Nameless Woman: an Anthology of Fiction by Trans Women of Color

Book excerpt: The stories in this anthology confront major themes and issues in the lives of trans women of color with profound honesty and attention toward helping one another heal. A story like "The Girl and the Apple," by Jasmine Kabale Moore, not only unflinchingly describes the sense of ever-present danger that many of us feel in public spaces (including the hyper-vigilant condition of trauma that results from repeated exposure to intense scrutiny and violence) it also provides invaluable emotional support to other trans women of color by accurately reflecting, and therefore validating, our experiences and our perceptions of reality.A number of other stories explore their own kinds of traumas and begin to show us a way to survive them, a day at a time. In contrast, there are also stories in our anthology that take up a completely different subject matter - genre fantasies, memories and the past, self-acceptance, relationships with family and friends, romance and intimacy, and language itself - but they do so in the specific context of our lives as trans women of color.