Books exploring the intersection between transness, disability and neurodivergence are super important right now and reading from different voices and experience on this topic was really interesting. I also liked the inclusion of poetry as well as more academic essays. Wish there had been a trans women contributor. Overall an amazing collection of contributions

As all anthologies, some contributions resonate more than others. Still, the overall collection challenges conventional narratives of normalcy, and serves as a reminder that those who exist at the intersection of transness and disability deserve to exist fully, expansively, and unapologetically.

A set of strong, resilient essays, monologues and poems by people who are trans and disabled along complex continua, often not in a gender binary identity, often with invisible disabilities, always threatened by intersectional misunderstandings or worse. I was moved to see in these reviews that people living similar lives felt seen and represented by these pieces, and they also offer a valuable learning experience to those of us who are cisgendered and not (yet) living with disabilities.

While the lived experiences are varied, there are some overarching themes - the fear or experience of not being trans enough or disabled enough, a lack of interest or understanding from others, a horrible tendency of those in medical professions to either blame disability on trans status or to take unecessary details (the piece where someone who was undergoing complications after brain tumour surgery was asked about their gender affirming surgery not their brain surgery was horrible), but also good communities and positive lives, which is why I've used the positive quotation above. Powerful and moving and an important contribution.

Reviewed on my blog: https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2025/01/05/two-netgalley-reads-caryl-phillips-another-man-in-the-street-and-alex-iantaffi-ed-trans-and-disabled/

DNF @ 64%

So the reason I DNF'd the books is because I'm back at uni for my final year of my undergrad degree and it's just consumed me. but from what I read (and what i can remember), I liked that it brought together different experiences of being both trans and disabled despite not fully relating myself as I'm cis

A really beautifully written anthology that explores topics extremely close to me. As a trans and disabled reader, I felt extremely seen when reading this.

What an incredible collection of works showing the diverse range of experiences trans and disabled people live through. As with most collections like this, there were definitely pieces I enjoyed much more than others (unfortunately a lot of the ones I didn't resonate with as much seemed very frontloaded, which meant it took me quite a while to work through this book). The middle and last sections were my favourites!

I particularly loved "Loving with defiance: breaking a binary, not a b1n0ry" by kitty lu bear, which is filled with mathematical metaphors and beautiful, flowing writing. Other stand out works include "Bathroom buzz cut" by Liz Moore, "Mimicry" by Jonathan Eden, and "Self-portrait" by Mya Saracho.

I recommend this book to any trans and disabled readers who feel alone in their experiences. I recommend it to able bodied, cis people who want to understand more about the intersectionality of gender and ability. Really, any readers would take away something from reading this, whether it's a new understanding or a feeling of not being so alone in their experiences.

Thank you to Netgalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for the eARC!

This collection of essays is a stunning peek into the experiences of trans and disabled people. As someone who is trans and disabled themselves, reading this felt like a lovely hug of support from my community. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I related to every single piece in this book. Some brought forward feelings I hadn’t been able to vocalize myself. It brought me so much comfort and joy reading about my community. I hope everyone reads it because I think that it offers a window into our lives and could foster a lot of compassion and understanding for trans and disabled people.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with the eARC, but it did not affect my review in any way!

I thought this was going to be essays by trans disabled people about navigating that intersectionality in a transphobic and ableist world and I guess overall that’s what it was. Some of the essays were just incredibly heady and hard to follow and these were all at the front so it made it very hard to stay engaged.

The second half was much more approachable and easier to read so I wish the editor had chosen to mix in the heady essays rather than pack them all at the beginning because these perspectives are all important and I don’t want them to be missed.

Summary: With three focal points – ‘Who We Are’, ‘Being (Treated) Differently’, and ‘Loving Ourselves and Each Other’ – this anthology explores the intersections of transness, disability, and neurodivergence. It discusses how trans identity affects treatment and care for disabilities and vice versa, how trans, disabled, and neurodivergent identities collectively shape an individual’s relationship with their body and sense of self, the way ableism and sanism feed transphobia and transphobia feeds back into them in turn, and many other ways transness and disability impact each other. It opens the floor to varied voices and experiences exploring broad definitions of trans and disabled identity in the varied media of essays, poetry, plays, and visual art.

