“Personhood is conditional; monstrosity is a bed you sleep in for eternity.”

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! This collection releases on January 21st, 2025 in the US from Jessica Kingsley Publishers. 

There is a raw, undeniable power in Trans and Disabled: An Anthology of Identities and Experiences, edited by Alex Iantaffi. This collection of essays offers a deeply personal and politically urgent exploration of what it means to exist at the intersection of transness and disability, a space where visibility is both necessary and dangerous, where care is often conditional, and where survival itself is an act of defiance. Through lyrical prose, philosophical musings, and candid reflections, the contributors dismantle binaries, reject imposed hierarchies, and carve out space for identities that refuse to be neatly categorized.

One of the most striking themes of the anthology is the pervasive sense of unbelonging—both in medical settings and within broader social structures. Many of the authors grapple with the ways cisgenderism and ableism work in tandem to deny them adequate care, understanding, and legitimacy. The essays expose the exhausting reality of having to “prove” one’s gender and disability to systems that fundamentally distrust lived experience. Impostor syndrome, the burden of masking, and the relentless pressure to conform to normative expectations weave through the narratives, illustrating how trans disabled people are often made to feel as though they are fabricating their own realities.

Yet, amidst this struggle, there is also a profound celebration of fluidity. These essays embrace the shapeshifting nature of identity—of gender, of ability, of self-perception. The authors resist the pathologization of their existence, instead offering a vision of transness and disability as sites of expansive possibility rather than limitation. Through metaphors of galaxies, bending light, and the tension between structure and movement, they articulate the beauty of liminality, of being in constant conversation with oneself and the world.

H Howitt’s essay stood out to me in particular, offering a deeply resonant meditation on the relationship between queerness, neurodivergence, and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). As someone who shares those intersections, I found their exploration of hypermobility as both a physical and existential state profoundly moving. The way they frame EDS as a neuro(queer) identity—one that resists rigidity while still yearning for stability—perfectly encapsulates the paradox of existing in a bodymind that is simultaneously boundless and fragile. 

Trans and Disabled is not just an anthology—it is an offering, an act of defiance, and a testament to the resilience of those who live at the crossroads of transness and disability. It is a necessary read for anyone seeking to understand, and more importantly, to affirm and uplift these voices. In a world that so often insists on erasure, this collection insists on presence. And that, in itself, is revolutionary.

📖 Recommended For: Readers who appreciate introspective, lyrical prose; those interested in the intersection of transness and disability; anyone who values personal narratives on identity, community, and resilience; fans of Eli Clare and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha.

🔑 Key Themes: Medical Neglect and Institutional Barriers, Masking and Impostor Syndrome, Fluidity of Identity, Community and Mutual Aid, Resistance to Binaries and Hierarchies.