Manning Up, a new anthology of essays from transmen, releases with the start of LGBT Pride/Book Month.
There are the typical coming out stories, the ones we grow accustomed to hearing, the ones the media is comfortable with, the ones that become the norm. And then there are the stories and storytellers that challenge that norm. Manning Up: Transsexual Men on Finding Family, Brotherhood, and Themselves is full of them. Edited by Mitch Kellaway and Zander Keig, the essays are from men from diverse ethnic and social backgrounds; those that transitioned young and those who were middle aged; those that chose no medical services and those who did; those who did not hate themselves; those who stood up and refused to be molded into a conventional story line. I asked the editors why they chose to be involved in this and what it meant to them.
From Mitch Kellaway:
Co-editing “Manning Up” has been a growth experience for me. It’s the first book I’ve edited, and I joined the project as an unknown entity to Zander and Trystan Cotten (the managing editor of Transgress Press). I simply asked to be a part of creating this venue for trans men to tell the stories they felt needed telling, an they generously made space for me. I know you’re talking this month about books that have impacted LGBT lives–well, for a young trans man with a deep interest in books, being invited to add to trans literature by two other trans men who trusted in my skill and believe, as I do, in the power of trans folks making culture by and for trans folks, was life-changing. I will never forget the moment at the Philly Trans Health Conference when I met Zander for the first time and he officially asked me to edit “Manning Up” with him; he was telling me that my thoughts as a trans man on writing, on words, on narrative were important. It confirmed that I was on the right career path, despite messages given to myself and other recent college graduates that there’s no future in writing–and, moreover, in working to foster writing by trans people. That it’s too niche; there’s no audience; no livelihood; that there’s a ciltural apathy towards the written word.
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Some people have asked me why my first move as an editor and writer was to add to the “trans memoir” genre–which has been, to date, largely the only venue that trans writing has been published, making emerging artists feel that to “write trans-ness” must mean to be autobiographical, to be confessional. I was aware of this literary history, which had been at once so affirming and limiting for trans writers, when I began editing “Manning Up.” So this project has very much been about me confronting the trans memoir genre and asking, “How can this book add something that’s missing, rather than repeat what others have done?” I moved on my instincts of where to probe our writers for more reflection or consideration of how to not just tell the facts, but choose words and structure in a way someone writing creative nonfiction might. The result is–at least I hope–is not just coming-out stories or even explanations of how men reached transitional milestones (helpful as that writing may be), but a collection of stories. Every community needs their storytellers, and I see each of our contributors as one, doing work beyond reportage and beyond what’s expected to reflect more deeply on transition’s reverberations throughout their spirits and connections with others.
What the Manning Up project means to me: Both of my book projects, Letters for My Brothers and Manning Up, were motivated by my desire to create brotherhood and provide mentorship. As a 47 year old transsexual man, I find that there are fewer visible and accessible mentors for men like me (transsexual not transgender) and after engaging with hundreds of transsexual men across the country, for the last 9 years, while attending trans conferences, who reported similar experiences, I decided to create a resource for us and for those who love, support, work with, study and partner with us. My hope is that readers will identify and/or empathize with the stories these men share, stories of endurance in a society that stigmatizes and marginalizes transsexual and transgender people, about living authentic lives.
I began transition in my early 30s, after my wife and I became a parents, when my children were ages 5 and 2. At first, I thought that anything I needed in terms of transition would surely hurt my children. I felt like I was forced to make an impossible choice, between my children on one side, and a future I could live with on the other. But I was wrong. Instead, as I took the steps I needed, our entire family grew closer and stronger. I hear from so many other trans parents that they hold back because they want to protect their kids. I wanted to offer another possible story, an example of how a family can make this shift together. I was thrilled that the Manning Up project was looking to tell stories about the broader life experiences of trans men, and I wanted to add my family’s story to the mix. I hope that readers gain a sense of the breadth, depth and variation in our experiences, as men and as trans men.