Trans Muted Issue 1 Review #LGTBQBookClub (Tw:Brief Mentions Of Transphobia)

Brief Mentions Of Transphobia

Introduction

Hello everyone, whilst I still will be reviewing books I have decided to review this magazine which I discovered that is available worldwide as far as I know although it is as far as I'm aware UK established. So in this post I'm going to be explaining what Trans Muted is and review my thoughts on the first issue, I'm also going to share my favourite piece in the issue. I'm going to try not be biased as I was able to submit two poems to them and one has been published in its third issue and another poem will be published in their soon to be published fourth issue. I'm really excited to start sharing this magazine with you all as Trans Voices are voices that definitely need hearing especially since the media likes to speak for us.

I would also like to quote what was said on the very front page of the journal.

"Trans_Muted, Speak For Yourself. A journal for transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-gender artists, writers and creatives."

This quote sums up my enthusiasm and excitement for this journal especially with the dangerous transphobia in the media at the moment.

What Is Trans Muted

Trans Muted is a slowly growing project from a local Nonbinary charity. The idea is to give trans voices a platform where they don't have to worry. It's a platform to find representation for trans folk and experiences and different narratives to the one in media. What's even better is that submission aren't just open to professional writers they accept submissions from everyone. They are wanting to make sure a diverse set of experiences are represented in what they do. Also if you make a submission and aren't out of the closet but want your piece of work published you can ask them to publish under a pseudonym. I'm so glad I found this magazine as giving Trans people a voice is such a good idea. Trans Muted have reached worldwide to a lot of different audiences which is absolutely fab.

What I Liked About The First Issue?

I liked how the first issue was sort of an Introduction to helping Trans People understand there own worth and debunking a lot of Anti-Trans myths. I'm not normally fan of essays but the three essays featured were absolutely incredible and managed to keep my interest mostly. I also adored the poem Somewhere A Dress Is Being Made by Emily Valentine. Out of all of the three essays written 'The Poverty Of Bodies: Commodities, Fetishism and Nationalism' By Emil-Dorian McHale as it has a structure that slowly builds up to the main point of the essay in order to keep the reader engaged. I also love that each essay has their sources listed as although the magazine is written for Trans people its important for the Cis Allies to have proper accurate sources they can find in order to educate themselves properly. Besides on my film/tv course I've learnt that sources boost research even more. So yeah I'm throughly impressed especially for a first issue.

What I Disliked About The First Issue

I thought the issue was very good but it wasn't perfect I'm afraid. As someone who is an advocate for accessibility I didn't think it was a very good idea to have a poem at the beginning and three essays slap bam next to each other. It would have given me time and motivation to read on if the poem was in the middle. Each Essay was really important and because of the structure it was very hard to focus on the important information given. I also would have loved some more poems but I understand that this was when they were just starting out so they wouldn't have got many submissions where people gave consent for it to published in a magazine. I'm hoping issue two has a more diverse set of submissions.

My Favourite Piece

I encourage you all to make your mind up for yourself but I'd have to say my most favourite piece is absolutely Somewhere A Dress Is Being Made By Emily Valentine. It's an absolutely perfect poem that needs to be preached to everyone. I immediately got the metaphor right away and it absolutely broke my heart. In our society we seem to think it's ok to gender clothes and absolutely freak out when someone who doesn't conform wears clothes they "shouldn't" be wearing. We especially seem to hate on men wearing dresses and trans women embracing their true self. Clothes have no gender and its really interesting to see the clothing humanized and have it's own frustrations about being gendered. Its also a poem that beautifully describes why we need to let people dress how they want. Poetry is a beautiful form of expression and I felt like this poem in particular did just that.

Conclusion

Overall I'd say this magazine has a great concept and this first issue was a good start. Whether Trans or Cis this magazine is for everyone and will leave you feeling inspired. If I wasn't reading my books on top of this issue it definitely would have been a quick read. I'd rate this first issue four stars. I'm really excited to read issue 2 +3.

-Melody-

They/Them