In honor of pride month, what are everyone’s favorite LGBTQ+ books? It can be a book that deals with the LGBTQ+ experience, or just a book that prominently features queer characters in prominent roles.

  •  Kamirose   ( @Kamirose@beehaw.org ) OP
    link
    fedilink
    English
    7
    edit-2
    1 year ago
    • The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi - Deals with trans issues in Nigeria, where Emezi is from.

    • Pet by Akwaeke Emezi - A YA novel with a trans main character, but doesn’t deal with trans issues. It’s nice to have trans representation in a book that’s not about trans trauma. Also has positive representation of polyamory and disability in side characters.

    • Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta - About the lesbian experience in Nigeria, where Okparanta is from.

    • A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers - Nonbinary main character, but does not explicitly deal with trans issues.

    • Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales - YA novel that deals with bi erasure.

  • Two books from Marguerite Yourcenar:

    • The Abyss (L’œuvre au noir): fascinating fiction about a wandering alchemist during the Renaissance. Main character is bisexual.
    • Memoirs of Hadrian: Historical novel about a Roman emperor. Main character is deeply in love with another man.

    Both may not be about LGBTQ issues, but their main protagonist are nonetheless fantastic examples of mesmerizing LGBTQ characters.

  • We laughed in Pleasure by Lou Sullivan, goes through his diaries and experience as a gay trans man. Its heartbreaking, funny, enraging and inspiring all at once.

    Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue by Leslie Feinberg, basically an exploration from multiple angles and a questioning of rigid takes on gender and sexuality. Some of the terminology in hir book is a bit outdated but the ideas and structure are still solid today as when it was written. Good as intro to the area as well.

  • The Post-Self series by Madison Scott-Clary. This page has short descriptions of the books and links to where you can buy them: https://post-self.ink/

    It is broadly about a future where people can upload there minds to a computer system, which makes them (barring some specific and rare circumstances) immortal and allows them to make copies of their uploaded selves. There are multiple non-binary protagonists, one of them also being aromantic and asexual. There are also polyamorous, bisexual and gay characters.