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Miss Major Speaks: Conversations with a Black Trans Revolutionary
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy is a veteran of the infamous Stonewall Riots, a former sex worker, and a transgender elder and activist who has survived Bellevue psychiatric hospital, Attica Prison, the HIV/AIDS crisis and a world that white supremacy has built. She has shared tips with other sex workers in the nascent drag ball scene of the late 1960s, and helped found one of America's first needle exchange clinics from the back of her van. Miss Major Speaks is both document of her brilliant life-told with intimacy, warmth and an undeniable levity-and a roadmap for the challenges black, brown, queer and trans youth will face on the path to liberation today.
Her incredible story of a life lived and a world survived becomes a conduit for larger questions about the riddle of collective liberation. For a younger generation, she warns about the traps of 'representation,' the politics of 'self-care,' and the frequent dead-ends of non-profit organizing; for all of us, she is a strike against those who would erase these histories of struggle. Miss Major offers something that cannot be found an affirmation that our vision for freedom can and must be more expansive than those on offer by mainstream institutions.
Her incredible story of a life lived and a world survived becomes a conduit for larger questions about the riddle of collective liberation. For a younger generation, she warns about the traps of 'representation,' the politics of 'self-care,' and the frequent dead-ends of non-profit organizing; for all of us, she is a strike against those who would erase these histories of struggle. Miss Major offers something that cannot be found an affirmation that our vision for freedom can and must be more expansive than those on offer by mainstream institutions.
177 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 16, 2023
167 people are currently reading
10519 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 405 reviews
May 20, 2023
An absolute delight to read, "Miss Major Speaks" is part trans history (I'm going to assign the introduction in my class next semester) and part organizing manifesto. Her main messages are, "we need to take care of each other, cuz the Powers that Be will not look out for us" and "nobody is disposable." Even if you already know these things, read "Miss Major Speaks" anyways because 1) the interview format (with her longtime friend) is SUPER engaging, 2) as so many of us are fighting for our lives, we need to remember -from someone who has been around the block - that we can get through this, and that organizing with your communities can be a joyful thing to do, and 3) you'll learn some things! I learned that Miss Major started to really think about organizing when she was in solitary confinement, housed next to Big Black, a leader of the Attica Prison Uprising. And I learned how Miss Major organized trans women to work as home health aids to gay men who were dying from AIDS, when the gurls (as Miss Major calls them) needed jobs, and nobody else would provide this care work. "Miss Major Speaks" is for anyone at any point in their organizing journeys.
December 17, 2023
Review: EVERYONE should read this, no excuses.
January 7, 2024
Read Trans Stories!!!! Get radicalized!!!! Protect trans women!!!!!!
April 7, 2025
“You can’t throw anybody under the bus. You can’t leave anybody behind. And that’s become my favorite thing to say to people: I won’t throw anybody under the bus, and I’m not leaving anybody. It has to include all of us, or it’s not going to work.”
May 18, 2023
I'm not sure that I can really do this book justice through a review, but here's my attempt. Suffice it to say, this is one you need to check out!
Miss Major Speaks takes us through candid conversations with a legendary queer elder and activist. She introduces us to some key people and events that impacted her life and politics, while showing us how conditions for trans women of color have (and haven't) changed.
There is so much happening in this small book but a few key things: She heavily critiques the focus on representation (tokenizing and assimilation) that have remained an issue throughout her time and has relegated the most marginalized to the back. The majority of her conversations also go back to issues with the prison and policing. Of course these two points begin together in her discussion of the Stonewall riots and the way that the story of what followed is (mis)remembered today - but that is just where the conversation begins.
It was really incredible to see so many parts of queer history that I've read about before come together through one person's life. So many things can feel like they happened so long ago until you hear someone who is still around talk about it. The choice to make most of this just conversations rather than one narrative throughout adds to this, as it feels like you're right there listening. The introduction does have more of a linear structure that frames the conversation and gives necessary background, but the discussion is really where the history comes to life.
This isn't a 101 text or an explainer - this is the raw, honest conversation of someone who has lived life and has payed attention to these parts of history that have gone on and how they connect. So go into this book to learn but if you are less educated on trans issues or the prison industrial complex, I would not be inclined to tell you to read this as a primary introduction - but it should be on your list. This sort of wisdom from someone who has lived through all of this is invaluable.
CW: transphobia, homophobia, racism, police brutality, SA, medical trauma, slurs
Miss Major Speaks takes us through candid conversations with a legendary queer elder and activist. She introduces us to some key people and events that impacted her life and politics, while showing us how conditions for trans women of color have (and haven't) changed.
There is so much happening in this small book but a few key things: She heavily critiques the focus on representation (tokenizing and assimilation) that have remained an issue throughout her time and has relegated the most marginalized to the back. The majority of her conversations also go back to issues with the prison and policing. Of course these two points begin together in her discussion of the Stonewall riots and the way that the story of what followed is (mis)remembered today - but that is just where the conversation begins.
It was really incredible to see so many parts of queer history that I've read about before come together through one person's life. So many things can feel like they happened so long ago until you hear someone who is still around talk about it. The choice to make most of this just conversations rather than one narrative throughout adds to this, as it feels like you're right there listening. The introduction does have more of a linear structure that frames the conversation and gives necessary background, but the discussion is really where the history comes to life.
This isn't a 101 text or an explainer - this is the raw, honest conversation of someone who has lived life and has payed attention to these parts of history that have gone on and how they connect. So go into this book to learn but if you are less educated on trans issues or the prison industrial complex, I would not be inclined to tell you to read this as a primary introduction - but it should be on your list. This sort of wisdom from someone who has lived through all of this is invaluable.
