#beyond magenta

[readingteabooks]

It’s Banned Books Week!

In 2021, 729 book challenges were reported to the American Library Association, naming 1597 individual books. That’s a huge spike up from 2019′s 377 challenges. Nearly double in two years.

This continues a worrying upward trend in book challenges in recent years, and many of these titles have actually been removed from library or classroom collections in parts of the US. It feels like every day I’m hearing news of a new challenge or removal somewhere, or an attempt to codify those removals into law. Libraries who stand their ground by refusing to remove materials have seen their funding slashed, librarians and teachers have lost their jobs and been harassed, even threatened.

But it’s not just libraries. Proponents of book banning are even trying to make it illegal to publish or sell books they don’t agree with.

So now, more than ever, its important to stand against these attempts at censorship. Keep aware of goings on in your area. Speak at city council meetings, run for your local school or library board, donate to your local public library, write to your local representative. Or see what else the ALA recommends to get involved.

Anyway, here are the Top 10 Challenged Books of 2021:

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson

Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin

[galliproof]

(awesome artwork by @peachpens ✨)

it’s pride month! and in honour of all you lgbtqia+ readers out there (and alli, our resident bisexual/demisexual), we’ll be posting new book recommendations every day, so watch this space!

today’s recommendations are:

fiction: we are okay by nina lacour

a poignant work of contemporary ya about a girl in her first year of college stranded on campus for winter break and coming to grips with her past.

**a note from alli: one of my wlw favs! fantastic work of fiction that includes a queer character without sensationalizing it within the plot. themes of grief, loneliness, and moving forward in times of uncertainty.**

non-fiction: beyond magenta: transgender teens speak out by susan kuklin

this is one that’s definitely going on our tbr! it features photography and interviews of trans teens of varying backgrounds. a wonderful resource for allies looking to educate themselves further on the personal narratives of our trans youth, and for our trans followers needing a sense of community and reassurance in seeing stories similar to their own.

send in your art and book recommendations if you wanna see them on one of our daily posts!

[rat-a-tat-tatt]

Here’s a personal recommendation list for trans day of visibility, more on the transmasc side, as it’s media I’ve been enjoying and relating to throughout my transition so far.

Books

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills

Features a trans man in the beginning stages of socially transitioning in a small town while beginning to host a radio show. Very sarcastic, touching, and was deserving of the stonewall book award in 2014. It was written by a well-informed cis woman, uses slightly outdated language, and has an unsavory trope I’ve found in all books about trans people, but out of all the books wit FtM leads that I’ve read, it’s my favorite. CW transphobia, assault

Some Assembly Required by Arin Andrews

An autobiography from Arin Andrews about his junior year in high school, when he first starts transitioning socially and medically. It also documents his side of his relationship with Katie Rain Hill, a trans woman who wrote a book from her perspective titled “Rethinking Normal” CW Transphobia

Gender Failure by Ivan Coyote and Rae Spoon

A joint autobiography about two people sharing their stories of gender exploration and transition, and why they identify as gender failures. It acts almost as a novelization of a live show they toured together, and watching some of the clips from the show while reading it is a fantastic augmentation. CW transphobia

Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin

A compilation of interviews with six trans teens, they tell the story of their life and transitioning journey, with stories from people of different walks of life. This book lets the interviewees control the narrative of the story, and truly shows Kuklin’s skills in photography and writing. This book also earned the Stonewall Book Award and gives visibility to people who often don’t see any. As the interviewees control the narrative, any transphobia is not discussed heavily or vividly, it’s acknowledged and then they move on.

Musical Artists

Athens Boys Choir

If you want 90’s-2000’s hip-hop but also want it to be unapologetically queer and Jewish, then this is the artist for you! He mixes the style with spoken word poetry, so eac album as a mix of lighthearted songs celebrating diversity while having some that are performed as if he’s trying to heal his soul from the world.

Favorite Songs

The Metrosexual Threw Off My Gaydar

Mourner’s Prayer

Erasing Too Hard

Athens, GA

Ezra Furman

If you want some retro grungy alt-pop then he might be for you. While he isn’t trans, he identifies himself as androgynous and has some really relatable songs about being queer and gnc. Transangelic Exodus, his most recent album, tells the story of him running away with his lover from an unsupportive town.

Favorite Songs

Maraschino-Red Dress $8.99 at Goodwill

Body Was Made

Restless Year

Wobbly

This list is far from complete, but it’s just some of my favorites that I know fairly thoroughly. Feel free to add on with your favorite trans media!

[likeghostsinthesun]

To further explain the previous post.

[transzember]

De mikor újra és újra hallod ugyanazokat a történeteket, emberektől a világ minden tájáról, elkezdessz rájönni, hogy a transzneműség nem egy rendellenesség. Része az emberi valóság spektrumának. Akkor többé már nem csodálkozol az okokon, és elkezded felfogni, hogy ez a valóság része. Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out

But when you hear the same stories over and over again, from people from all over the world, you start realizing that transgender is not an anomaly. It’s a part of the spectrum of people’s realities. Then you stop wondering about the cause and you start realizing it’s a part of reality. Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out

[likeghostsinthesun]

Based off of this quote from “Beyond Magenta | Transgenger teens Speak Out”. This is in Cameron’s section (Variables). Or at least my interpretation of it. “Gender does not have endpoints; it’s three-dimensional. Males floats around somewhere, females float around somewhere else, and some people just don’t float at all—they swim. What I mean is, unlike floaters, swimmers control where they’re going. The swimmers _do_ their gender instead of _be_ their gender. Or at least they direct their presentations.” (Pg.102-103)

[foxandcatlibrary]

48th Book I Read in 2025

Title: Beyond Magenta

Author: Susan Kuklin

Notes: Not my personal favourite, but that might be because I'm so far from being a teenager now.

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin

goodreads

Have you read this trans book?

Yes and I liked it

Yes and I didn't like it

No

No but I'd like to

I've never heard of it

Voting ended onDec 14, 2023

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.

Mod opinion: I've heard of this book, but I haven't read it yet. I think it might have been more interesting for teen me to get around to it, than it will now.