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Trans Britain: Our Journey from the Shadows

4.27 · Rating details · 168 ratings · 34 reviews

Over the last five years, transgender people have seemed to burst into the public eye: Time declared 2014 a ‘trans tipping point’, while American Vogue named 2015 ‘the year of trans visibility’. From our television screens to the ballot box, transgender people have suddenly become part of the zeitgeist.

This apparently overnight emergence, though, is just the latest stage i ...more

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Hardcover, 372 pages

Published January 25th 2018 by Unbound (first published 2018)

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Dec 21, 2017 K.J. Charles added it

Shelves: non-fiction, trans

A collection of essays about British trans history/current affairs (including, latterly, nonbinary people), covering the situation as it was lived in the 30s on, media exposure and treatment, medical treatment, going in depth into the way the laws and attitudes have altered and the fight for legal/political change. Most of the pieces are by activists (mostly trans or nb, some allies).

It's a very necessary book, in that what first becomes obvious is there's barely any trans history to tell becau A collection of essays about British trans history/current affairs (including, latterly, nonbinary people), covering the situation as it was lived in the 30s on, media exposure and treatment, medical treatment, going in depth into the way the laws and attitudes have altered and the fight for legal/political change. Most of the pieces are by activists (mostly trans or nb, some allies).

It's a very necessary book, in that what first becomes obvious is there's barely any trans history to tell because of the scale on which people were ignored, marginalised, silenced, or forced by self protection to silence themselves. So we know that in the early part of the twentieth century we had cases of what we'd now call trans people marrying (ie a trans woman marrying a cis man) and that was *accepted*, apparently because the law didn't really know what to do about it. But we don't have detailed, let alone first person, accounts. So many stories lost.

I rather wished there had been more oral history and life experience in this along with the focus on the struggle. Quite a few of the contributors cover the same ground here (the fight for political justice, the impact of the first documentary, the medical issues) and while it's hugely important this is recorded, it can end up being rather factual. Then again, what comes across powerfully is the extraordinary pain suffered by so many people--isolation, misgendering, exclusion, being abused or ignored by every aspect of the state--so you can see why especially the older people featured here wouldn't want to relive that in detail.

A few recurring themes: the impact of the internet in spreading information and helping end isolation, the huge differences in treatment depending on wealth and class, the shittiness of much of the medical establishment and the intense shittiness of the national disease that is the British press, the diversity of this relatively tiny population, the intense difficulty of talking about the past when the vocabulary either didn't exist or was made up of words and ideas people now find offensive, the intense courage and dedication of the activists who helped bring about change, and the toll it took on them. Also, I lost count of the number of people mentioned in passing as having committed suicide. This was and remains a *slaughter*, and for what purpose, the greater glory of the gender binary?

Yes, this book will make you angry, especially the chapters on the maliciously cruel British press and on TERFs like Julie Bindel, who has done so much harm. If your feminism is not intersectional it is garbage. Equally the section on Scotland does show that political change can be achieved with the right will, and translates into making a difference to human life.

This history does seem to sketch an arc bending towards justice, but too slowly. A very valuable collection and thank goodness for crowdfunding publishers like Unbound that make books like this possible. ...more

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Mar 03, 2018 Lizzie Huxley-Jones rated it it was amazing

Trans Britain is a very different but complementary book to Trans Like Me; a historical anthology, including essays from individual people telling their own story within the major eras of trans history in the UK. Burns sets the scene by dividing the book into three distinct sections, and introducing them to the climate of that era, providing a reader with an overview that places the following essays within a clear cultural context.

The chapter on non-binary people was an essential learning proces ...more

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Aug 01, 2018 Michael rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, social-issues, lgbtqia

I've learned so much from this book about the historical context of trans experience and identity, how it has been both separate from and linked with LGB identities, and the more recent recognition of non-binary identities. It completely dismantles the attempts to diminish trans people by saying their identity is "just a passing fad".

