Just in case you didn't know (am I the only one who usually only comes to this discussion page?) there's an excerpt from the book, a whole story by Kiki DeLovely, right here:

link

Go read it right now! less

Just in case you didn't know (am I the only one who usually only comes to this discussion page?) there's an excerpt from the book, a whole story by Kiki DeLovely, right here:

link

Go read it right now! less

Just in case you didn't know (am I the only one who usually only comes to this discussion page?) there's an excerpt from the book, a whole story by Kiki DeLovely, right here:

link

Go read it right now! less

I point folks here when I post intros to the books (or excerpts therefrom,) and I know from comments that some people get here early enough to read them before things get rolling too fast to keep up. And that's just what I'm going to do now. Tristan's introduction to Take Me There is as well worth reading--and as long--as most stories, so I won't quote the whole thing, but enough to, well, lubricate the mind. (Later I'll have quotes from an interview with Tristan, and background about their stories from Giselle Renarde, Anna Watson, and Sinclair Sexsmith.)

Introduction: Gender/Fucking

[Several paragraphs snipped, fore and aft]


For those of us who appreciate the written word’s power to not just get us off but bring nuance and complexity to erotic storytelling, we don’t have all that much to choose from. As the spouse of a person who identifies as trans and gender- queer, I believe it’s time for transpeople to be the authors and central characters of a book of their own, to be enjoyed by other transpeople along with their partners, admirers, allies, fuckbuddies, friends and lovers. I want to see folks who challenge gender norms as leading men, ingénues, crush objects and sex symbols on the page. That’s why I put together this collection. So, what exactly is transgender and genderqueer erotica? It’s erotica by, for and about transfolk, FTMs, MTFs, genderqueers, gender outlaws, as well as two-spirit, intersex and gender-variant people. It is about people who like to genderfuck and fuck gender.

Among the diverse array of voices in the book, one theme that emerged is the power of seeing and being seen as beautifully illustrated in Patrick Califia’s story about a gay transman longing for his identity and desire to be not just acknowledged, but treasured. It’s not simply about passing or not passing, which is an idea often explored with transgender characters, but about being acknowledged and desired in a sexual context. Being truly seen for who you are by a lover is where affirmation and want collide, as in Andrea Zanin’s story of a baby butch dyke and the transwoman she picks up in a small-town café. Likewise, the main character in Helen Boyd’s “All-Girl Action” longs to be touched as a woman by other queer women. Amidst a neighbor- hood blackout in “The Visible Woman,” by Rachel K. Zall, two women leave behind how others perceive them and focus on how they see each other. In “On Hys Knees,” Evan Swafford’s narrator articulates this hunger for recognition but also safety
as he looks at his boi: “The naked female sex, which this boi usually hides under baggy jeans and men’s clothes, is uncovered for Daddy. I warrant this trust and take it seriously. Because I see my boi as hy truly is. And hy knows that I’ll protect hym, keep hym safe. It’s what we both need.” It is this recognition and trust that allows the boi to surrender to his Daddy in a scene full of fisting, sadism and love.

Throughout the stories, no one is all that surprised about anyone’s gender, which bucks the trend of having a transperson’s “real” or former gender revealed. But there are revelations of other kinds. Jack tries to have what he calls The Conversation with a trick at a bar, but his pants are down before the talk actually happens, in Michael Hernandez’s “You Don’t Know Jack.” In “The Therapist and the Whore” by Giselle Renarde, Manny is a butch dyke struggling with her identity who can’t seem to talk honestly about it to her therapist; she feels most at ease fucking a transsexual sex worker whose comfort with her own identity creates a space where Manny can be Manny. For Ivan Coyote’s narrator in “Hold Up,” too much talking and processing is an absolute boner killer: “I would rather be fucking or fisting or tangling tongues or pulling each other’s hair and deciding by willpower and whim just who is going to suck whose what, and when and exactly how.”

Most of the characters in these stories don’t fit into neat little boxes and those that appear to fit, do it not-so-neatly. A lustful homecoming is full of sacred tradition and modern queerness in “Tel Aviv” by Jacques La Fargue: “I go from fresh- faced yeshiva boy to breasted bride as the layers come off, and I don’t care. It’s your cock I want.” In Kiki DeLovely’s “Taking the Toll,” a femme describes her genderqueer lover: “She has this edge about her—not completely hard yet deeply masculine. This is the edge where my lust resides.” That lust takes them both all the way to the confession booth. Anna Watson wrote to me before submitting her piece, “Femme Fatigue,” inquiring if femmes as main characters were part of my vision for the book. I welcome her contribution since we both agree that many femmes consider themselves genderqueer, because they consciously choose to fuck with female and femininity norms. There are femmes throughout this book, including one who surprises her boyfriend when her gender changes mid-fuck in S. Bear Bergman’s “Payback’s a Bitch.”

