Bringing together the voices and experience of transgender individuals, doctors, psychologists, and academically-based theorists, this title documents the evolution of transgender studies in the English-speaking world. It is designed as a foundational text for the transgender community, transgender studies, and related queer theory.

Transgender studies is the latest area of academic inquiry to grow out of the exciting nexus of queer theory, feminist studies, and the history of sexuality. Because transpeople challenge our most fundamental assumptions about the relationship between bodies, desire, and identity, the field is both fascinating and contentious. The Transgender Studies Reader puts between two covers fifty influential texts with new introductions by the editors that, taken together, document the evolution of transgender studies in the English-speaking world. By bringing together the voices and experience of transgender individuals, doctors, psychologists and academically-based theorists, this volume will be a foundational text for the transgender community, transgender studies, and related queer theory.

"As both a prefix and an adjective, 'trans' goes over, across, and beyond, making the possibilities seem endless for trans(gender) studies. However, to advance or progress requires some point of departure. For trans(gender) studies to evolve, we must have a solid understanding of where it all began. The Transgender Studies Reader is indispensable for its ability to encapsulate the century of dialog that has become what appears to be a decade-old phenomenon." - Brice Smith, Women's Studies Quarterly