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A review by the_vegan_bookworm
Spectrums: Autistic Transgender People in Their Own Words by Maxfield Sparrow
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
A beautiful anthology about the intersections of trans identity and queerness with autism and autistic identity. There are a range of tones and topics throughout the essays with poems included throughout.
Some of my favourites include:
Some of my favourites include:
- a letter to a friend
- Ableism in Poetry
- The Realest Parts of Me
- Neuroccino
- I am trans and autistic, and yes (for me) they're related
- The Power of Perspective
With this said, I did have concerns about the inclusion of "A Transtistic Evolution". I found that this essay had racist tones, specifically indicating that the author identified with two-spirit identity despite never specifying that they were indigenous. As well, the author stating that he wasn't attracted to certain skin tones in certain gender presentations, which is often a "polite" way to say they aren't attracted to racialized folks as a white person. That's not preference - that's just racism. Reading these statements, in addition to a brief statement where the author acknowledges their white privilege, made the whole essay very upsetting to read.
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Mental illness, Racism, Transphobia, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia
Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, Forced institutionalization, and Pregnancy