Young Adult LGBTQIA History, Memoirs, and Resources

2) All boys aren't blue: a memoir-manifesto

"One teenager in a skirt. One teenager with a lighter. One moment that changes both of their lives forever. If it weren't for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued...

Author

Johnson, George M

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Description

3) Before I had the words: on being a transgender young adult

In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.

Author

Kergil, Skylar

Formats:

eBook, Kindle

Description

4) Being Jazz: my life as a (transgender) teen

"At the beginning of his physical transition from female to male, then-seventeen-year-old Skylar Kergil posted his first video on YouTube. He recorded weekly update videos about the physical and emotional changes he experienced ... [attracting] thousands of viewers. This is the story of what came before the videos and what happened behind the scenes. From early childhood memories to the changes and confusion brought by adolescence, Skylar reflects...

Author

Jennings, Jazz

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Description

5) Beyond magenta: transgender teens speak out

Teen activist and trailblazer Jazz Jennings--named one of "The 25 most influential teens" of the year by Time--shares her very public transgender journey, as she inspires people to accept the differences in others while they embrace their own truths.

Author

Kuklin, Susan

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Description

"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...

6) Beyond the gender binary

Author

Vaid-Menon, Alok

Series

Pocket Change Collective

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Description

7) Bi the Way: The Bisexual Guide to Life

"Poet, artist, and LGBTQIA+ rights advocate Alok Vaid-Menon deconstructs, demystifies, and reimagines the gender binary"--

Author

Shearing, Lois

Formats:

eBook, Kindle

Description

'The friendly introduction to all things bi' MEG-JOHN BARKER
'A masterfully crafted guide to all things bisexual' THE PSYCHOLOGIST
'Excellent and much-needed' GSCENE MAGAZINE
Whether you are openly bisexual, still figuring things out or just interested in learning more about bisexuality, Bi the Way is your essential guide to understanding and embracing bisexuality. With first-hand accounts from bi advocates, it includes practical tips

...

8) Bingo love: Vol. 1

Author

Franklin, Tee

Description

"When Hazel Johnson and Mari McCray met at church bingo in 1963, it was love at first sight. Forced apart by their families and society, Hazel and Mari both married young men and had families. Decades later, now in their mid-'60s, Hazel and Mari reunite again at a church bingo hall. Realizing their love for each other is still alive, what these grandmothers do next takes absolute strength and courage."--Amazon.com.

9) Brave face: a memoir

Author

Hutchinson, Shaun David

Description

Shaun David Hutchinson discusses coming of age in the early 1990s when a lack of positive queer representation forced his own sexuality to become a thing of negativity that left him depressed and angry. He shares passages from his own diary at the time where he reveals the self-harm and abuse he suffered, and the constant messages from a society who told him to "repent" or he would never find love. He goes on to explain how he eventually found happiness...

10) Coming Out: Insights and Tips for Teenagers

Author

Series

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Coming Out: Insights and Tips for Teenagers offers compassionate insight into the hows and whys of coming out. Whether you are struggling with coming out yourself or wanting to help a friend or family member, this book seeks to provide answers to some of the questions you may have.

Written from the perspective of the LGBTQIA+ community with firsthand accounts from fellow teenagers, this book addresses the issues and concerns of today that

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11) Continuum

Author

Man, Chella

Series

Pocket change collective

Description

12) Gender identity: beyond pronouns and bathrooms

"Fine artist, activist, and Titans actor Chella Man uses his own experiences as a deaf, transgender, genderqueer, Jewish person of color to talk about cultivating self-acceptance and acting as one's own representation"--Publisher marketing.

Author

Cook, Maria

Series

Inquire and Investigate

Formats:

Description

"An informative and project-filled book for middle graders to explore the meaning and history behind LGBTQ rights movements, including biographies of key figures in gender and gay/lesbian history, the context behind today's transgender "bathroom wars" and dozens of activities and research ideas for perspectives and further learning." --Amazon.com.

13) Identity: a story of transitioning

Author

Maison, Corey

Series

Zuiker Teen Topics

Description

14) LGBTQ+ athletes claim the field: striving for equality

"What do you do when you are born as one gender, but feel yourself to be another? Gender dysmorphia affects thousands of people worldwide, but has been ignored or ridiculed in our culture. With this graphic novel, Corey Maison boldly shares her story of transitioning, so that other kids with gender dysmorphia and related conditions will no longer feel so isolated, hopeless, or lost. Corey Maison was born a girl, trapped in a boy's body. Growing up,...

Author

Cronn-Mills, Kirstin

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Description

15) Nevertheless, we persisted: 48 voices of defiance, strength, and courage

In 2015, the world watched as soccer star Abby Wambach kissed her wife after the US women's World Cup victory. Milwaukee Brewers' minor league first baseman David Denson came out as gay. And Caitlyn (born Bruce) Jenner, an Olympic decathlete, came out as transgender. It hasn't always been this way. Many great athletes have stayed in the closet their whole lives, or at least until retirement. Social attitudes, institutional policies, and laws are slow...

Author

Klobuchar, Amy

Formats:

Description

A powerful collection of essays from actors, activists, athletes, politicians, musicians, writers, and teens, each writing about a time in their youth when they were held back because of their race, gender, or sexual identity-- but persisted. Among others: actress Alia Shawkat was told she was too "ethnic" for parts. Former NFL player Wade Davis bullied other gay classmates in an attempt to hide his own sexuality. Holocaust survivor Fanny Starr tells...

16) The new queer conscience

Author

Eli, Adam

Series

Pocket Change Collective

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook

Description

17) No way, they were gay?: hidden lives and secret loves

We're not alone. In fact, we never were. Because if you mess with one queer, you mess with us all. Voices 4 founder and LGBTQIAA+ activist Adam Eli offers a candid and compassionate introduction to queer responsibility. In this humorous and hopeful piece, he calls on his Jewish faith to underline how kindness and support within the queer community can lead to a stranger global conscience.

Author

Wind, Lee

Series

Queer history project

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Description

18) Queer as all get out: 10 people who've inspired me

"History has often ignored men who loved men, women who loved women, and people who lived outside gender boundaries. Lee Wind examines primary source letters, poems, and more to rethink the lives and loves of historical figures"--

Author

Criswell, Shelby

19) Queer ducks (and other animals): the natural world of animal sexuality

Author

Schrefer, Eliot

Description

20) Queer Heroes: Meet 53 LGBTQ Heroes From Past and Present!

"A research-based exploration of queer behavior in different animal species is interspersed with personal anecdotes and interviews with scientists."--

Author

Sicardi, Arabelle

Formats:

eBook, Kindle

Description