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Youngman

Selected Diaries of Lou Sullivan
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( 2,374 ratings, 429 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Youngman by Lou Sullivan delves into the life of a pioneering transgender activist who documented his journey in vivid and personal detail. This collection, spanning fifteen years, offers a unique and profound insight into his experiences, exploring themes of identity, resilience, and the pursuit of self-understanding within the cultural landscape.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

If you find joy in exploring personal narratives that shape cultural conversations, this deeply personal account offers an enlightening glimpse into the life and times of a transgender pioneer. It's perfect for anyone interested in understanding the intersections of identity, gender, and activism through a unique and heartfelt perspective.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The first openly trans author on a Classics list, Youngman is a unique first-hand account of a historical trans man's life, which reads like a euphoric coming-of-age novel.

A unique first-hand account of a historical gay trans man's whole life, which reads like a celebratory coming-of-age novel.

Lou kept candid diaries from the age of 10. Through these extracts, we hear Lou's life in his own words—from 'playing boys' in his childhood in Wisconsin, to cruising San Francisco's gay bars for handsome 'youngmen'; from first hearing about gender non-conforming communities, to becoming a vital part of them as an activist, author, and archivist.

Lou navigated his identity with few role models and was perhaps the first publicly gay transgender man. Successfully campaigning to remove heterosexuality from the medical requirements for gender affirming surgery, Lou was pivotal in our modern understanding of gender and sexuality as distinct identities. After he was diagnosed with HIV in 1986, he remarked that he had been told by clinics that 'it was impossible for me to live as a gay man, but it looks like I'm gonna die like one.'

This selection shows Lou's joyous love of life, men, and sex.

LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD WINNER
PUBLISHING TRIANGLE FINALIST

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SUSAN STRYKER

'Chatty and tender, casually poetic and voraciously sexual—Sullivan workshopped his identity and his relationships, committing to the page an interior monologue of self-discovery that paralleled the gay-liberation movement, the burgeoning transgender-rights movement, and the aids crisis... Given how many contemporary trans narratives are rooted in trauma, their choice to foreground trans pleasure and sensuality is celebratory, even radical' The New Yorker

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Youngman by Lou Sullivan is celebrated for its radical and monumental contribution to literature, particularly in the context of gender self-determination and queer identity. It paints an intimate portrait of Sullivan as an accessible and gentle figure, revealing his struggles and insights. Through its finely edited collection, the book serves as an open letter to future queer trans individuals, offering a deep understanding of identity and experience. Respected for both its emotional depth and historical significance, the book garners high praise.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781784877347

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 November 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage Classics

Contributors:

  • Introduction by Susan Stryker
  • Edited by Zach Ozma
  • Edited by Ellis Martin
  • Introduction by Susan Stryker

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 27.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 355g

Pages: 448

About the Author

Lou Sullivan (Author) Louis Graydon Sullivan (1951-91) was a writer, activist, typesetter, trans historian, and queer revolutionary. The Gay People's Union featured Sullivan's earliest writings in their newsletter including the now widely-quoted "A Transvestite Answers a Feminist". Though through his transition, many medical professionals he met had never heard of a female-to-gay-male, Sullivan resisted lying about his sexuality, a commitment which became a major aspect of his activism and legacy. Sullivan published Information for the FTM (a practical guidebook) and organized the first peer-support group for trans men. When Sullivan was diagnosed with HIV, he decided two main goals- to publish a biography of Jack Bee Garland and to publish his own diaries. He was only able to complete the former in his lifetime. Sullivan left 8.4 cubic feet of archival material from his life and studies to the GLBT Historical Society, of which he was a founding member. Zach Ozma (External Editor) Zach Ozma is a poet, potter, and social practice artist. Embodiment theory, archival research, and neo-classically gay imagery inform his practice. Employing mimesis, pedagogy, humor, surprise, and reward, he works in a variety of materials including ceramics, found objects, performance, writing, and works on paper. He is the author of BLACK DOG DRINKING FROM AN OUTDOOR POOL (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2019). He holds a BFA in Community Arts from California College of the Arts in Oakland. Ozma lives and works in the Philadelphia area. Ellis Martin (External Editor) Ellis Martin works with digital derivatives in the interstice of art and archive. Martin holds a BA in Visual and Critical Studies from Mills College. He has generated large-scale digitization projects at Mills College Art Museum, John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives, and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Historical Society. At GLBTHS he was the Digitization Project Archivist for the Bay Area Reporter project, a collection of 1,514 back issues from 1971 to 2005 now accessible on the Internet Archive. His short films have screened at San Francisco Transgender Film Festival and Trans Stellar Film Festival.

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