The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Student Support Services Library

Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance.  Let’s pause to remember those who have been hurt or killed simply because of their gender identity or expression.

A few final special highlights of our transgender resources…

• The Last I Wore a Dress: A memoir by Daphne Scholinski - “Even now, it’s always the same question: Why don’t you act more like a girl?  Makeup, dresses, a little swing in my walk is what people mean.  The millennium is upon us and this is the level of discussion.” - from The Last Time I Wore a Dress.  In this book, Scholinski tells about living her teenage years in mental institutions for “girly lessons.”
• Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria - This documentary “tells the story of the first known act of collective, violent resistance to the social oppression of queer people in the US…and introduces viewers to street queens, cops and activist civil rights ministers who recall the riot and paint a vivid portrait of the wild transgender scene in 1960s San Francisco.” - cover
• Venus Boyz - Award-winning film that “takes viewers on an extraordinary journey into the universe of female masculinity.  Filmed in New York City and London, this documentary uses the performances of drag kings as a starting point from which we follow their different paths into transgendered worlds.” - cover

As Nature Made Him: The Boy who was Raised as a Girl by John Colapinto - A mesmerizing story of a medical tragedy and its traumatic results.  Follow David’s courageous story from the doctor’s decisions that will make you angry to the uplifting bravery of a child who never lost touch with who he really was.

Freak Show by James St. James – “Meet Billy Bloom…drag queen extraordinaire.  Billy is not a typical seventeen-year-old, and the Bible Belles, Aberzombies, and Football heroes at his new school have never seen anyone quite like him before.  Thanks to the help and support of one good friend, Billy is able to take a stand for outcasts and underdogs everywhere in his own outrageous, over-the-top, sad, funny, brilliant, and unique way.” – cover

Transgender Emergence: Therapeutic Guidelines for Working with Gender-Variant People and their Families by Arlene Istar Lev – This book “views assessment and treatment through a nonpathologizing lens that honors human diversity and acknowledges the role of oppression in the developmental process of gender identity formation.” - cover

IDS story about IUB’s TDOR events http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=72083&search=transgender&section=search

Just So You know #1 by Joey Alison Sayers – A collection of autobiographical comics about the author’s coming out as a transsexual and her transition to living life as a woman.  It chronicles some of the more interesting and funny moments in that process.

Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg – This Lambda Literary Award winner tells the story of butch Jess Goldberg pre-Stonewall era.  Generally regarded as a groundbreaking work on the subject of gender, this novel highlights the Butch and Femme culture of the late 1960s.

The Transgender Studies Reader edited by Susan Stryker and Stephen Whittle – This Lambda Literary Award winner is a collection of fifty influential historical and contemporary articles that document the evolution of transgender studies in the English-speaking world.  - cover

Visit Author Leslie Feinberg (author of Stone Butch Blues, Transgender Warriors, and Drag King Dreams) on line at www.transgenderwarrior.org

Check out our special Transgender Day of Remembrance Display in the library for these and many other resources…

Enough Man – “Documentary meets explicit sexuality in Luke Woodward’s groundbreaking debut video about body image, relationships, sex and sexuality from the perspective of nine female-to-male transmen and their partners.  Featuring health educators, college students, sex workers, activists and artists, this film navigates the terrain between objectivity and personal identity, allowing viewers into some of the most personal and rarely discussed areas of transgender life.” - cover

Trans Generation – “This dramatic and mesmerizing eight-part series, is a year-in-the-life look at four college students who are juggling the challenges of academia with their commitment to transition from their birth sex.  In every moment of this radical, paradigm-busting film, these collegiate transgender students blow up stereotypes while coming to terms with how to change their bodies to fit their minds.” - cover

No Dumb Questions – “Uncle Bill is becoming a woman and his 6, 9 and 11 year old nieces are struggling to understand why and how.  With just weeks until Uncle Bill’s first visit as Aunt Barbara, the sisters navigate the complex territories of anatomy, sexuality, personality, gender and fashion.  Their reactions are funny, touching and distinctly different.  This film offers a fresh perspective on a complex situation from a family that insists there are no dumb questions.” - cover

Boys Don’t Cry – Featuring award winning actresses Hilary Swank and Chloe Sevigny, this is a “true story about hope, fear, and the courage it takes to be yourself.”  The film is based on the short life of the now notorious “sexual misfit” Brandon Teena — aka Teena Renae Brandon of Lincoln, Nebraska — and details his struggle to fit in and his eventual murder.

