TRANS/gressive by Riki Wilchins Just Pubbed

Before Caitlyn Jenner became America’s most famous transgender personality, Riki Wilchins was leading the fight for transgender rights.  Riverdale Avenue Books, a leading LGBT publisher, is releasing a new book by Riki Wilchins documenting the history of transgender activism titled TRANS/gressive: How Transgender Activists Took on Gay Rights, Feminism, the Media & Congress...and Won! on June 1^st to kick off Pride Month.

In this first person history-memoir, Riki Wilchins takes the reader through the long and winding road of trans rights from the early days of anti-trans rights in segments of the feminist movement, to the murder of transwomen such as Brandon Teena, through the fight to include trans rights amongst those of the ‘Gay and Lesbian” community. Wilchins shares early photos and documents from those days of protest from the 1900’s to the present.

“As America focuses more on trans rights, and becomes more aware of the impact of these gender issues, this comprehensive, in-your-face, first-person account of the trans rights movement is an important document, both for its historic record and personal story.” said Lori Perkins, Publisher. “There is nothing else like it, and Riki Wilchins is the only one who could tell this tale so comprehensibly and compassionately.”

“This was a story that I thought might get lost forever. When we did the things in this book – protesting, forming groups, demonstrating — they were obscure current events — even the gay press ignored us. Two decades later they've become history, but one in danger of being lost for good,” explained author Riki Wilchins.  “Folks today see Caitlyn and Janet and Laverne and they think it's always been this way. It hasn't. There's a backstory to all of that. There’s a place it all started. This book is that story. This is how a handful of genderqueers started a gender revolution