Review by strawberryteeth - Take Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica

A review by strawberryteeth
Take Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica by Patrick Califia-Rice, Rachel K. Zall, Rahne Alexander, Alicia E. Goranson, S. Bear Bergman, Ivan Coyote, Kiki DeLovely, Shawna Virago, Tobi Hill-Meyer, Andrea Zanin, Toni Amato, Gina de Vries, Kate Bornstein, Tristan Taormino, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Julia Serano, Helen Boyd, Julia Serrano, Laura Antoniou, Sinclair Sexsmith

Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.

I’m writing down problems I have with this book as I read it, so bare with me.

First off, immediately starts with complaining about how “ trans people aren’t represented in nsfw media “ which is absolutely true and they should be! But then shuts that down with “ transwomen and transmen “ which is terf-rhetoric. Trans isn’t a noun, it is a adjective. You don’t say cismen, you say cis men. Also, terfs use “ transwomen “ instead of trans ( space ) woman to imply trans women are transwomen and not “ real “ ( cis ) women. To top that all off, it mentions Buck Angel and how he’s trying to pave the way for FTM bodies in pornography, which would be amazing if Buck Angel wasn’t the toxicly masculine Blaire White regurgitating transphobic word vomit on his twitter acting like he’s the only real trans person simply for being old! The fact this was edited and published without anyone looking over the transphobic bad grammar appauls me.

Tristan mentions how Huckleberry Finn was pulled off of shelves and public libraries because of the use of racial slurs and flat out says the slurs when they’re unnecessary, no effort to censor them or just say “ the n word/the n slur “. I had to google if Tristan was white and they are! They edited the book, wrote it, and still decided “ oh yeah I’ll keep that in the book no one will say anything. “ which is ludicrous. Yes, I as a white person / non-black person am not allowed to get offended for black people or call things racist, but whether or not I am black or white no white person should be saying a word that applies to them even if it’s written in a book. Words on a page and words on a screen are still coming from that person directly.

I know it’s supposed to seduce me and get me excited for the rest of the book, but the book spends around 16 pages before it gets to the first story. In “ Trans/Love “ by Morty Diamond, which the book references, it takes around maybe three? Morty Diamond doesn’t try to seduce the viewer before the story even starts. It’s an erotica book, that’s the entire point.

The first story Cocksure is about a 14 year old having sex with a 17 year old, no ifs or buts about it, is pedophilia all the way around. But they didn’t state that in the 16 page long introduction! A 14 and 17 year old relationship dynamic is also unhealthy as the 14 year old is just starting highschool and the 17 year old is getting ready to finish highschool and can drive, and work. Because this is an erotica book, I assume this book is intended for adults and by adults right? You can’t sexualize minors and then complain that they come into your spaces, it makes no sense. If you don’t want a minor to interact with your content, don’t make content about minors

I got to around the fifth story, and was already tired of this book. I don’t get why LGBTQ+ erotica writes itself off as progressive whilst being offensive, paraphilic and tacky. At least “ Trans/Love “ by Morty Diamond was tasteful, realistic, relatable and written with honesty.

Content Warnings