Reflections: As with most collections and certainly one with such variety in style and tone, this had its ups and downs. With 25 pieces (plus the introduction), there were some that I could not engage with, whether I felt the metaphors to be shoddy or the ideas underdeveloped or they just didn’t click with me. I do imagine, with the vast variations in trans and disabled experiences and even vaster and more complicated ways in which they intersect, that there is somebody who would relate to, be moved by, or learn from each piece.
To keep it simple, I’ll highlight just a few that I enjoyed:

“Plural, trans and disabled” by Meg-John Barker was one of the sections with one of the more academic lilts to it. It addressed some of the frameworks for understanding disability and its place within social justice movements. Mixing in a personal perspective, they also show how plurality opens up different viewpoints on understanding gender and the ‘self’ in its entirety.

Through the lens of hair styling “Bathroom buzz cut” by Liz Moore explores the balancing act that can come from seeking comfort with one's body as a disabled person and euphoria in one's expression as a trans person as well as assumptions that come from people seeing only pieces of the equation. Specifically, I was struck by their portrayal of the emotions around one’s abilities to self-express changing or restricting.

In the poem “Do No Harm” by Eddy Samara, Samara demonstrates how engaging with the healthcare system often leads to more instances of one’s identity being invalidated or dismissed and creates an environment where the patient's vulnerability makes asserting themself or correcting this behavior especially difficult or dangerous.

My one real disappointment with this collection is the noticeable lack of trans women contributors. I can give leniency in understanding that one short, indie anthology cannot encompass every corner of the gender spectrum or every experience of disability, but trans women are such a prominent part of the trans community that I cannot find myself extending this excuse that far. This absence might not subtract from the value or my appreciation of any piece within this collection, but to me, it does take away something from the anthology as a whole.

Trans and Disabled connects experiences across both continents of life, the interactions and multiplicities within. A great, short read that keeps you engaged.

Trans and Disabled, edited by Alex Iantaffi is a collection of essays, poetry, artwork, and other pieces by people who fall into the identities of 'trans' and 'disabled,' however each creator personally defines and experiences those terms. It is divided into three parts: "Who we are," "Being (treated) different," and "Loving Ourselves and Each Other."
These pieces are intended for and written about those who fall under the 'trans and disabled' umbrella, allowing us to feel seen, heard, loved, and in solidarity with others who can truly understand the struggles and joys of these lived experiences. This is a short book, but each piece is poignant.

However, I did not necessarily enjoy every entry. As a non-binary, disabled and neurodivergent person, I could definitely relate to a lot of the writing, and truly loved a fair few pieces and lines. But I am a young adult, and a lot of these entries are written by people who are 30-50, so a lot of the language almost seems to get lost in translation, terms that I don’t like are used and there is a lot of stereotypically queer aspects that I, as a young person, find to be what straight, abled people ridicule us for, (the usage of colour and glitter to describe queerness, assigning neo pronouns to cats, etc)

It is difficult to put a rating to real peoples' true struggles and authentic stories, so I can only offer my gratitude to and appreciation for these creators, and will be rating it highly for it’s diversity and readability. Vulnerability is something to be praised, especially in the current political climate.
Thank you for sharing your stories, and for paving the way for those to come.

It is worth a read, regardless of your gender, sexuality, ability and neurodiversity.

Thank you to Jessica Kingsley Publisher’s and Netgalley for the ARC.

This was an incredibly insightful book into those life’s of transgender and disabled, being disabled I was able to indentifiy with so many parts of it while also learning about those who are trans, 5/5 star read, I love it

Trans and disabled - both categories that are made invisible and are silenced.

An important collection of essays surrounding disability, being trans and other categories of marginalization. The authors give insight into their personal lived experiences and/or research. Even though it’s is well known that academic research is mainly white, non-disabled and cis-gendered.

Especially given the political environment (worldwide) this book should be a must read.

"Trans and Disabled" is a great anthology to present ideas of intersectionality, with a particular focus in gender and disability but also including race, class, and other minority groups. The anthology itself is as diverse as its authors, filled with fiction, non-fiction essays, and poetry, as well as art.

As someone who is also trans* and disabled, it was difficult at times to get through this book--sometimes the feelings reading created were too much, and I had to take frequent breaks. I don't think of this as a detriment, however; these raw accounts of how life is for those of us that have multiple minority divisions give us a voice, even for those who can't speak for themselves. I was an editor in college for one of my school's yearly student publications, specifically geared toward Women's and Gender Studies, and this is the kind of anthology I would have created myself.

Thank you, to both Alex Iantaffi and the contributors, as well as JKP, for presenting just a few of the many stories trans* and disabled people live every single day.

