The FINAL discussion thread is up! Thanks again to everyone who participated!!!

Amazing book. Genuinely changed the way I think about being trans. It’s depressing knowing just how “recent” this book feels because so little has changed and yet that makes it all the more possible to connect with people in the past and learn from them.

Our trans movement is getting stronger because we’re fighting. But the progress that we’ve made is fragile. History teaches us that when an economic crisis hits, the process of scapegoating becomes more intense and more violent. African-American, Latino, Asian, and Arab peoples, lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals, feminists, trans people — and others who have been in the forefront of progress — will increasingly find themselves in the crosshairs. And the gains we made will all be under siege, as well.

The Democratic Party cannot lead us forward to trans liberation. They’ve led us into war and economic austerity: Woodrow Wilson led the United States into World War I; Franklin Roosevelt led the country into World War II. Truman started the Korean War. John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson began and widened the Vietnam War.

Whether a Democrat or a Republican presides, both parties administer the same system on behalf of big business. As the trans struggle unfolds, it will become critical to develop an independent movement that can free itself from the grip of “lesser-of-two-evils” politics of waiting to get another Democrat in office.

The one time I wish Feinberg was wrong.

I’ve sat in sleazy diners in the middle of the night listening to homeless teenage drag queens rage against the cops who beat them mercilessly and then demand sex

Also, I really liked the part meant for allies, showing them how to better support us. That was pretty nice.

I’ve already said it in tracha, but I’ll just do it again: Thank you so much for organizing this. It’s been a lot of fun: Very heavy fun, but fun nonetheless. And I also want to thank all the other trans people in here, sharing their thoughts and adding to the discussion.

What a wonderful book. Truly, it was awe-inspiring despite the painful moments, and like a nail through a board Les managed to, each chapter, hammer down the central thesis: those who fight for each other’s rights are the ones that change the world.

I’m definitely going to be recommending this book to others, the essential kernal of solidarity is so broadly applicable despite the focus on transgender issues that even those well-versed in gender theory stand to gain from it.

Chapter 8 was calmer, and more of an epilogue chapter if we think of 7 as the climax. I know that’s not how this book is laid out, but I think it helps describe the tone and function, it’s a recentering of what matters, and how we can rebel beyond pink and blue.

Thanks everyone for participating in the discussions! I’ve enjoyed reading what everyone else has to say. And thanks for hosting, @Carcharodonna@hexbear.net!

This is the first reading group ive been a part of and im really glad i decided to join in (even if i was a month late), i really hope there will be more groups like this in the future. Thank you so much for organizing this, Carcharodonna!