The growing mainstream recognition that trans-ness is not a pathology, rather a valid expression of personhood, is a significant change in social attitudes that I'm ...more

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Feb 17, 2018 Fred Langridge rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, trans

A comprehensive look at the history of trans activism, trans rights and trans experience in Britain since the mid-20th century. Chapters by different authors, on different themes, are free-standing, so there's a bit of overlap in the history, but it's interesting to read about the same events told through different viewpoints. ...more

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Nov 11, 2019 Ingrid rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2019, non-fiction

Read this

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Dec 07, 2018 Cendaquenta rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, 2018, obtained-and-read-in-2018, obtained-in-2018, lgbtq-plus

Extremely educational but was a bit dense and hard-to-follow at times - still v much recommend to those interested in the topic.

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Feb 14, 2021 Ed rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbtq, politics, non-fiction, books-i-own

It's not easy being trans. Our very existence is treated as a 'debate'. We're constantly coming under fire from the media, politicians, and billionaire authors. Cis people - who by their very nature do not know our lives - are given a platform to write articles in national newspapers, and even publish books, filled with misinformation and fallacies about our existence. Trans people ourselves are rarely afforded the same platforms to dispel these lies. This is especially true in the UK (or TERF I It's not easy being trans. Our very existence is treated as a 'debate'. We're constantly coming under fire from the media, politicians, and billionaire authors. Cis people - who by their very nature do not know our lives - are given a platform to write articles in national newspapers, and even publish books, filled with misinformation and fallacies about our existence. Trans people ourselves are rarely afforded the same platforms to dispel these lies. This is especially true in the UK (or TERF Island as some trans folks have taken to calling it lately). Smarter people than me have been pointing out for a while that today's transphobia is nothing more than the rehashed homophobia of the 80s. It's just been given a 'feminist' dressing to make it sound reasonable to otherwise well-meaning but uneducated cis people. It's false and it's incredibly harmful. Don't fall for it.

This book is a nice counterpoint to that. It's presented as a series of essays written (in almost all cases) by actual trans people, approaching UK trans history through a variety of lenses. I've enjoyed reading it, and learning more about our history. Life keeps giving me constant reminders that this history isn't even half over and things may get worse before they get better, but I do have hope. Many of us have only recently found the language to describe our experiences - like the title says, we're journeying out of the shadows - but we exist and we're not going anywhere. We can't all be activists but we do need to pay our dues to the people who came before us and fought for the rights we've gained so far.

If I'm going to fault it it's that the book can be a bit repetitive and dry at times - lots of talk about the political and legislative side of things. Also every contributor, as far as I can tell, is white and the majority are transfeminine. I'd have liked to hear from a few more transmasculine people. There was a chapter on non-binary identity, however, which was very welcome. There are so many ways to be trans and hopefully going forward we'll be able to see more diverse perspectives.

Recommended for trans people, and anyone who wants to support us by actually listening to us. ...more

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May 27, 2020 Billy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020, trans-books, sociology, my-favourites

Really liked this anthology! Interviews ranged from people who transitioned in the 60s and 70s, forgotten names that helped to bring about the Gender Recognition Act of 2004, to activists that transitioned in the noughties both binary and non-binary.

Reading this reminded me of how Americanised English Pride events and figures have become. Names like Marsha P. Johnson and Slyvia Rivera, Harvey Milk are thrown around a lot around Pride months. The names Mark Rees, Stephen Whittle or Sue Sanders h ...more

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Apr 29, 2018 Ellen Mellor rated it it was amazing

Shelves: trans

I've just finished reading Trans Britain. It's a fascinating and inspiring series of essays covering the history of trans activism from the '50s and' 60s up to the present edited by Christine Burns and written by a number of different people - most of whom are trans and a few cis gender allies who also have a perspective on the subject - either medical or political. There was a lot of stuff that I didn't know, or not to any great depth. On the whole, I found it to be an excellent read and recomm ...more

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Jul 12, 2020 Otone rated it it was amazing