TransAmerica – Awarding winning actress Felicity Huffman plays a conservative transsexual woman, who learns she is the parent of a long-lost 17 year-old son.  The movie follows her and her son on a cross-country adventure that changes both of their lives.  “A funny, touching, completely original look at the American family.” – back cover

Transgender Day of Remembrance Events on IUB Campus…

Monday 11/16 - Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria movie screening. 7pm in the Fine Arts Auditorium (FA015)

Tuesday 11/17 - Featured Speakers followed by a processional to graveyard. 6pm in the Fine Arts Auditorium (FA015). 7pm Graveyard Service in Dunn Meadow East

Visit  http://www.noglstp.net/iu/ for more info

In this first segment highlighting transgender resources available in the library, we look at some excellent documentaries…

Still Black: A Portrait of Black Transmen – “A feature-length documentary that explores the lives of six black transgender men living in the United States.  Through the intimate stories of their lives as artists, students, husbands, fathers, lawyers, and teachers, the film offers viewers a complex and multifaceted image of race, sexuality, and trans identity.” - cover

100% Woman: The Story of Michelle Dumaresq –Michelle Dumaresq is a post operative transsexual who has provoked outrage by entering the sport of women’s mountain bike racing.  This documentary studies the complex issues of gender identity as it intermingles with Dumaresq’s personal and professional relationships.

Southern Comfort - Documentary that takes us “into the world of Robert Eads, a 52-year-old wise-cracking cowboy, warm and gregarious, who was born female and later transitioned into living as a man after bearing two sons.  The film finds Robert fifteen years later, during the extraordinary last year of his life, as he falls headlong into a passionate romance with Lola, a vivacious and magnetic woman who was born male.” - cover

The Brandon Teena Story – Documentary that tells the true story behind the acclaimed major motion picture Boys Don’t Cry.  The award winning film features “interviews with those who loved him, those who hated him and the death row inmates who sealed his fate.” – back cover

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is November 20th.  In recognition of this, we will be featuring several transgender resources here on the blog and throughout the library.  Stop by the library or check back here for continuing updates.

For more information about TDOR, please visit www.transgenderdor.org

The following are all great resources that have recently been donated to the library.

-          Freeheld [DVD] – Academy award winning film that follows the landmark legal battle of a dying New Jersey police officer and her fight to transfer her pension to her domestic partner.

-          The Meaning of Matthew [book] – Signed by author Judy Shepard, this book is a “vivid testimony to a life cut short, and testimony, too, to the bravery and compassion of Matthew’s parents as they struggle to survive a grief that won’t go away.” – Larry McMurtry, author of Terms of Endearment

-          Make the Yuletide Gay [DVD] – This award winning “whimsical gay romance…is one holiday treat you’ll want to savor many times over.” – back cover

Of course I knew she was going to die…we all did.  But what kind of cliff-hanger ending was that?  I will say no more about the final season of the L word (as to keep from spoiling the deceitful final episodes), but will convey my utter frustration and confusion with the final episode.  I welcome any and all comments of shared frustration or perhaps clarity for all.  But most of all, I welcome you to stop by the office and check out the final episodes for yourself.

That’s right…the final season has arrived.  I’ve already taken in the first 5 episodes of the season and am still amazed at just how crazy Jenny can be!  My friends and I like to discuss what mental illnesses she could be diagnosed with in each episode.  We’re currently discussing narcissistic and borderline personality disorders…any other thoughts?  Come check out this lesbian drama today and find out who’s moving, who’s dying, who’s having a baby, and who’s having sex with whom.

