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

Contributor: Brendada Brendada
Quote:
Originally posted by Sacchi
I'm glad that came across. Transgender people are people, with just as much tenderness, loneliness, longing for acceptance--and possibly even more transgressiveness, due to circumstances--as any of us.
Well said, Sacchi!
01/24/2012
Contributor: Top Kat Top Kat
Quote:
Originally posted by melovecoffee
I'm afraid i'll have to go along with popular opinion and say that the last story was my favourite but that can change depending on what mood i'm in

I also quite liked 'The Perfect Gentleman,' 'You Don't Know ... more
I liked "Taking the Toll" and "The Therapist and the Whore"
01/24/2012
Contributor: Brendada Brendada
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
Hey Kendra!
It is pretty stream of consciousness but thanks for appreciating!
01/24/2012
Contributor: winterseve winterseve
This sounds like a great book. My coworker's roommate is trans ftm. He is a great person to be around but is still settling on a pronoun. I just wait to see what those who are closest to the person say and then use that pronoun. Until reading an piece of this book and hearing the discussion I never really thought about it too much.
01/24/2012
Contributor: Sacchi Sacchi
Quote:
Originally posted by tim1724
Great review. Now I really want to read the book!

You talk about pronoun choices in your review. Pronouns are a big problem … one of my friends has gone through many possibilities in the past year, before settling on "he" (for now, ... more
The pronouns sometimes trip me up in real life. Or get me kicked. I have no problem with people who've presented as trans as long as I've known them, but one close friend was a certain pronoun in my mind for so many years that I sometimes stumble, and a mutual friend is authorized to kick me in the ankle when I do.
01/24/2012
Contributor: NoOneNosMe NoOneNosMe
Quote:
Originally posted by melovecoffee
Do you think this will open doors to more transgender/genderquee r erotica? It seems too far and few in between but easily a growing market of erotica
I hope it will. Transgenders and genderqueer persons are very often forgotten. It is good to know someone made a movement to write something about them
01/24/2012
Contributor: wrmbreze wrmbreze
Quote:
Originally posted by Sacchi
The pronouns sometimes trip me up in real life. Or get me kicked. I have no problem with people who've presented as trans as long as I've known them, but one close friend was a certain pronoun in my mind for so many years that I sometimes ... more
I always wonder what someone like that would prefer. I don't want to offend.
01/24/2012
Contributor: Top Kat Top Kat
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
It did have a lot wrapped up in it... Hope your memories are good ones!
Yes, definitely good memories!
01/24/2012
Contributor: Sacchi Sacchi
Quote:
Originally posted by specialKandL
how DO u determine which pronoun is best?
Kandl, it's entirely a matter of what the person in question wants. Even in a story.
01/24/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by tim1724
Great review. Now I really want to read the book!

You talk about pronoun choices in your review. Pronouns are a big problem … one of my friends has gone through many possibilities in the past year, before settling on "he" (for now, ... more
Yeah, that's one thing that must be really tricky for the people in that situation.

On the one hand---I totally understand why it's important to be able to choose pronouns that fit who you are!

On the other hand, I'm an old-fashioned pedant (I don't say that proudly, it's just kind of... the way I am.) and when I'm the chair of a committee I make people call me "Chairman Antipova," because even though I have a vagina and am a girl, I think the words "chairwoman" and "chairperson" sound awkward and ugly. Same thing with humankind---in my mind, our language has evolved so that when I say "mankind" you know I mean "men, women, and children," because the word "humankind" is cumbersome and I don't like it.

So, it's totally just a personal preference when I'm reading. If I were to meet people who went by atypical pronouns, I would call them by what they identified with. Same as I call people who prefer to be addressed as "Chairwoman" "Chairwoman." But if I'm reading a story, I'd rather stick to pronouns that are easy to pronounce in my brain.


Did anybody else get distracted by the pronouns in those stories?

