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An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color
by Caro De Robertis
Book Reviewed by:Award-winning novelist Caro De Robertis offers a first-of-its-kind, deeply personal, and moving oral history of a generation of queer and trans elders of color, from leading activists to artists to ordinary citizens to tell their stories of breathtaking courage, cultural innovations, and acts of resistance, all in their own words.
So Many Stars knits together the voices of trans, nonbinary, genderqueer and two-spirit elders of color as they share authentic, intimate accounts of how they created space for themselves and their communities in the world, how they pursued their passions, and how they continue to be at the vanguard of social change. This singular project collects the testimonies of over a dozen elders, each a glimmering thread in a luminous tapestry, preserving their words for future generations—who can more fully exist in the world today because of these very voices.
Award-winning novelist De Robertis creates a collective coming-of-age story based on hundreds of hours of interviews, offering rare snapshots of ordinary life: kids growing up, navigating family issues and finding community, coming out and changing how they identify over the years, building movements and weathering the AIDS crisis, and sharing wisdom for future generations. Often narrating experiences that took place before they had the array of language that exists today to self-identify and to describe life beyond the gender binary, this generation lived through remarkable changes in American culture, shaped American culture, and yet rarely takes center stage in the history books. Their stories feel particularly urgent in the current political moment, but also remind readers that their experiences are not new. Young trans and nonbinary people of color today belong to a long lineage.
The anecdotes in these pages are riveting, joyful, heartbreaking—so full of life and personality and wisdom, and artfully woven together into one immersive narrative. In De Robertis's words, So Many Stars shares "behind-the-scenes tales of what it meant—and still means—to create an authentic life, against the odds."
What is Gender?
NELSON D'ALERTA PÉREZ: Who am I? Oh, a mix of many things. I'm awoman. I'm a man.
JOAN BENOIT: There's a spectrum.
MS BILLIE COOPER: I'm a much bigger, more intricate person than whatpeople tell me I am, or what people see in me.
FRESH "LEV" WHITE: The term dysphoria, for me, means that our societyhas a dysphoric idea that there are only two genders. I've never takenthat on. It's not mine.
DONNA PERSONNA: I'm my own universe.
C. NJOUBE DUGAS: Really, we're living in a nonbinary world.
VIVIAN VARELA: There is a queerdom. And we are part of it. All of us whoare queer. Being in the queerdom is accepting yourself for who youare, loving who you love, and letting yourself be loved.
CHINO SCOTT-CHUNG: I have had multiple identities and still do. As far asmy gender and sexuality, it has been a journey for me over the yearsand over time.
CRYSTAL MASON: When new things like they/them pronouns comeup, new queer language, I get excited about it because I feel like that'sa movement. I'...
So Many Stars shares the personal stories of 20 trans and nonbinary people of color over age 50 who, through their activism, art, and courage, have helped pave the way for the LGBTQ+ community as we know it today. Given the current political backlash against gains in LGBTQ+ rights, with trans rights being targeted in particular, this book is timely and essential. It demonstrates that trans and nonbinary people of color have a long history of fighting for the right to exist and live authentically as themselves. Some stories collected here are joyful, some heartbreaking, and everything in between. Shining through all of them is the warmth, resiliency, and hard-earned wisdom of 20 remarkable people...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by Katharine Blatchford).
Jaquira Díaz, author of Ordinary Girls
So Many Stars is a beautiful constellation of stories, woven together to show the breadth of experiences that make up the lives of Trans, Genderqueer, Nonbinary, and Two-Spirit people of color. This book is a gift – a powerful and necessary addition to the Queer canon. An intimate and multilayered accounting of personal and collective grief, family, love, art, and the complexities, joys, and heartbreaks of the past and present, these stories also consider the future of Queer liberation. Juana María Rodríguez, author of Puta Life: Seeing Latinas, Working Sex
This tenderly crafted collection radiates love and light, helping illuminate the life worlds of some of the most cherished queer and trans elders of our diverse communities. Filled with life lessons, hard truths, and boundless wisdom, these oral histories serve as a sparkling reminder that our stories will survive to inspire another generation.
In Caro de Robertis' work of transcribed oral history, So Many Stars, one of the interviewees is Nicky Calma. She shares the story of how, along with others at the Filipino Task Force on AIDS, she created the drag persona of Tita Aida in order to educate the people in her community about HIV/AIDS.
Born in 1967 to a Catholic family in the Philippines, Calma immigrated to the United States and settled in San Francisco at the age of 22. Once there, she found support among transgender women, mostly African American, whom she met on the street, as well as with her fellow Filipino immigrants, eventually leading her to join the Asian AIDS Project and work with the Filipino Task Force on AIDS.
The character they created together drew from ...
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