request for book recommendations

[jeliza]

Hello,

My father has a friend who is about to start transitioning (ftm) and is looking for resources (books, mostly likely) to help him understand how to be most supportive of his friend. Any recommendations? (All my trans friends I met mid or post-transition, and being oddly gendered myself, these things come a bit more naturally to me. :)

(no subject)

[kandistarr.livejournal.com]

I wanted to thank all of you for sharing your thoughts and stories with me. for what it is worth coming from a random stranger, you all seem like amazing people and i am very proud that you all fought through the barriers that were repeatedly placed in front of you and are still standing strong. you are all an insperation.
Sadly, i have kept putting off writing this paper, so it may not be what you all deserve. I will post it this weekend though so you all can see.

Thank you all so much, again.

After this is all said and done, I am going to be leaving the community. It is nothing personal at all! to be honest, i am not good with keeping up with communities AT ALL. However, i am always in the mood to make a new friend if anyone is interested.

Hi

[lookingforholes.livejournal.com]

Hi, it is my first time writing here, and actually my first time writing about this topic in general, so I am kind of nervous. I believe I am an FTM, and I have thought this from the time I was a kid. At ten my best friend and I decided on boy names, and I told her that someday I was going to get my sex changed. Of course, she thought I was kidding, and I was telling her this in all honesty. About two years ago, I started telling some of my friends about the fact that I was in the wrong body and in reality I am a man that just needs some work done. I was told that I was to girly to be a boy, and that phrase has stuck in my mind ever since. Everytime I fix my hair in the morning, everytime I put on my make up, and everytime I get dressed, all I can think is "you're to girly to be a boy." But the thoughts of becoming a man have never left my mind. I am tormented with the thought that there is something about me that just is not right. I am driven crazy with the thought that I am missing something, that I lost it, and I don't know when I lost it, where I lost it, or how I can get it back. Lately, I have begun to realize that what I have lost is my identity. I am a man stuck in the wrong body. I am scared to tell people this though. I know that my girlfriend would leave me, my family would disown me, and my friends would disappear. I just want to be me, but I can't do it alone.

Hello

[p1nkp4nd4.livejournal.com]

My name is Amanda and I'm a senior at Emmanuel College in Boston. I am currently writing a paper for a class on transgender issues in the college/university setting. I would love any input that any of you could give me, whether it be resources in the Boston area that you have found useful, college clubs/groups that you have found to be useful, or if you would like to share your experiences with me.

You do not have to comment here to get in touch with me. I am honestly looking for any input that any of you could give. I will keep your identity anonymous. I would preferably like to talk to one (or more) of you at length because I do have a long list of questions. We do not have to meet face to face. Instant messenger is fine with me.

I am open-minded and nonjudgmental.

You can contact me on my LJ or e-mail me at bagaream@emmanuel.edu or you can contact my paper partner, Katie, at rooneyka@emmanuel.edu

Thank you so much for reading this.

I'm Out!

[foxxygirltamara.livejournal.com]

I ended up coming out / getting outed yesterday to my parents. I'm sure they knew something was up (probably by the girl-clothes and the boobs) but they're really non-confrontational. Anyway, I had an anxiety attack (we think) over coming out and stuff. I never had one before but it hurt so bad! My mom asked me if I was taking anything and I had to say "yes". We weren't sure what was wrong so she took me to the ER about 1am. I eventually calmed down. Anyway, so my mom and I got to talk about things. She keeps trying to use scare-tactics (she's never been the positive one) saying that no-one will ever want me, that I'll mess my body up with "all these surgeries" (uh... one at the most...) and whatnot.

( More riveting details! )