Or am I a pedantic brat? I feel kind of bad for not whole-hog siding with people making a political stand.
01/24/2012
Contributor: tim1724 tim1724
Quote:
Originally posted by specialKandL
how DO u determine which pronoun is best?
Well, you have to use whatever pronoun the person you’re referring to has chosen for himself/herself/themse lf/emself/umself/etc. as it's extremely closely tied to one's sense identity. As for the individual choosing that pronoun, well, that's hard. My friend tried out a bunch over the course of a few months; a bit like trying on pants, but more personal and more important, in a lot of ways.
01/24/2012
Contributor: melovecoffee melovecoffee
Quote:
Originally posted by NoOneNosMe
I hope it will. Transgenders and genderqueer persons are very often forgotten. It is good to know someone made a movement to write something about them
exactly, I feel like plenty of niches in erotica have their beginnings and are almost hidden from public view. It's a real tragedy, I found more love and feeling in this book than any of the Twilight books combined.

I love the blurring of the lines on gender that were presented in this book. It's helped me understand a community in sexuality i'm not that familiar with. Truly fascinating!
01/24/2012
Contributor: Brendada Brendada
Quote:
Originally posted by removedacnt
Congratulations Antipova! You're our first winner of a $25 Edenfantasys gift card this evening.

Please email me at Liz @ Edenfantasys .com so I can get that out to you.
Huzzah!
01/24/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by bzzingbee
Did anyone else love Now, Voyager? (i think that's the title)
Quick description? My brain loses track of titles quickly.
01/24/2012
Contributor: specialKandL specialKandL
Even though it was really short, I enjoyed the story Small Blue Thing
01/24/2012
Contributor: bzzingbee bzzingbee
I think the best policy is just to ask, if the setting is appropriate to do so. When I was reviewing Live Sex Show I emailed Courtney Trouble to ask her about the performers' preference and found out that people who identify as genderqueer prefer the pronoun 'they'. It threw my traditional English training for a loop, but I tried to make it work.
01/24/2012
Contributor: LicentiouslyYours LicentiouslyYours
Quote:
Originally posted by Willow Wand
SEEEE it WAS a gmail account! Ok then, why do I NEVER get a reply?
Hi Willow!

Can you tell me what email you've been using to contact me? I did a search for Willow Wand and the email you posted on your Eden profile, but i have no emails from you!

I checked the spam folder to, so we've got a disconnect somewhere - I want to make sure we touch base!
01/24/2012
Contributor: melovecoffee melovecoffee
Quote:
Originally posted by Top Kat
I liked "Taking the Toll" and "The Therapist and the Whore"
Ooooo "Taking the Toll,' that was a good one.


and my list grows longer.
01/24/2012
Contributor: NoOneNosMe NoOneNosMe
Quote:
Originally posted by wrmbreze
I always wonder what someone like that would prefer. I don't want to offend.
I'm bigender myself. I also know a lot of transmen. Most of the time they are the nicest people on earth. If you just ask usually we have no problem talking with you about pronouns
01/24/2012
Contributor: Brendada Brendada
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
Here's a quick excerpt from my review (if you don't mind me chiming in on bzzingbee's question):

As someone who's a Kinsey Scale Zero, I was surprised to find myself turned on by stories of cocks of all compositions and sizes, ... more
Wow- that is an excellent review, very thoughtfully done. Glad the books are holdin up for ya!
01/24/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
Yeah, that's one thing that must be really tricky for the people in that situation.

On the one hand---I totally understand why it's important to be able to choose pronouns that fit who you are!

On the other hand, I'm an ... more
Oh! I should clarify, the pronouns that had me confused as I was reading were

"hyr"
and
"zir"
01/24/2012
Contributor: wrmbreze wrmbreze
Quote:
Originally posted by NoOneNosMe
I'm bigender myself. I also know a lot of transmen. Most of the time they are the nicest people on earth. If you just ask usually we have no problem talking with you about pronouns
Honestly It makes me think of Rupaul. If he is dressed as a woman I say she and if dressed as a man I say he.
01/24/2012
Contributor: Brendada Brendada
Quote:
Originally posted by Willow Wand
Thanks, yea, I had some gmail account, they were prolli all like "WTF is this nut keep emailing me asking for free porn books?"
I think it is safe to say no one at Eden or Cleis ever thinks that. Seriously. Never.
01/24/2012
Contributor: Sacchi Sacchi
Quote:
Originally posted by Top Kat
I liked "Taking the Toll" and "The Therapist and the Whore"
Thanks, Kat, for providing the perfect time for this. Giselle Renarde (who has a story or two in my upcoming anthology Girl Fever) told me this about writing "The Therapist and the Whore":


