Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out
A groundbreaking work of LGBT literature takes an honest look at the life, love, and struggles of transgender teens.
Author and photographer Susan Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults and used her considerable skills to represent them thoughtfully and respectfully before, during, and after their personal acknowledgment of gender preference. Portraits, family photographs, and candid images grace the pages, augmenting the emotional and physical journey each youth has taken. Each honest discussion and disclosure, whether joyful or heartbreaking, is completely different from the other because of family dynamics, living situations, gender, and the transition these teens make in recognition of their true selves.
Reviews (289)
Transgender Book Describes Oral Sex by a Six Year Old
The book contains explicit language, violent acts, and graphic descriptions of oral sex carried out by children as young as 6 years-old. Written mostly in first-person, transgender people share their journeys without mentioning the illegal nature of their activities or the consequences of certain behaviours. “From six up, I used to kiss other guys in my neighbourhood, make out with them, and perform oral sex on them. I liked it. I used to love oral. And I touched their you-know-whats. We were really young but that’s what we did.” The account goes on to describe paedophiles masturbating. The author does not qualify that the acts were harmful or illegal. Descriptions of violent behaviour include pushing over a pregnant teacher. The author writes, “I know it was wrong but….” – as if their anger were a justification for their actions." Horrifying.
This book describes oral sex by a 6 year old in a positive light.
This book literally describes a 6 year old enjoying oral sex. This is not condemned in the book, but celebrated as part of the journey toward transitioning. Here is the excerpt: "From six up, I used to kiss other guys in my neighbourhood, make out with them, and perform oral sex on them. I liked it. I used to love oral. And I touched their you-know-whats."
A book for pedophiles - disturbing
This book encourages pedophiles. It should be banned. There must be a better way to help people understand transgender lifestyles. I 9nly give it 1 star because it is the lowest option. Shame on the author, for profiting from the sexual abuse of others.
Inappropriate content
Garbage book, as described by others, promotes and describes oral sex performed by very young children.
disgusting
This book promotes pedophilia.
So wrong!
This book describes a 6 year-old enjoying oral sex. It’s celebrated as part of the journey of transitioning. This is wrong! The account goes on to describe pedophiles masturbating. The author (again) does not qualify that the acts were harmful or illegal. Descriptions of violent behavior include pushing over a pregnant teacher. The author writes, “I know it was wrong but….” – as if their anger were a justification for their actions.
Dull For The Most Part..Yet Disturbing
The first story of the Asian teen was rather interesting, but then the book went downhill. The writing was not very engaging; it seemed to bleed the life out of these teen's stories. What's disturbing is the author chose to profile two seriously disturbed teens, one who talked about performing oral sex at age six. I question the choices the author made in selecting whose story to include in this book. Yes, it is difficult being a transgender teen as this book testifies. But I wish there was a way to include more positive portraits of transgender teens who are living regular, fulfilling lives instead of focusing on so many with depressing/disturbing stories. Perhaps that's what the author chose to focus on; if so, that is doing these kids a disservice. I was going to give this book to my son to read, but the material is way too mature, so I'll donate this to my public library book sale instead.
Good resource for trans teens
It is easy to see why Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out was designated an honor book. Author Susan Kuklin has produced a book that transgender teens, especially, can embrace. While I was disappointed that the physical process of transition is not discussed as much as I would have liked in order for me to understand it, I was very surprised to see that there is an entire spectrum of transgender experiences. Far too many of us ill-informed think it is simply a process of believing your body doesn’t fit your mindset and a change is needed from biological male to female or biological female to male. It stands to reason—and thank goodness this book is here for teens who are not understanding themselves well at all—that the human mind is complex, and there are many variations in the transgender experience. Kuklin interviews teens who are male to female, female to male, intersex, and kids who refuse to be labled. I leave it to the reader to discover these many variations and to be impressed by these interviewees who are so honest and informative.
Incredibly helpful
Absolutly love this book. I saw it at my school library and actually used as a reference for a project I did on the harms of transphobia, but I loved the book so much I just had to have my own copy. Its an easy read and you can easily jump around the stories so you don't have to read it from cover to cover. Since I myself am not transgender but my brother is it's really helped him understand himself and our mom get a better understanding of what he's feeling since the stories are from the perspective of actual trans people. Would definitely recommend for anyone interested in learning more about lgbt and trans people.
Clarity of a sensitive topic
I was having a hard time understanding transgenders. A student of mine suggested this book. It gave me a much clearer understanding.
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