June 2025 Additions

For many, June is Pride Month, and at the library we are in a celebratory mood following the anonymous donation of a great many resource and history books off of our wishlist. A huge thanks to the amazing person who gave to expand our offerings!

We'll start with Pride: The Story of the LGBTQ Equality Movement by Matthew Todd. This big and vibrant book explores history through in depth analysis, pictures, and first hand accounts from a number of contributors. From the publisher:

Pride explores the history of the LGBTQ movement including events such as Stonewall and the global explosion in Pride Parades, and is a comprehensive account of the ongoing challenges facing the LGBTQ community.

Documenting the milestones in the fight for equality, Pride covers the victories of early activists, the gradual acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in politics, sports, and the media and the landmark court cases that helped to ban discrimination, permit marriage, and help in the fight for equality.

Next is the gorgeous Pride: The LGBTQ+ Rights Movement: A Photographic Journey by Christopher Meason. This book provides a rich visual journey through history. From the publisher:

This celebratory book is the most in-depth visual tribute to the LGBTQ+ pride movement ever created. The story starts in the bohemian subculture of post–World War I American cities. Author Christopher Measom next covers the influence of World War II, which relocated millions of people to single-sex barracks and factories, encouraging a freedom and anonymity that helped spark the formation of gay communities after the war. The repressive ’50s era saw the launch of two important rights organizations, the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis, that led to the rebellions of the 1960s—culminating in the game-changing Stonewall Uprising of June 1969. The book then explores the devastation of the AIDS crisis, its impact on gay culture, and the fight to bring awareness to the disease. The narrative is brought up to the present day with coverage of the struggles for equality in marriage, the military, and beyond—and the push for gender rights.

Sticking with history, we also have A Queer History of the United States by MIchael Bronski, which covers a lot of American history with an especial attention paid to queer historical figures and movements. From the publisher:

In the 1620s, Thomas Morton broke from Plymouth Colony and founded Merrymount, which celebrated same-sex desire, atheism, and interracial marriage. Transgender evangelist Jemima Wilkinson, in the early 1800s, changed her name to “Publick Universal Friend,” refused to use pronouns, fought for gender equality, and led her own congregation in upstate New York. In the mid-nineteenth century, internationally famous Shakespearean actor Charlotte Cushman led an openly lesbian life, including a well-publicized “female marriage.” And in the late 1920s, Augustus Granville Dill was fired by W. E. B. Du Bois from the NAACP’s magazine the Crisis after being arrested for a homosexual encounter. These are just a few moments of queer history that Michael Bronski highlights in this groundbreaking book.

Intellectually dynamic and endlessly provocative, A Queer History of the United States is more than a “who’s who” of queer history: it is a book that radically challenges how we understand American history. Drawing upon primary documents, literature, and cultural histories, noted scholar and activist Michael Bronski charts the breadth of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history, from 1492 to the 1990s, and has written a testament to how the LGBT experience has profoundly shaped our country, culture, and history.

We're also adding a number of books covering gender and sexual expression, including Angela Chen's Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex. From the publisher:

What exactly is sexual attraction and what is it like to go through life not experiencing it? What does asexuality reveal about gender roles, about romance and consent, and the pressures of society? This accessible examination of asexuality shows that the issues that aces face—confusion around sexual activity, the intersection of sexuality and identity, navigating different needs in relationships—are the same conflicts that nearly all of us will experience. Through a blend of reporting, cultural criticism, and memoir, Ace addresses the misconceptions around the “A” of LGBTQIA and invites everyone to rethink pleasure and intimacy.

Journalist Angela Chen creates her path to understanding her own asexuality with the perspectives of a diverse group of asexual people. Vulnerable and honest, these stories include a woman who had blood tests done because she was convinced that “not wanting sex” was a sign of serious illness, and a man who grew up in a religious household and did everything “right,” only to realize after marriage that his experience of sexuality had never been the same as that of others. Disabled aces, aces of color, gender-nonconforming aces, and aces who both do and don’t want romantic relationships all share their experiences navigating a society in which a lack of sexual attraction is considered abnormal. Chen’s careful cultural analysis explores how societal norms limit understanding of sex and relationships and celebrates the breadth of sexuality and queerness.

You and Your Gender Identity: A Guide to Discovery by Dara Hoffman-Fox, LPC guides readers in better uncovering and understanding the complexities of their gender identity. From the publisher:

In this groundbreaking guide, Dara Hoffman-Fox, LPC—accomplished gender therapist and thought leader whose articles, blogs, and videos have empowered thousands worldwide—helps you navigate your journey of self-discovery in three approachable stages: preparation, reflection, and exploration.

In You and Your Gender Identity, you will learn: Why understanding your gender identity is core to embracing your full being How to sustain the highs and lows of your journey with resources, connection, and self-care How to uncover and move through your feelings of fear, loneliness, and doubt Why it’s important to examine your past through the lens of gender exploration How to discover and begin living as your authentic self What options you have after making your discoveries about your gender identity

This unique, interactive guide can help you answer the questions you’ve been asking yourself

Shifting focus to Trans identities and variability, Jack Halberstam's Trans*: A Quick and Quirky Account of Gender Variability mixes history and an in depth look at gender and trans expression. From the publisher:

In the last decade, public discussions of transgender issues have increased exponentially. However, with this increased visibility has come not just power, but regulation, both in favor of and against trans people. What was once regarded as an unusual or even unfortunate disorder has become an accepted articulation of gendered embodiment as well as a new site for political activism and political recognition. What happened in the last few decades to prompt such an extensive rethinking of our understanding of gendered embodiment? How did a stigmatized identity become so central to U.S. and European articulations of self? And how have people responded to the new definitions and understanding of sex and the gendered body? In Trans*, Jack Halberstam explores these recent shifts in the meaning of the gendered body and representation, and explores the possibilities of a nongendered, gender-optional, or gender-queer future.

We are also adding The Autistic Trans Guide to Life by Yenn Purkis and Wenn Lawson. From the publisher:

This essential survival guide gives autistic trans and/or non-binary adults all the tools and strategies they need to live as their very best self.

Blending personal accounts with evidence-based insights and up-to-date information, and written from a perspective of empowerment and self-acceptance, the book promotes pride, strength and authenticity, covering topics including self-advocacy, mental health and camouflaging and masking as well as key moments in life such as coming out or transitioning socially and/or physically.

And lastly, we have A Quick & Easy Guide to Sex & Disability by A. Andrews. Presented in comic-format, the book is an attempt to cut through some of the awkwardness and anxiety about talking about sex and disability. From the publisher:

All different kinds of bods want to connect with other bods, but lots of them get left out of the conversation when it comes to S-E-X. As explained by disabled cartoonist A. Andrews, this easy-to-read guide covers the basics of disability sexuality, common myths about disabled bodies, communication tips, and practical suggestions for having the best sexual experience possible. Whether you yourself are disabled, you love someone who is, or you just want to know more, consider this your handy starter kit to understanding disability sexuality, and your path to achieving accessible (and fulfilling) sex.