Grrl Alex. a Personal Journey to a Transgender Identity

The possibility of embracing transgender as a legitimate identity is a relatively new phenomenon. What this book achieves, in straightforward and engaging language, is to combine formal academic research with a deeply moving personal narrative, to give the reader an insight into the world of a person who came to accept and embrace a transgender identity. The book chronicles some of the significant experiences and moments that the author had in making this journey, and in exploring what was possible in terms of 'doing transgender': it's an emotional read. The author has broken new ground too. 'Gender-queering' challenges the assumption that to cross genders requires 'passing' - convincing others that you really are the 'opposite' gender. What the author's work shows is that this is not necessarily the case, and that an honest presentation of self, even if unconventional, can find much more acceptance than many (including even the author) would have thought possible. This book will appeal to anyone interested in extraordinary life-narratives and particularly the queer experience, and will also have value to readers curious about transgender - including mental health professionals who wish to gain further understanding of transgender - both from the academic and personal perspective.