This really helped me better understand not only the history of trans activism and lived experiences in the UK but also trans representation generally - in film, in the law, in the press, in feminist theory, and in the workplace. With so many essays written by significant trans people compiled in one book, I really was taken on a journey through multiple perspectives. I wish there had been a chapter specifically exploring the intersectionality of race and trans rights, but I would highly recomme ...more

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Jan 19, 2020 Zara Rahman rated it really liked it

I learned a lot from this book, and I’m glad I read it! Parts were extremely detailed in a way that didn’t necessarily contribute to the narrative, though, and I had the feeling that a thorough edit would’ve made it both more concise and easier to follow. Generally though, it was eye-opening to learn about the journey the trans community has had in the UK (especially relevant now with the increasing emergence of TERFs in the UK “feminist” scene).

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Feb 28, 2021 Alan Sutherland rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this book, it was very informative and made me realize how many gaps I had in my knowledge of trans rights. The book has 19 essays, so the writing style varies quite a bit from author to author, so it can interrupt the flow of understanding. All in all, a very good book.

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Aug 23, 2020 Andrew Brown rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020, play-books

At times the book is a bit repetitive, but that aside it's a fantastic (and fascinating) first-hand history of trans lives and activism over the past half century. ...more

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May 30, 2018 Arlene rated it it was amazing

Excellent, vital read. Great broad range of perspectives on trans history and culture in Britain. Essential reading if you want to know more about trans issues.

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Aug 26, 2018 Oliver rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 03, 2020 Jack Lloyd rated it it was amazing

Shelves: trans-books-read

Okay, where to start!

Initially, when this book first arrived the day after I’d ordered it, I was immediately terrified to read it and rearranged my entire unread books shelf to make a space for it with the expectation that it would be there for the next few months if not years. As a trans person becoming more and more jaded by watching ... the Political Climate ... (that’s all I’ll say about that) in Britain shift to a less than progressive view on trans people and our rights, this book both see Okay, where to start!

Initially, when this book first arrived the day after I’d ordered it, I was immediately terrified to read it and rearranged my entire unread books shelf to make a space for it with the expectation that it would be there for the next few months if not years. As a trans person becoming more and more jaded by watching ... the Political Climate ... (that’s all I’ll say about that) in Britain shift to a less than progressive view on trans people and our rights, this book both seemed like an encyclopaedia of inspiring trans stories and feats of progression, and an invitation to become more exhausted by accounts of transphobia and discrimination.

I finally decided I couldn’t put it off forever, though, and gave it a go. Immediately, I was put at ease by the personal stories of growing up trans and self-discovery that many of the contributors to this book explained. This did feel a little repetitive after a while as a few consecutive chapters followed the same formula of anecdotes from childhood, activism, conclusion, though this shifted after the first few chapters.

Essentially, this book is exactly what it says on the tin: “Trans Britain, our journey from the shadows”. Own voices accounts of transitioning in the 70s, legal and political stances that effected and still effect life for trans people, activism in the past and in recent years, medical transition’s evolution in Britain, trans representation in media etc. Although it’s not the most diverse look at trans Britain - there’s not much about experiences from the intersection of race and trans identity for Black and POC perspectives - I would still recommend this as a comprehensive look at the laws, public attitudes and experiences that have helped to shape ‘Trans Britain’ to where it is today.

The layout was rather confusing at first; the writer would mention something (Corbett v Corbett, for example), reference a chapter that would talk about that thing in detail but still use it as a point without explaining it properly. This didn’t happen much and was largely remedied by the fact that many of the things mentioned were talked about in detail many times throughout the book (the documentary, A Change Of Sex, for example, or Caroline Cossey’s outing). This was repetitive but largely I didn’t mind as it helped to make them more memorable and the points made by their inclusion were often different. The legal jargon when discussing policy changes and governmental/administrative aspects was a little bit tough to keep up with at times but context clues helped to get the picture.

