I'm hoping to educate myself more on this topic and thank you for a book which I feel has been able to inform me and help me further develop my understanding.

🌿BOOK REVIEW🌿

The Transgender Issue by Shon Faye

This has to be one of the best, well researched non-fiction books I have ever read. Shon Faye examines the obsessive ‘debate’ about trans people in the UK, and considers the roots and impact of this transphobia.

You know when a book mentions something that you had never thought about and you just sit there like wow… I had never thought about that. Yeah, that was this book. This book discusses all the intersections of being transgender in all aspects of life and this was such a good structure to follow as each section had a specific focus.

If you are looking for a book that helps you understand the hardships faced by trans people I implore you to pick up this book and consider how you can change your actions to tackle transphobia and make trans people feel more welcomed into spaces.

Amazing!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

⚠️CW// transphobia, misogyny, homophobia, sexual assault, hate crime

A very powerful and needed book, at a time when the media and certain people are pushing hateful anti-trans narratives.
Important for all allies to read.

Informative, well-argued and clear. This book is an excellent introduction to understanding the lives of trans people and the issues they come up against in the contemporary moment. Faye’s vision for the future is compelling, hopeful and brave.

A really interesting read! A subject that I am not familiar with and haven't read much about so it was fascinating to read about so much history surrounding the transgender community

A heartbreaking expose of what trans people have to face to become who they really are. A lot of people would do well to read this.

i've seen this book everywhere so i was very glad to be lucky enough to get a free copy through netgalley. i know trans rights have become a lot more discussed recently and i still have so much to learn so i really enjoyed the way this book was divided, the absolute care and passion felt by shon faye through it, and how much more work is needed for the trans community to stop having to fight for acceptance and be able to live

Faye brilliantly reclaims and then dismantles the "transgender issue" and contextualises trans liberation within the broader context of oppression including, but not limited to, misogyny, racism, xenophobia, ableism, homophobia, biphobia, classism, prejudice against those in poverty, prejudice against sex workers, hostility to refugees and (im)migrants. She lays bare the fact that all of these oppressive structures are not only inextricably linked with capitalism, colonialism and patriarchy but they are also intimately bound up with each other.

She writes clearly and forcefully, reframing the apparent surge of transphobia in some branches of feminism as a trend with a long history that lives on in the increasingly polarised "debate" in the UK, though it has largely lost credibility in Western discourse elsewhere. She points out the links between prominent G*nder Cr*tical voices and organisations and arch conservatives, even leading to open alliances between avowed feminists and anti-trans campaigners and those determined to destroy reproductive rights and push racist and anti-LGBTQ agendas.

It's a remarkable achievement that produces an exceptionally readable and thorough account, unpicking it's complexities and roundly debunking the myths.

I loved this book! It was so interesting to hear in detail the issues that face Transgender people on a daily basis and I have learnt so much from this book. I think Shon Faye’s writing is brilliant, super accessible and this book is concise in its writing, making this book a great resource for people to educate themselves on these issues. This book covers a wide range of issues and like I mentioned earlier, I have learnt a lot. I will definitely be picking this book up again and recommending to many people in my life.

It was refreshing to read a longer form work on sex and gender by a transgender writer.

Given how wide the 'issue' of sex and gender is, I was glad this text had precise sections devoted to separate topics. It would have been all too easy to allow a 270-page text to ramble in an angry tone, but I felt it was, largely, edited and shaped well. The introduction did drag for me though, and some of the detail within it belonged in the chapters devoted to the specific issues at hand.

It was well-researched and I'm glad the author largely left her personal experiences at the door and allowed us to see research and statistics in action. Some of the personal details made me less sympathetic towards the author (e.g. her having spent thousands of pounds on hair removal). Personal, individual stories are what gender critical theorists seem to rely on, so having the bigger picture for trans issues felt more useful to the debate overall. The author did also acknowledge, however, that the number of trans people in the UK is small (and that there are two different figures used to count, those who have formally changed their sex, and those who wish to but for various reasons have been unable to). I think this aspect of the trans 'issue' is often forgotten in discussions in the media. The number of trans people in the UK is a tiny proportion of the population. Headlines, such as those mentioned by Shon, make out trans people to be a large section of the population who wish to dominate others and policies. Perhaps they just want to get on with their lives!

