Reviews

Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits by Loren Cameron

zoolmcg's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.75

I remember encountering this book about a year or so ago while loking for trans books in my uni library. Until now, I never checked it out, and I'm so glad I did. Cameron gives us beautiful, meaningful, first of their kind documentary images of FTM life that genuinely brought tears to my eyes.

It's hard to discern which series is my favourite, but based on how powerful they were, I'd have to mark out God's Will as a few of the best. The third image, where the flash bulb is in one hand and the T-shot is in the other is one of the most genius compositions I've come across. I could quite literally stare at these three photos for hours and discover more about myself and what it is to be transsexual. It's a wonderful way of showing our lives.

My only criticism of this book is in the way its writing could've been improved. Certain sections in the into could've been edited or even expanded on. I am totally gripped by the FTM community in 1990s San Francisco, and I almost felt cheated that I couldn't learn the whole story. It's wonderful to see the same men's names crop up in all of the texts I'm reading, but again, I want more from them! I wish their interviews and portraits were multiple pages long. I wish I could glean even more from Cameron's analysis of his own upbrinigng and work. It's stunning.

I'd definitely recommend this book (if you can find it physically, the experience is unparallel to PDFs I've seen online), and that would go twofold for transsexuals. I'd say this is an essential piece of art we must all study for the betterment of our own understanding. I have immense respect for the transmen that came before me. I am in awe of this book and all of the men involved with it.

tboyheitor's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

erinsbookshelves's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

vampyrrhic's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.5

chlorentine's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative reflective fast-paced
Things weren't all that different then, though in other ways they were. Max Valerio once again making unwelcome quips and being a pain in my ass.

gruhuken's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

blackberryjambaby's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

4.25

unnamedcryptid's review against another edition

Go to review page

inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.75

Had the chance to check this out for a little while at my school library (very awesome, since the book is out of print and way too difficult to find now) and so glad I did. A really amazing and interesting piece of trans history and such great trans stories!

lezbophobic's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.25


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

bajoranjay's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Stunning photos.
Diverse and deep stories.
More...