4.5 stars!

This was a really well done anthology. I loved the diverse breadth of stories within this collection, because even in something seemingly as specific as “trans and disabled”, there is still so much diversity within the community, and the authors have done a wonderful job of showcasing that. Not only was there a spread of people based on their identities, but there was a spread of emotions through the pieces. Some were very loving and comforting, some were harsh and pessimistic, and many acknowledged both sides and the many emotions that come with these identities. It was refreshing to not feel like our lived experience was being sanitized into something palatable.

Most of these essays were the perfect length, not over-staying their welcome, nor being too short. They also all held a unique voice, and touched on a unique topic. The first essay that discusses trans identity and being multiple has really stuck with me, along with the theatre piece (although that’s because I’m a theatre practitioner). This collection is great for both those who aren’t trans and/or disabled, AND those who also hold both these identities. It speaks on the authors’ experiences in a way that is eye opening to those outside, and affirming for those inside.

This is a pretty short read, with a collection of poignant and evocative poems, artwork and essays in it. I enjoyed quite a few of the works, but the inclusion of others left me scratching my head as they didn't seem well edited or clear in the message or meaning they were trying to communicate. Some of the essays read like unedited responses to a survey prompt and were not nearly as compelling as others.

Given the importance of the subject matter and the sensitivity of it, I loved the inclusion of the essays that made it into this collection and there are some real gems here, but ultimately felt that it could have been much longer and could have used some better citation and editing.

Trans and Disabled, edited by Alex Iantaffi (they/he/lui), is a collection of essays, poetry, artwork, and other creative pieces by people who fall into the myriad intersectional identities of 'trans' and 'disabled,' however each creator personally defines and experiences those terms. The anthology is divided into three parts: "Who we are," "Being (treated) different," and "Loving Ourselves and Each Other." These pieces are intended first and foremost for those who also fall under the 'trans and disabled' umbrella, so that readers in possible isolation can feel seen, heard, loved, and in solidarity with others who can truly empathize with mobility struggles, gender euphoria, and invisible disabilities, among many other lived experiences. This is a short book, less than two hundred pages, but each entry is powerful and poignant, each voice not to be ignored.

It is difficult to put a numerical rating to real peoples' true struggles and authentic stories, so I can only offer my gratitude to and appreciation for these creators, who were willing to be open and vulnerable to strangers, especially in the current political climate. You are hear, you are important, and you deserve the space(s) you inhabit, no matter how many spoons you have on any given day. Thank you for sharing your stories, and for paving the way for those who will come afterward. For any readers who may have questions about intersectionality, this book is a perfect example of how various identities intersect and overlap, both in society and in life.

For those interested in further essays by trans individuals, try To My Trans Sisters edited by Charlie Craggs, To Be a Trans Man edited by Ezra Woodger, and Nonbinary: Memoirs of Gender and Identity edited by Micah Rajunov and Scott Duane. For those interested in true stories by disabled LGBTQIA+ creators and advocates, try Sipping Dom Pérignon Through a Straw by Eddie Ndopu, and Matthew and Paul and Jessica Kellgren-Fozard on YouTube/other social media. For those interested in trans/queer disabled characters in fiction, try The Sweetness Between Us by Sarah Winifred Searle and LoveBot by Chase Keels and Miranda Mundt.

Rounded up from 4.5 stars

A wonderful and important collection of essays. I don't really know what else to say other than I think this is a must read.

4.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for the ARC!

Trans and Disabled is an essay collection featuring voices that exist in the intersection of being disabled and not-cisgender.
This was a really good essay collection. I’m someone who struggles a lot with anthologies, but I enjoyed all of the essays in here. As a trans and disabled person, myself, I was able to relate a lot to the various essays.
Despite the similarities in identities, it was interesting to see the differences in perspective among the writers. I especially liked seeing the writing on COVID lockdown and the varying effects across the trans/disabled community.

CW: trans/queerphobia; ableism; abuse; deadnaming; medical content/trauma; suicidal thoughts & ideation

This book was alright. As far as structure goes, I think it fit the synopsis and I enjoyed how the essays were categorized into three sections. However, it's always a little difficult to review an anthology like this because some essays were really insightful and others were written by the most annoying people ever (read: spends too much time on Tumblr). While some writings were truly informative, others lamented so hard to the point of me going, okayyy I get it.

I am certainly not the core audience for this book, though I did appreciate many essays. Definitely a better read for someone in either the gender diverse or dis/abled community.