Trans mission : my quest to a beard

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Title:

Trans mission : my quest to a beard

Author:

Bertie, Alex, 1995- author.

ISBN:

9780316529037

Edition:

1st U.S. ed.

Physical Description:

296 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm.

General Note:

"Originally published in 2017 by Wren & Rook in Great Britain"--Title verso.

Contents:

Let's get some things straight -- Childhood -- Becoming a teen -- Puberty & self-hate -- The big chop -- Dealing with bullies -- Getting help -- Chest binding -- Coming out to my family -- Hello! My name is ... -- Being stealth at college -- Youth group support -- Starting my physical transition -- Hormone treatment -- Top surgery -- Bottom surgery -- Dating as trans -- Sex & intimacy -- Making videos -- Job hunting -- Our place in the world -- A message from my mum -- Accepting trans people -- The other side.

Personal Subject:

Bertie, Alex, 1995-

Subject Term:

Transgender people -- Great Britain -- Biography.

Transgender youth -- Great Britain -- Biography.

Transgender people -- Identity.

Genre:

Autobiographies

Local Subject:

Teen nonfiction collection.

Summary:

Bertie recounts his life, struggles, and victories as a young trans man. Along the way, he provides readers with accessible explanations of gender, sexuality, and transitions. He explores without judgment how complicated all these things can be, and how many equally authentic ways there are to live as yourself and find happiness. -- adapted from jacket

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove)	TEEN 921 BERTIE	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	TEEN 921 BERTIE	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

A brave firsthand account of online personality Alex Bertie's life, struggles, and victories as a transgender teen, as well as a groundbreaking guide for transitioning teens.
Long before he became known for his YouTube videos, Alex Bertie was an isolated, often-afraid transgender teenager looking for answers. In this revolutionary memoir and valuable resource, Alex recounts his life, struggles, and victories as a young trans man. Along the way, he provides readers with accessible, highly researched explanations of gender, sexuality, and transitions. He explores without judgment how complicated all these things can be, and how many equally authentic ways there are to live as yourself and find happiness.

It can be hard for questioning teens to believe in a brighter future, let alone find any sense of community. Here, with clarity and compassion, Alex writes as a supportive older brother for transitioning teens, their allies, their parents, and anyone looking to better understand others -- and themselves.

Author Notes

Alex Bertie is a transgender YouTuber from rural Dorset. While still attending school at just 14, he started making videos on sexuality and gender identity, and continues to do so today with weekly uploads that reach around 330,000 subscribers. His work has been picked up by organizations such as Childline and Stonewall, and has been recognized by the Independent , YouTube magazine TenEighty , and trans publication FTM Magazine .

Reviews (4)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 7 Up--YouTuber Bertie combines practical advice for other young transgender readers with a memoir about his own transition. The text is accompanied by humorous line drawings by the author and includes family anecdotes and terms like "transliness." The overall tone is personal, straightforward, and upbeat. Bertie frankly acknowledges the pain of gender dysphoria and his difficult road to family acceptance and access to medical care for his transition. Responsibly, Bertie omits the details of his period of self-harm and emphasizes the importance of finding support, whether that's from family, friends, mental health professionals, or online communities. Readers get to know Bertie and his family through intimate details like his trans coming-out letter to his dad, a Q&A chapter with his mom aimed at other parents of transgender youth, and a recounting of how his parents took care of him during top surgery recovery. Other chapters are more how-to, covering topics from packing (putting something in one's underwear to give the appearance of a bulge) to safer sex and self-esteem. The back matter includes a glossary and a brief list of resources, with many other citations in the body of the text (including sources for, and reviews of, particular types and brands of chest binders). VERDICT An accessible, hopeful road map for youth in transition and their friends, families, and communities.--Sarah Stone, San Francisco Public Library