Overall, this is a must-read for me. 5/5

Some of my favourite chapters:
2) 1966 and All That: The History of Charing Cross Gender Identity Clinic by Dr Stuart Lorimer
5) Sex, Gender and Rock ‘N’ Roll by Kate Hutchinson
7) Taking to the Law by Mark Rees (with the assistance of Katherine O’Donnell)
9) The Press by Jane Fae
Part 3) The Social Challenge by Christine Burns
15) Non-Binary Identity by Meg-John Barker, Ben Vincent and Jos Twist
18) Making History Today by Fox Fisher ...more

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Aug 30, 2019 Kris rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, published-2018

This book sets out by taking several different accounts the evolution of Trans people's place in Britain over the last 60 years. It is fascinating in a lot of places and introduced me to loads of facts I didn't know.

However, the contributors tended to be white binary-trans women from middle-class backgrounds of a particular age meaning that we tend to get a very similar narrative in many of the pieces and doesn't really cover the diversity of the community. ...more

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Feb 21, 2018 nikki rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A collection of essays detailing an untold history of trans people from the mid 20th century to the present day. Each chapter told from a different voice causing some over lap but interesting hearing the different viewpoints of the same events. Totally engrossing read.

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Sep 16, 2019 Nathan Wilson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Essential for understanding Trans people in Britain

A fantastic read which teaches about the Trans experience and politics in Britain from Trans people themselves. Fuck Germaine Greer.

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Jan 14, 2021 Elliott rated it really liked it

Shelves: history, politics, gender

Very good and informative. It's a little repetitive sometimes, but that's because a lot of different contributors cover overlapping topics and periods, and certain events are brought up many times—the April Ashley ruling and the Gender Recognition Act, for example—because they affected everyone's lives across the board during these periods. Names recur again and again, which reminded me of a conversation I had with my friend, an environmental activist: she told me that 99% of the crucial eco-act Very good and informative. It's a little repetitive sometimes, but that's because a lot of different contributors cover overlapping topics and periods, and certain events are brought up many times—the April Ashley ruling and the Gender Recognition Act, for example—because they affected everyone's lives across the board during these periods. Names recur again and again, which reminded me of a conversation I had with my friend, an environmental activist: she told me that 99% of the crucial eco-activism work in the UK is done by a core of about 70 people who show up everywhere, who dedicate their whole lives to it. I was shocked by this, and similarly shocked by the vanishingly small number of trans activists who got most of the core work done.

There's plenty of other surprising details here (to me, at least): up until the April Ashley ruling in 1970, trans people (then a near-invisible category) were often able to change their birth certificates and thus life as a trans person actually got much harder, at least from a legal standpoint, after 1970. I was shocked that the Gender Recognition Act only passed in 2004, after years of being postponed by the Blair regime and dozens of legal challenges; I was shocked that until a demo in 2008, there had never been 150 trans people in the same place in the UK; shocked that until 2015 (!!) Stonewall didn't include trans people under its remit; mildly surprised that the TERF phenomenon is actually quite recent in the UK, an essentially manufactured debate which was imported from the US and took root on a much larger scale here than across the pond, thanks to the opinion pieces Suzanne Moore et al at the Guardian/Observer, Germaine Greer, and of course J.K. Rowling. Freedom of speech issue my arse.

Anyway that's not to downplay the heartwarming stuff in here as well. A lot of happy endings for the contributors (there's a lovely bit at the very end, where a prominent trans broadcaster walks down a street in Barnsley a few weeks after coming out and gets shouted at by some builders: 'We're proud of you, Steph!') I do almost wish there was more cultural stuff like the chapter about genderfluidity in rock music, but I can see why the editor and contributors chose to focus more on the legal side of things, because otherwise the book would be 1000 pages long and have too many chapters about glam rockers that turned out, disappointingly, to be cis men. (Reminds me a bit of Todd Haynes' quasi-Bowie biopic Velvet Goldmine, which ended up exploring queerness much more authentically, precisely because it wasn't about the real Bowie.)