A number of the studies could have been backed by further evidence and support - e.g. 'only 5% of women regret their abortions'.

The last section was my least favourite. I felt it relied too heavily on criticising individual journalists for their work and views (Janice Turner is mentioned several times) rather than taking more general views expressed by societal bodies and groups.

Shon writes better when talking about specific issues affecting certain parts of the transgender population (e.g. sex workers), and less so when taking on individuals for their opposing views.

What a truly informative, well written and well researched book.
This book truly moves the narrative about Trans people and the toilets they use onto the really important issues of protection trans peoples rights., providing services to keep them safe from abuse and offering services which insure dignity in old age and throught their lives.

I came to this book supportive of the trans community but not altogether familiar with the extent of the iissues faced by this disenfranchised group and I am so glad I read this book.

It is written in such an accessible way that I immediately was able to focus in on the key issues which were described and elaborated on with loads of supporting evidence, but in a really easy to understand way.
I learned such a lot through reading this book and now feel better informed and more confident to express my support of trans rights and to challenge transphobia.

I've followed Shon on Twitter for a long time and this book did not disappoint. So vital and important for contemporary readers.

This was a really well-written and cleverly assembled book. I learnt a lot from it. I especially liked the caution with which the book was situated in terms of historical context (recognising that terminology changes over time, some words/phrases lose or gain usefulness or offensiveness, etc).

Thank you to Penguin for the ARC. This is 100% one of the best books of its kind and topic available right now. Even as a member of the community, I found it eye-opening and very educational. I will absolutely be recommending this to everyone I can.

Shon Faye’s exploration of the contemporary issues that concern trans people in the uk is generous in its explaining, illustrating the both hyper and in - visible nature of this marginalised group. It’s nuanced and Faye acknowledges her somewhat privilege in the ways she exists within the community. A must read for all concerned with the state of social justice in the uk.

I came to this book because I wanted to learn about trans issues without having to bombard my trans friends with questions, and it was perfect for this. A well argued and absorbing insight into one of the most important conversations we're having in society today.

It's been a while since I read a non-fiction book that wasn't a memoir, and reading this I thought The Transgender Issue benefited from not being a memoir, instead focusing on trans people as a whole. However rather than becoming a more distant and impersonal record of transphobia in the UK, Shon Faye includes case studies of individuals she met throughout her research, inviting the reader into the lives of trans people without exploiting their stories for shock value and 'trauma porn'. I especially liked that while Faye isn't representative or the authority on all trans voices, she doesn't leave that as a passing disclaimer in the introduction but rather discusses in depth the issues she has not had to face personally but so many of her trans siblings often do. Faye uses her platform to talk about the issues facing trans people in the UK and acknowledges the changes we need as a society won't directly benefit white, middle-class and able-bodied trans people as individuals but rather trans people as a whole.

Faye's prose is easy to read and follow, and despite the cruel truth of its subject matter (there is some sort of comedic timing in my decision to pick up this book a few days before I would fill in new employment contracts with my birth sex rather than my gender identity, since the latter isn't legally recognised in the UK), The Transgender Issue is a non-fiction book I read surprisingly quickly and wholeheartedly enjoyed.

A really important book, especially to those who aren't a part of the LGBTQ+ community to gain an awareness of what is happening to transgender people. It's so important to see what is going on and how we can all help tackle the issues transgender people face.

The Transgender Issue was a very interesting read on what its like to be trans in society today. I learned a lot from this book, but I wasn't always motivated to pick it up and it took me a little while to get through it - perhaps because the subject matter was quite heavy (understandably so).

A trail-blazing assessment of basically everything associated with being transgender in the UK today, The Transgender Issue is not a read for the easily upset; Faye tackles every ugly element of the ever-shifting terrain and rocky reality of existing as transgender in these unstable times upfront, no-holds-barred. Rigorous research is reinforced with real-life testimonies that hit hard and ram every exposition and regard emphatically home; robustly argued, ardently urging, and equally effective whether its tone turns rallying or remonstrative, The Transgender Issue is an essential read for all, unapologetically human and endlessly empathetic beneath the heavy topics it treats.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Press UK for kindly passing on this ARC! 💫