Publisher's Weekly Review

Blending autobiography and guidebook in his debut, trans man and popular YouTuber Bertie shares pivotal moments from his life and transition to illuminate a variety of topics relevant to female-to-male transition, including coming out, name selection, chest binding, hormone treatments, gender confirmation surgeries, dating and intimacy, and disclosing gender identity in the workplace. Bertie openly confronts the difficulties of pursuing transition on a personal and societal level--including his own history with depression, dysphoria, and self-harming behavior--while taking care to stress the joy he found in his own transition. He also acknowledges the limits of his perspective, sticking to trans topics with which he has personal experience and recognizing his own privilege as a "white, educated male with family support, a roof over my head, and a job" and as a resident of the United Kingdom, where transition is covered by health care rather than the patient. Aimed at teens beginning their transition or for those questioning how they identify, as well as at the people who love them, Bertie serves as a relatable narrator who encourages his readers to do what they "need to do to be happy" without ignoring the barriers they may face. Agent: Silvia Molteni, Peters Fraser and Dunlop. Ages 12--up. (May)

Kirkus Review

A YA addition to the long-standing genre of trans memoir."I'm not really a writer," explains Bertie, the 23-year-old YouTuber-turned-author, "but I have had some different experiences that I'd really like the world to know about." In chapters like "Chest Binding" and "Bottom Surgery," Bertie repackages generations of information developed and shared by transmasculine people, with some contemporary additions. Given that it's also memoir, he narrowly focuses on a fairly privileged white trans male experience with chatty prose in distractingly laid out text. Bertie sticks to fairly basic information around medical and social transition in addition to his personal experiences. Early on he remarks that "the area I lived in until I was five was not a nice place. I can't imagine the kind of person I'd be today if I had grown up there. Would I ever have had the confidence to transition?" This may alienate readers, both trans and cis, from stigmatized backgrounds. In the chapter "Dating While Trans," he acknowledges that he doesn't know "what life would be like if I were a single trans man navigating the world of dating," which calls into question the value of his advice.Readers who want to see their specific experience reflected in a book and those fascinated by prosaic trans narratives will be satisfied by this text, though its lasting value is otherwise limited. (Memoir. 13-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Twenty-year-old Bertie is a British transgender man and well-known YouTube presence whose first book is a combination memoir and guide to all (well, almost) things transgender. Bertie began posting videos to his public YouTube channel in his early teens, and as he first came out as a lesbian at age 13 and then as a transgender man at 16, the channel became devoted to sexuality and gender identity. While Bertie doesn't claim to be an expert, he draws on his own personal experience and significant research to offer this accessible, common sense guide featuring such things as dysphoria, chest binding (which he says saved his life), chest surgery, testosterone treatment, and much more. Especially notable is his advocacy for the internet and social media, both of which provided him not only essential information but also a community of like-minded individuals who understood his evolving experience as a trans man. While aimed at teens, his book includes a long, adultcentric chapter written by his mother about being the parent of a trans child. Throughout Bertie is an affable, conscientious, and informed guide who writes well and gives his readers an invaluable, potentially life-changing and -saving book. It is highly recommended.--Michael Cart Copyright 2019 Booklist

Prologue	p. 1
Introduction	p. 3
1 Let's Get Some Things Straight	p. 8
2 Childhood	p. 14
3 Becoming a Teen	p. 28
4 Puberty & Self-Hate	p. 40
5 The Big Chop	p. 52
6 Dealing with Bullies	p. 64
7 Getting Help	p. 74
8 Chest Binding	p. 82
9 Coming Out to My Family	p. 92
10 Hello! My Name Is...	p. 120
11 Being Stealth at College	p. 130
12 Youth Group Support	p. 138
13 Starting My Physical Transition	p. 146
14 Hormone Treatment	p. 160
15 Top Surgery	p. 176
16 Bottom Surgery	p. 196
17 Dating as Trans	p. 204
18 Sex & Intimacy	p. 218
19 Making Videos	p. 230
20 Job Hunting	p. 246
21 Our Place in the World	p. 254
22 A Message from My Mum	p. 262
23 Accepting Trans People	p. 282
24 The Other Side	p. 288
Glossary	p. 292
Resources	p. 296

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (4)

School Library Journal Review

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

Booklist Review

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