Author(s): Sam Elkin, Alex Gallagher, Yves Rees, Bobuq Sayed

Trans & Gender Diverse Biography / Memoir | Australian/Aotearoa

Nothing to Hide is the first ever anthology of Australian trans and gender diverse writing, a pioneering contribution to Australian letters.

The past decade has been a tumultuous time in trans politics. The so-called 'transgender tipping point' pronounced by Time in 2014 has led to unprecedented trans visibility in popular culture and the media.  However this same visibility has also sparked a worldwide transphobic backlash rife with misinformation and extremist rhetoric.

In Australia, our Prime Minister Scott Morrison derided 'gender whisperers' and attacked Cricket Australia's transgender inclusion policy.  The Australian newspaper has undertaken a concerted campaign against trans people.  In a six-month period in 2019, the paper published 68 articles - or around 56,000 words - on transgender issues, with 92 percent of the coverage negative.  Meanwhile, as of early 2021, Sydney's McIver's Ladies Baths has adopted a new trans-exclusionary policy, while the University of Melbourne academic Holly Lawford-Smith is spearheading a campaign to depict trans women as predators who threaten the safety of women's spaces.  This growing transphobia threatens to further marginalise an already oppressed community that is beset by disproportionate rates of mental illness, discrimination, suicide, homelessness, sexual violence and unemployment.  To counter the growing chorus of anti-trans voices, it is imperative that the trans and gender diverse community have the opportunity to tell their own stories and speak truth to power.

Nothing to Hide is the first ever anthology of Australian TGD writing.  In recent years, there have been several successful anthologies of LGBTQIA+ Australian writing, including Growing Up Queer in Australia, Queerstories and Going Postal. These collections include TGD contributors but to date there's been no dedicated anthology to give voice to this marginalised and diverse community. Nothing to Hide aims to fill that gap with a pioneering contribution to Australian letters.  It will showcase the creativity and diversity of the TGD community, whilst also providing opportunity for cisgender Australians to gain a window onto the challenges and joys of trans experience.

September 2022