Visit the library or email the library coordinator at glbtlib@indiana.edu to put your name on the reserve list.

They say the house at 705 E. 7th Street is haunted by a woman who died here a long time ago…I’m not sure if I believe this or not, but if there were a ghost here, she might recommend these terrifying movies for your Halloween adventures…

• Monster [DVD] – Charlize Theron won an Oscar for her haunting performance as lesbian serial killer Aileen Wuornos in this chilling tale of a lesbian prostitute who murders her male clientele.

• The Hunger [DVD] – Vampires John (David Bowie) and Miriam (Catherine Deneuve) are hip, sexy and in love.  But when John starts to inexplicably age, Miriam beings seducing his doctor, Sarah (Susan Sarandon).

• The Rocky Horror Picture Show [DVD] – Ok, so not exactly horror, but its bizarreness might just be enough to terrify you!  The costumes are wacky and apparently people die…check it out!

• Hellbent [DVD] – It’s Halloween in Hollywood and there is a murdering psycho on the loose, decapitating gay men in this gory campy slasher flick.

• Triptych of Terror: Chilling Tales by the Masters of Gay Horror by J.M. Curlovich, M. Rowe, and D.T. Lord – “Three times the horror.”
• Out for Blood: Tales of Mystery and Suspense by Women edited by Victoria A. Brownworth – Short stories by 17 of America’s best-known mystery and crime writers
• Prey Dancing by Jonathan Gash – a thrilling mystery that takes us into the “crooked corners of London’s underworld”
• Lessons in Murder by Claire McNab – The first in a lengthy series of detective mysteries
• Bound in Blood: The Erotic Journey of a Vampire by David Thomas Lord – “Cruising the night has never been so tempting…or so deadly.”
• Finale edited by Michael Nava - 8 short stories of mystery and suspense
• Something Shady by Sarah Dreher - “A fog bound village, a strange disappearance, an unexplained death, and an old house where things go ‘bump’ in the night.”

E. Lynn Harris (1955-2009), a literary pioneer who introduced us to the “invisible life” of black gay men.

Born in Flint, Michigan, Harris spent his childhood and college years in Arkansas.  While studying journalism at the University of Arkansas, Harris became their first black male cheerleader, and the first black editor of the Razorback Yearbook.  Up until his mid-thirties Harris worked as a computer salesperson, and only at that point worked to self publish his first novel Invisible Life.  He eventually went on to become a ten-time New York Times bestselling author.  Harris is best known for writing about the lives of African-American gay men, drawing off the experiences of his twenties and thirties.  His novels expose readers to characters rarely seen in literature and have been helpful in fostering discussions about homosexuality within the black community.

E. Lynn Harris passed away at the age of 54 on July 23, 2009, just months before the publication of his final novel, Mama Dearest.

Works by Harris: (* denotes books available at the GLBT Library)

*Invisible Life (1994)

*Just as I Am (1994)

*And This Too Shall Pass (1996)

*If This World Were Mine (1997)

*Abide With Me (1999)

Not a Day Goes By (2000)

*Any Way the Wind Blows (2001)

*A Love of My Own (2002)

*What Becomes of the Brokenhearted (2003)

*Freedom in this Village (2005) – collection of works edited by Harris

I Say a Little Prayer (2006)

Just Too Good to Be True (2008)

Basketball Jones (2009)

Mama Dearest (2009)

If you’re looking for additional information on E. Lynn Harris, check out the following links…

 

Official E. Lynn Harris Web Site –

http://www.elynnharris.com/

University of Arkansas Libraries –

http://libinfo.uark.edu/SpecialCollections/pryorcenter/profiles/HarrisELynn/slideshow/HarrisELynn.asp

CNN.com story –

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/books/07/24/harris.obit/index.html

New York Times Obituary –

          http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/books/25harris.html?scp=2&sq=e%20lynn%20har