A not really review more of a reflection on A Trans Man Walks Into a Gay Bar -- a review

*I decided not to give this a star raiting cause it's non-fiction and putting a rating on someones lived experience just feels weird yaknow?

Recently I finished reading the book A Trans Man Walks Into a Gay Bar by Harry Nicholas and it really resonated with me and my own trans experience. It was a lovely read and I recommend it to anyone to read, especially if you want to read about perspectives and stories that aren’t often shared.

“Raw, intimate and unflinchingly honest, this memoir shines new light on the complex intersections of gender identity, sexuality, sex and queerness.” – from book description

A Trans Man Walks Into a Gay Bar is a short and sweet non-fiction book about Harry, his experiences and the conversations he’s had with himself on his sexuality and space in the gay community. The book talks about many anxieties that gay trans men often have in male queer spaces. Do we belong? Are we wanted here? The answer is yes btw!

Harry shared that he wanted to write this book because when searching for a book about trans gay men’s experiences. He could find plenty on trans experiences and gay experiences respectively, but not many books about both of those experiences and how they can intersect with each other. It’s true that when I read this book it was the first time I’ve read about my lived experiences. My Circle of close friends are all queer, but I’m the only gay trans man so it was really special to be able to learn about someone else’s experience, and kind of scary how similar some of our experiences are haha.

This book has made me feel more confident about my space in the gay community and even inspired me to go to a bar for the first time! Mind you, it wasn’t a gay bar, but hell I was there to see a drag show so it might as well have been!

Anyways, you should go borrow A Trans Man Walks Into a Gay Bar by Harry Nicholas from your local library~

- Mango