In her story “Dixie Belle,” Kate Bornstein imagines Huckle- berry Finn transformed into Sassy, a prostitute at a New Orleans brothel. Before there were identities like transgender, there were struggles and longing like those of the characters in “Sea of Cortez” by Sandra McDonald. Both of these pieces are the imagined histories of prototypical gender radicals grounded in the sights, sounds and language of their time periods. Considering the recent controversy—about NewSouth Books’ decision to release a version of Huckleberry Finn without the words nigger and injun in response to the removal of the book from public schools and libraries—Bornstein’s piece is especially provocative. It also speaks to the power of language to define and redefine cultural identities over time. less

"...It is about people who like to genderfuck and fuck gender."

What a great line. I am certainly curious how this discussion will go. I wish I had read the book simply for curiosity's sake. I'm not sure if I'm quite broadminded enough to find most of the stories arousing. Though I'm sure I'd find them fascinating, at the least. less

Just in case you didn't know (am I the only one who usually only comes to this discussion page?) there's an excerpt from the book, a whole story by Kiki DeLovely, right here:

link

Go read it right now! less

I'm new to the book club. Antipova (my mentor) remembered that I am bigender and she suggested that I come. I read the excerpt and it was amazing! I saw so much of myself in that story. It was so cool. I didn't even know genderqueer erotica existed! Looking forward to the discussion less

I'm new to the book club. Antipova (my mentor) remembered that I am bigender and she suggested that I come. I read the excerpt and it was amazing! I saw so much of myself in that story. It was so cool. I didn't even know genderqueer erotica existed! Looking forward to the discussion less

That's how I was feeling going into it... "well this will be interesting and I'll probably learn a lot, but I don't know if I'll get turned on..." but it blew me out of the water. You don't have to be gender-bendy yourself to enjoy how excellent the stories are---they do a great job of showing the characters' vulnerabilities etc. There were a few that "get off" on the fact that they're "breaking rules," and that's fine but not as much arousing for me---but far and away most of them were just like "I'm a human and I have desires and they're hot."

I do recommend this to everybody. Even if you think you'd only be 'fascinated to learn'---I'm pretty sure it'd speed up your heart rate too. less

I'm new to the book club. Antipova (my mentor) remembered that I am bigender and she suggested that I come. I read the excerpt and it was amazing! I saw so much of myself in that story. It was so cool. I didn't even know genderqueer erotica existed! Looking forward to the discussion less

Welcome to the Naked Reader Book Club! The fabulous Sacchi Green will be our host this evening. Tonight we'll be discussing Take Me There--Trans and Genderqueer Erotica, Edited by Tristan Taormino. A book filled with very steamy transgender and genderqueer erotic fantasies. This is definitely going to be a meeting you won't want to miss!

In mainstream media, the erotic identities, sex lives and fantasies of transgender and genderqueer people are often oversimplified, sensationalized or invisible. Take Me There is an erotic collection unlike any other, celebrating the pleasure, heat and diversity of transgender and genderqueer sexualities. These stories will take you from San Francisco to Israel, from heartache to lust, from ballet shoes to a bondage table, from M to F and F to M—and in between and beyond.

With contributed stories by Gina De Vries, Rahne Alexander, Ivan Coyote, Helen Boyd, Giselle Renarde, Dean Scarborough, Evan Swafford, Jacques La Fargue, Kiki DeLovely, Kate Borenstein, Toni Amato, Sandra McDonald, Andrea Zanin, S. Bear Bergman, Anna Watson, Julia Serano, Rachel K. Zall, Alicia E. Goranson, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Michael Hernandez, Shawna Virago, Sinclair Sexsmith, Arden Hill, Zev, Tobi Hill-Meyer, Penelope Mansfield, Skrian McGuire, Laura Antoniou, and Patrick Califia

Whether you've read the book or not, everyone is welcome to join the Naked Reader Book Club discussion! If you have had a chance to read Take Me There, feel free to drop in and give us your opinion on this book. less

Antipova, huge thanks for making this point. I know half a dozen of these writers personally, enough to have a sense of how hot they really are, and they and a few others have written for my anthologies, so I already knew what knockout writers they are. It's good to know that my perceptions of the book aren't unduly influenced by previous experience.

And welcome, NoOneNosMe! It's great to have new folks here. less