, open and accepting of detransition as an option, and supports more fluid experiences of gender. (low bar, i know, but appreciated.)

my only critiques with it are that it seems to try and cover too much at once, and ends up covering a lot of stuff in a very light way. this, coupled with the lack of activities makes it feel like a sort of superficial book. to put it another way, i feel like my knowledge around trans doubt has changed, but i'm not entirely sure how to approach feeling different around my own doubt.

not unhelpful tho! and the long list of resources and notes in the back are greatly appreciated!

but still, i think i was hoping for a bit more depth.

on the whole, i enjoyed this book and found it useful! would recommend to anyone early in their gender journey, or perhaps looking for a little insight into other gender identities.