"In this book, sociologist and social justice activist Lori Girshick brings together the voices of 150 sex- and gender-diverse people who speak with absolute courage and candor about their lives. Girshick presents transpeople speaking in their own voices about gender identity, coming out, "passing," sexual orientation, relationship negotiations and the dynamics of attraction, homophobia, and bullying. She exposes the guilt and the shame that "gender police" use in their attempts to exert control and points out the many ways transpeople are discriminated against in daily life - from filling out identification documents to gender-segregated bathrooms." "By showing us a variety of diverse, real lives and providing a thorough exploration of the embodied experiences of gender variant people, Girshick demonstrates that there is nothing inherently binary about gender - and that the way each of us experiences our own gender is, in fact, normal and natural."--Jacket.

The social construction of biological facts --Self-definition : birth through adolescence -- Constructing the self : options and challenges -- Coming out to community, family, and work -- Gender policing -- Inner turmoil and moving toward acceptance -- Epilogue: -- Gender liberation. Foreword by Jamison Green -- Acknowledgmments -- Introduction: Identity boxes -- The social construction of biological facts -- Self-definition: birth through adolescence -- Constructing the self: options and challenges -- Coming out to community, family, work -- Gender policing -- Inner turmoil and moving toward acceptance -- Epilogue: Gender liberation -- Appendixes -- Appendix 1: Survey flier -- Appendix 2: Survey -- Glossary -- Bibliography.