America through Transgender Eyes

by J.E. Sumerau, Lain A.B. Mathers

America through Transgender Eyes provides an opportunity for readers to look at American society through the eyes of transgender people at a time when movements for and against transgender people permeate socio-political discussions throughout the nation. This book provides readers with important insights into the beauty and struggle of transgender people, identities, experiences, and relationships. As political, religious, and scientific traditions update their arguments in relation to growing recognition of transgender lives and histories, America through Transgender Eyes offers an opportunity to visualize the way such traditions appear to some of the people often left out of them. As political battles about the rights of transgender Americans grow throughout the nation, this book provides an important introduction to this population for voters, leaders, activists, and scholars seeking to make sense of the shifting gender dynamics of contemporary America.

208 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2019

About the author

JE Sumerau is a novelist, scholar, and teacher writing about culture, relationships, & the southeastern U.S. in a wide variety of ways -> Follow on Instagram & Reels @jesumerau and Facebook @jesumerau & Twitter @jsumerau for updates.

Reviews

[Chloe :D · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an overall good book. I read this book because I wanted to see if I could find a book on transgender experiences in America. The book was not exactly what I expected, but that is not a bad thing and the book was good. I love how this book talks about the history of transgender people in old civilizations. I also like how there are charts to display certain types of information. I personally feel like this book talks a bit about things that are unrelated to transgender but that is fine.

I love how this book references a lot of studies and other books. It shows that this book has relatively reputable information in it and is pretty trustworthy. I personally love how it not only referenced studies, but it also referenced other books because a lot of other books I have read only reference studies and not other books. It helped me find other books that I might want to read in the future.

I would recommend this book to any transgender person in America that is curious about experiences, history, and studies. I would not recommend this to people that can’t sit through reading an entire book though because some parts of this book are kind of boring. If you are not in America then this book still has some information, but it is a bit less relevant to you.

[Nik · Rating 5 out of 5]

In “America Through Transgender Eyes”, Sumerau and Mathers challenge readers on the normative ideals of a binary gender system and cisnormativity in the U.S., while shedding light on the lives and experiences of transgender people. This book shakes the discipline of sociology, which historically erased and belittled trans experiences in research and applied work. Sumerau and Mathers sharing their backgrounds, lived experiences, and insights regarding such topics is an excellent case of how gender scholars should engage in research and community engagement on trans and non-binary people. This book will be regularly cited in future sociological literature and will leave a lasting imprint on transgender studies for the better.

Merged review:

In “America Through Transgender Eyes”, Sumerau and Mathers challenge readers on the normative ideals of a binary gender system and cisnormativity in the U.S., while shedding light on the lives and experiences of transgender people. This book shakes the discipline of sociology, which historically erased and belittled trans experiences in research and applied work. Sumerau and Mathers sharing their backgrounds, lived experiences, and insights regarding such topics is an excellent case of how gender scholars should engage in research and community engagement on trans and non-binary people. This book will be regularly cited in future sociological literature and will leave a lasting imprint on transgender studies for the better.