"The inclusion of my story "The Therapist and the Whore" in Take Me There was one of my greatest honours of 2011. When Tristan got in touch with me about submitting a story, I had just emailed "The Therapist and the Whore" to Rachel Kramer Bussel, who also has a story in this collection, for an anthology she was editing. I pretty much never pull a submission, because the last thing I want to do is waste an editor's time, but I had a gut feeling this story belonged in Take Me There. Luckily, Tristan and Cleis agreed. (Sorry again, Rachel!)

I'm over the moon every time I read another glowing review of Take Me There, not just because the book is well-received, but because it's so visible. I started writing trans and genderqueer stories when my girlfriend, who is trans, told me she'd never read any erotic fiction about trans people that appealed to her. In fact, she said everything she'd ever read really turned her off. She wanted relatable, well-rounded characters, not glorified fetish objects. So I got to work. Since then I've produced a lot of trans fiction, but it's a niche market. Even when my own trans erotica anthology "My Mistress' Thighs" won an honourable mention in the 2011 Rainbow Awards, sales still just bumbled along. I think a lot of readers conceptualize trans erotica as something weird and "not for me." Take Me There is really breaking down that wall. I'm so delighted people are reading Take Me There--trans people, cis people, queer people, all people. It deserves the visibility it's earned.

Thanks!"
Giselle
01/24/2012
Contributor: bzzingbee bzzingbee
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
Quick description? My brain loses track of titles quickly.
Its the story about the MtF who goes on the work holiday cruise with a guy from work and then later they get together and she has her first real orgasm with anal penetration.
01/24/2012
Contributor: specialKandL specialKandL
Quote:
Originally posted by bzzingbee
I think the best policy is just to ask, if the setting is appropriate to do so. When I was reviewing Live Sex Show I emailed Courtney Trouble to ask her about the performers' preference and found out that people who identify as genderqueer ... more
Oh interesting! Thanks for sharing!
01/24/2012
Contributor: Willow Wand Willow Wand
Quote:
Originally posted by LicentiouslyYours
Hi Willow!

Can you tell me what email you've been using to contact me? I did a search for Willow Wand and the email you posted on your Eden profile, but i have no emails from you!

I checked the spam folder to, so we've got a ... more
Sending you a message on Eden
01/24/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by bzzingbee
I think the best policy is just to ask, if the setting is appropriate to do so. When I was reviewing Live Sex Show I emailed Courtney Trouble to ask her about the performers' preference and found out that people who identify as genderqueer ... more
"They" feels easy and natural to me, even if it goes against what my third grade grammar teacher would have said.
01/24/2012
Contributor: NoOneNosMe NoOneNosMe
Quote:
Originally posted by melovecoffee
exactly, I feel like plenty of niches in erotica have their beginnings and are almost hidden from public view. It's a real tragedy, I found more love and feeling in this book than any of the Twilight books combined.

I love the blurring of ... more
Lol. I found more emotion in the excerpt than the Twilight books.

Gender in itself can be blurred. I play with my gender all the time. There are some days where I will feel very dysphoric and feel the need to "switch" genders but most of the time I can flip flop when I want
01/24/2012
Contributor: melovecoffee melovecoffee
Quote:
Originally posted by bzzingbee
I think the best policy is just to ask, if the setting is appropriate to do so. When I was reviewing Live Sex Show I emailed Courtney Trouble to ask her about the performers' preference and found out that people who identify as genderqueer ... more
Someone who comes into my cafe is transgender and I try to be sensitive to how I refer to them (It's a huge change and I don't want to belittle that or mock it by using the wrong adjective). Some people aren't like that though, their view is so black and white that if they can't safely put it in a category then they don't want anything to do with it.

That's what I really liked about this book, it remained sensitive (not sure if that's the right word to use but I will go with it anyway) and made itself very identifiable to it's reader, no matter who they are or what they identify with.
01/24/2012