Tristan Taormino writes at the beginning of Take Me There: "Bodies can be tricky territory: minefields or playground or both, and the power of giving and taking is a gift. I want to acknowledge that moment of surrendering a part of your body, a piece of your sexuality that may feel scary, but through the fear owning it, asking for it, even commanding it, as in 'Take me there.'"

As someone who identifies as trans I was extremely excited to see Tristan Taormino's Take Me There. Taormino frames in her introduction "Where are the representations of the erotic identities, sex lives, and fantasies of transgender people? In mainstream media, they are oversimplified, sensationalized, or mostly invisible." And in this collection Taormino and the contributing writers work hard to change those shallow representations, creating a rich mosaic of characters, scenes, and identities. However, while at first glance Take Me There might appear to be a book that would only appeal to those who identify as trans or genderqueer its greatest success as a collection is that it transcends those categories.

Not only is Taormino a well-respected, sex positive icon but she has curated a number of other erotica collections, directed AVN (Adult Video Network) award winning adult film Chemistry, and most relevant to this project has a partner who identifies as trans/genderqueer. This is not just good trans and genderqueer erotica, this is good erotica, period, and fiction that is well worth reading.

At 29 stories and nearly 300 pages there is a great deal of variety in Take Me There. The stories cover virtually every possible combination of partners and their varied anatomies and interests and while primarily in contemporary settings do include a few historical and international settings. Amongst the stories there are some truly romantic moments, some wild kink, and a good dose of humor. There is a dildo named Miss Cobra, there are imagined and real penises and vaginas, but through it all the characters shine through.

At first I imagined that I would find the stories that had characters who best matched up to my own identity to be the most interesting, but far from it, I found that it was less about the who than the how. My favorite stories (Giselle Renarde "The Therapist and the Whore," Andrea Zanin "The Perfect Gentleman," S. Bear Bergman "Payback's a Bitch," Rachel K. Zall "The Visible Woman," Patrick Califia "Big Gifts in Small Boxes: A Christmas Story") were the ones whose erotic content or writing style best fit me, regardless of the identities of the characters involved. And I think regardless of the identity or orientation of the reader there is probably something here that would appeal to just about anyone. There are a few stories that use non-traditional pronouns (Ze/hir/hy), which may be off-putting to some, but generally the stories are easy to get into and the characters vivid, real, and sexy.

In her introduction to Take Me There Tristan Taormino frames the intent of the book "Where are the representations of the erotic identities, sex lives, and fantasies of transgender people? In mainstream media, they are oversimplified, sensationalized, or mostly invisible." Not only does Take Me There make trans and queer identities and fantasies visible, it showcases their diversity and humanity...without losing one bit of their erotic flair.

I do not own a ton of erotica, but this has been by far my favorite collection of erotica that I have ever had a chance to read. The stories are extraordinary in both their quality and diversity. I did not always find myself aroused while reading, but I did find the collection on a whole to be truly enjoyable.