LGBTQ+ Books You HAVE to Read (Part One)

We are in our second week of LQBTQ+ History Month and there is no better way to celebrate than with a list of great books. Specifically, I’d like to take a look at a few books that people can relate to and that work to actually represent the LGBTQ+ community, and not just treat someone’s sexual or gender identity as a misdirected plot device.

Some of these books are personal favorites, and others come highly recommended by family and friends. If you can think of any suggestions for my part two installment, or have any ideas for good TV shows or movies with LGBTQ+ focuses themes or characters, message me some ideas on either Instagram or Facebook.

1. “Rubyfruit Jungle” by Rita Mae Brown

“ In bawdy, moving prose, Rita Mae Brown tells the story of Molly Bolt, the adoptive daughter of a dirt-poor Southern couple who boldly forges her own path in America. With her startling beauty and crackling wit, Molly finds that women are drawn to her wherever she goes—and she refuses to apologize for loving them back.” – Amazon 

Published in 1973, Ruby-fruit Jungle continues to hold tremendous influence over the gay community today, for obvious reasons. In her book, Brown breaks apart the notion of “being gay,” deconstructs stereotypes around the gay community, and often revolts against the idea that sexual identity – whatever that may be – is something that can be so neatly categorized. In an interview with Bustle.com, Brown asks the question, “Why does everyone have to put you in a box and nail the lid on it?”  Everyone’s lives and experiences are different, especially within the LGBTQ+ community, and this book serves as a reminder of that.

1. “The Fingersmith” by Sarah Waters

“Sue Trinder is an orphan, left as an infant in the care of Mrs. Sucksby, a “baby farmer,” who raised her with unusual tenderness, as if Sue were her own. Mrs. Sucksby’s household, with its fussy babies calmed with doses of gin, also hosts a transient family of petty thieves—fingersmiths —for whom this house in the heart of a mean London slum is home. One day, the most beloved thief of all arrives — Gentleman, an elegant con man, who carries with him an enticing proposition for Sue: If she wins a position as the maid to Maud Lilly, a naïve gentlewoman, and aids Gentleman in her seduction, then they will all share in Maud’s vast inheritance. Once the inheritance is secured, Maud will be disposed of—passed off as mad, and made to live out the rest of her days in a lunatic asylum.

With dreams of paying back the kindness of her adopted family, Sue agrees to the plan. Once in, however, Sue begins to pity her helpless mark and care for Maud Lilly in unexpected ways…But no one and nothing is as it seems in this Dickensian novel of thrills and reversals.” – Amazon 

The Fingersmith is my personal favorite out of all of Sarah Water’s books. The story is a highly complex Victorian crime novel following the relationship between Sue and Maud, which ultimately begins from more sinister intentions, but quickly grows into a genuinely strong connection. I love this story, mainly because I am such a sucker for a book with plenty of twists and turns; this book has all of that, and more. In addition, Sarah Waters has been praised as a Lesbian Dickens, and the sort of repressed themes of femininity and eroticism within this book make it a real page-turner and a silent win for queer women. 

1. “Becoming Nicole” by Amy Ellis Nutt​

“When Wayne and Kelly Maines adopted identical twin boys, they thought their lives were complete. But by the time Jonas and Wyatt were toddlers, confusion over Wyatt’s insistence that he was female began to tear the family apart. In the years that followed, the Maineses came to question their long-held views on gender and identity, to accept Wyatt’s transition to Nicole, and to undergo a wrenching transformation of their own, the effects of which would reverberate through their entire community.” – Amazon

The story of the Maineses family and Nicole’s journey as a young trans individual is powerful, to say the least. Following the path of adopted twin siblings Jonas and Nicole – who started insisting that she was female at a young age – this story of a true American family reverberates both throughout their community, and the nation. If you’re looking for a book to help you understand the struggles that trans children and teens often undergo, as well as the way their families help nurture and support them through their transition, this is the one. It leaves the reader with a sense of overwhelming hopefulness and focuses on strong family unity in the wake of such a politically-charged time in our country. Not to mention, if you’re a big Supergirl fan (like I am) you can catch Nicole Maines over on the CW show as the first transgender superhero.

• books
• charleston
• cofc
• college life
• gay pride
• human rights
• LGBT History Month
• LGBTQ+
• transgender