Crucially, the book serves as a broader reminder of the huge, huge strides we've made in the past 10 years or so. Even if there is a wellspring of grim TERFiness in this country, in a decade we went from trans peoples' spouses being able to overrule their change of birth certificate, to a wealth of trans role models in the media and the first legal provisions for non-binary people. There's a long way to go, mind you, but we've made great strides (a cliche but in this case very true). Recommended reading for allies and trans friends alike. If anyone tries to tell you trans identities are a recent phenomenon, show them the newspaper clipping about Mark Weston from 1936, although they've probably already made up their mind that gender is biological and won't let any facts hurt their feelings :)

A trans athlete in the public eye in the 30s!

A trans athlete in the public eye in the 30s!

...more

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Jul 20, 2018 Michael rated it really liked it

A detailed, emotive, moving and complex series of essays about British trans-history and current affairs. The essays and narrative intertwine the history of the UK political system, the NHS, interactions in policy change, portrayals in the media and the struggles of trans-gendered individuals.

The book is packed with stories of individuals in the 80s and 90s, as they suffer the UK medical and government systems through decades of torment and neglect to become their recognised gender. As the book ...more

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May 13, 2019 Lara rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2019

Collection of essays which look at various aspects of trans history (representation in media, healthcare treatments, activism). I loved the essays which were describing people’s lived experience and I learnt so much from the book.

My main frustration was that because the essays overlapped we heard about the same events multiple times and while to begin with it was interesting to hear about it from multiple viewpoints. Definitely helped solidify what events were most important for the community, ...more

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Jul 16, 2020 Tim rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A very readable introduction to the issues that have been, and in many cases still are, faced by trans people in the UK. It starts with the stories of trans people from the latter half of the twentieth century, who were often isolated and had to face prejudice and a total lack of understanding. The next section looks at the history of campaigning to improve trans rights. While much still remains to be done, the hard work and determination of those campaigners is impressive. The final section loo ...more

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Sep 08, 2019 Peter Herold rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: english-gender-lgbtiq

What a lovely, informative book 😊
Through first-hand accounts #TransBritain documents the situation of #trans people in the UK from the 1960s right up to the present day. Structured in 3 sections – Survival, Activism and Growth – it gives you the background to understand and contextualise the current debate in terms of legal, linguistic and social evolution and it’s fascinating reading. An ideal present for anyone starting to take an interest about this topic, which affects us all.

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Jul 17, 2019 Rachel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, kindle

This is such an interesting book, coming as I am from a trans view point. There were so many places where I was just flat out flabbergasted by the legal and societal framework that I grew up in. It no great surprise that I didn’t come out until my mid 40s! I thoroughly recommend it!

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Jun 21, 2020 James rated it it was amazing

A fantastic compilation of stories from some amazing trans folk and their allies. Definitely one to read if you're unfamiliar with the journey many people have taken to push forward trans rights in the UK. ...more

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Oct 25, 2020 Jordan Risebury-Crisp rated it really liked it

A interesting collection of personal stories from individuals across the last 60 years.
Educational and thoughtful, though some of the chapters were a bit too political and prosaic, making them a a slog to read.

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Oct 02, 2018 Rhiannon Grant rated it it was amazing

Shelves: feminism, trans

A very helpful overview of history at a time when understandings are changing rapidly. Towards the end I was pleased to find some names I recognised, but also really useful to get a fuller picture.

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May 05, 2019 Havelock rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: essays, anthologies, lgbt, non-fiction, trans, own-voices, women-writers

A bit dry at times, but an interesting history of trans activison in Britain.

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Jun 10, 2019 lou rated it really liked it

i do have to say it stings to have dr lorimer write a whole chapter in this book when he charges £300 an appointment for trans patients who want hrt. But whatever, otherwise a very good book

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About Christine Burns

Christine Burns

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Christine Burns MBE has campaigned for a quarter of a century for the civil rights of transgender people, and has been involved with the trans community for more than forty years. She has worked as an equalities consultant, helped to put together new employment legislation and the Gender Recognition Act, and wrote the first ever official guidance about trans people (as both staff and patients) for ...more