Naked Reader Book Club Discussion: Take Me There -Trans and Genderqueer Erotica, Edited by Tristan Taormino (January 24, 8-10 PM EST)

Before more folks have to leave, I'll post the rest of Sinclair's interview with Tristan:

"What are you hoping it accomplishes, or who are you hoping it reaches?

I hope it kick starts a new genre of trans and genderqueer erotica. If this book does well, I hope I can make it a series. I hope it reaches people from all different walks of life. Seeing our longing, desire, fantasies, and sex lives on the page is so important to gender and sexual minorities. I want this book to open up a dialogue among people about their own gender identity and how it impacts their sexuality. I also hope to push at the language boundaries a little. Writers and characters in this book use alternative pronouns like ze/hir/hir as well as the less common hy/hym/hys. Slowly, these new words—along with the use of they, them, their—are beginning to seep into our consciousness and people are using them more frequently in conversation. I want to see that shift reflected in our literature as well. Plus, I personally love to read phrases that challenge binaries, like his clit, her dick, or his tits.

One of the authors recently got a letter from someone who read the book. The reader wrote, “I’m not sure how to describe how important it was for me to read your story, because it hit upon so many facets of my identity. I’m female-bodied and femme and most people assume that means cis. I’m pretty sure I’m not cis and I’m darn sure I’m not trans, so what the hell does that make me? I know, but I didn’t think anybody else did until I read [this] line [in your story].” That’s the kind of reaction I was hoping for—and one that makes all the hard work so worthwhile.

Is erotica more than just jerk off material? Is it political, or activism?

I absolutely believe that writing and publishing erotica, especially for minorities, is a political act. We must write our own stories, our own truths, otherwise our detractors and enemies will do it for us. When I first handed in the anthology to Cleis Press, publisher Felice Newman called me and said, “I want your introduction to be required reading for my staff. It’s about so much more than erotic writing or trans and genderqueer erotica. This book has the potential to shed light on gender and sexuality in a new way and bring more awareness and understanding about it.” If Take Me There can accomplish that, it helps support the amazing work of transgender rights activists to increase visibility and affect public policy.

What influenced you to do a genderqueer and trans anthology?

I really feel like it’s time. When I passed the Best Lesbian Erotica torch to Kathleen Warnock, I was ready for a project that was entirely new, something that hadn’t been done before. I hesitated at first because I am not trans. But my partner of ten and a half years who identifies as trans and genderqueer really encouraged me to go for it. That’s one of the cool things about the book: some of the writers are trans and others aren’t, and it’s the same with narrators and characters. So, there are a lot of different voices represented, including those of transfolk as well as their partners and lovers. less