Me, Myself, They
Life Beyond the Binary
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
From renowned trans activist, Luna M. Ferguson, comes a work of memoir and critical analysis that embraces an inclusive understanding of sex and gender.
Me, Myself, They: Life Beyond the Binary chronicles Luna M. Ferguson’s extraordinary story of transformation to become a celebrated non-binary filmmaker, writer, and advocate for trans rights. Beginning with their birth and early childhood of gender creativity, Ferguson recounts the complex and often challenging evolution of their identity, including traumatizing experiences with gender conversion therapy, bullying, depression, sexual assault, and violence. Above all, Ferguson’s story is about survival, empathy, and self-acceptance. By combining personal reflections on what it feels like to never truly fit into prescribed roles of male and female, and using an informed analysis of the ongoing shifts in contemporary attitudes towards sex and gender, Ferguson calls for an inclusive understanding of diverse human identity and respect for trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming people. Through their honest and impassioned storytelling, we learn what it means to reclaim one’s identity and to live beyond the binary.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Whether this is your first foray into reading trans memoirs or you’re adding Me, Myself, They to to your growing list of queer reads, it’s impossible not to find Luna M. Ferguson’s book touching. Made up of short stories and explanatory notes, this expressive, informative collection explores many facets of non-binary gender expression. Ferguson is very generous with their audience: soft and forgiving, yet matter-of-fact (they, for example, are happy to explain non-traditional pronouns to you). Some chapters are more essay than anecdote—everything fits together in a way that’s beautiful and fluid, just like this author.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ferguson, who uses they/them pronouns, highlights experiences from their life to explore gender and nonbinary identity expression in this somewhat disjointed memoir. Ferguson writes, "The born in the wrong body' narrative about trans people that is often reported in the media does not encapsulate my story." They note that, despite standing out due to their appearance, their nonbinary identity is often "invisible" to others, because nonbinary gender categories aren't widely known. They recount being diagnosed by a doctor in childhood as a "cross dresser" and receiving traumatizing interventions from doctors and psychologists to try to make them "normal." After being bullied in school, violently attacked, and sexually assaulted, Ferguson turned to drugs, alcohol, and sexual relationships with older men. Transferring to a performing arts high school in 2001 brought new hope, and Ferguson went on to film school and established a film production company. The thematic, rather than chronological, structure makes it difficult for readers to feel they're getting to know the author, and the tone is often flat. Less a work of self-reflection or self-revelation than a staunch defense of the right to be something different and a document of the social obstacles to doing so, this will likely appeal most to readers seeking representation of trans people and fans of Ferguson's films.