CW: transphobia, homophobia, racism, police brutality, SA, medical trauma, slurs
July 29, 2023
Een waanzinnig portret van een bijzondere activist en performer. Laat dit het boek zijn dat je tijdens Prideweek leest.
January 8, 2025
Grateful to have gotten to access to the wisdom of a radical trans abolitionist elder through this very accessible book!
June 21, 2025
“It was a rough time, but I've told some of the gurls, "I know you aren't all going to understand this being so young, but you can be in the deepest, darkest fuckin' hole, and something can make you smile, or laugh." And the thing is to appreciate those things.”
Miss Major is a living legend and a true revolutionary, and this book is just utterly phenomenal & left me with a renewed sense of hope and a desire to keep fighting. I devoured this book and honestly think I’ll reread it and annotate it, because WOW.
“I mean, you always have to challenge the status quo, or things won't change. And so it can be something simple. It doesn't always require that you put yourself in harm's way.”
Miss Major is a living legend and a true revolutionary, and this book is just utterly phenomenal & left me with a renewed sense of hope and a desire to keep fighting. I devoured this book and honestly think I’ll reread it and annotate it, because WOW.
“I mean, you always have to challenge the status quo, or things won't change. And so it can be something simple. It doesn't always require that you put yourself in harm's way.”
November 4, 2025
I loved this. ;;--;; The world needs more Major, and the repore she had with the interviewer (who asked some good questions) was fantastic. This is a great talk about Stonewall, the ebb and flow of trans rights and awareness in America, the relationship between trans and greater queer communities, sex work, and who is invested in improving life for trans people and who just wants a quick mascot. Highly recommended!!!!
October 17, 2023
"I didn't get to 80 years old being sweet and gentle. I'm no flower. Fuck that. I'm a cactus - get over it."
Not that long and a bit messy, but what a hell of a conversation!
Not that long and a bit messy, but what a hell of a conversation!
August 2, 2023
Absolutely sped through this book, I could not get enough. Miss Major's reflections of the world were profound and inquisitive, only something one could get from living a full life. I loved Majors view that all our struggles are interconnected and that we are, at the end of the day, fighting for the same cause. I'm left thinking about my biases within the LGBT community and how to overcome them in order to overcome what Major calls "the Powers That Be". Will likely be rereading this many many times as it's a good reminder of unity and activism.
March 21, 2025
Incredible woman, okay book.
I loved learning about Miss Major. She’s feisty, opinionated, strong and caring. But the book is just a bit sleight and feels like it’s rushed.
I loved learning about Miss Major. She’s feisty, opinionated, strong and caring. But the book is just a bit sleight and feels like it’s rushed.
June 2, 2024
I sped through this because my hold was about to lapse, but it feels pretty special to have finished it on the first day of pride. It feels funky to say that, because Miss Major is so clear about her views on corporate pride (see quote below), but starting out the month remembering and celebrating the fact that trans people have always been here and always will be feels good to me. This book is an excellent reminder that no revolution will work if it doesn't include everyone.
"There was a lot more honesty in hooking than in the last couple of Gay Prides I did. Motherfucker, you brought me here to show the public you care about the gurls and you don’t—there’s no honesty or transparency in that. And how about let sex workers be sex workers, because whoever’s dick they have in their mouth is bound to be a whole lot cleaner than a hidden agenda of some obnoxious gay guy or lesbian who woke up in 2019 and saw a billboard for Pose and thought of calling up their minions: “Maybe we should put a Black person on a float during the Pride parade.”
"But the thing is, we’re everywhere, and we’ve been here the whole damn time. I believe in my heart that we’ve been here since Cain and Abel, you know? To me, Cain was one of the gurls, and that bitch Abel did something to bother her—like borrowed her shoes without asking—and Miss Thing killed her. Eunuchs were trans people. You know that saying in the Bible “Some are born that way, some turn that way”? Some are made that way. What way? Oh, us."
"Part of that journey is realizing you are gonna be fine as you are. Better than fine. No matter how dark the damn path gets, there’s always a light. And if you can’t find it, you keep going till you see one. You don’t ever, ever give up. You never say, “Shit, I can’t do this anymore.” Yes, you can: You just have to keep moving forward. It can take years, and some of us are late bloomers, but you figure out how to negotiate through this straight, cisgender world as everybody else does who’s not white and doesn’t come from money. You have to maintain and hold on to the ground that you’re standing on, ward off the things that are out there that bring us harm, and keep yourself safe and stay strong. I don’t mean you need to go to a damn gym, but keep yourself mentally, spiritually, and emotionally strong, because those are the things that are hard to get over."
"There was a lot more honesty in hooking than in the last couple of Gay Prides I did. Motherfucker, you brought me here to show the public you care about the gurls and you don’t—there’s no honesty or transparency in that. And how about let sex workers be sex workers, because whoever’s dick they have in their mouth is bound to be a whole lot cleaner than a hidden agenda of some obnoxious gay guy or lesbian who woke up in 2019 and saw a billboard for Pose and thought of calling up their minions: “Maybe we should put a Black person on a float during the Pride parade.”
"But the thing is, we’re everywhere, and we’ve been here the whole damn time. I believe in my heart that we’ve been here since Cain and Abel, you know? To me, Cain was one of the gurls, and that bitch Abel did something to bother her—like borrowed her shoes without asking—and Miss Thing killed her. Eunuchs were trans people. You know that saying in the Bible “Some are born that way, some turn that way”? Some are made that way. What way? Oh, us."
"Part of that journey is realizing you are gonna be fine as you are. Better than fine. No matter how dark the damn path gets, there’s always a light. And if you can’t find it, you keep going till you see one. You don’t ever, ever give up. You never say, “Shit, I can’t do this anymore.” Yes, you can: You just have to keep moving forward. It can take years, and some of us are late bloomers, but you figure out how to negotiate through this straight, cisgender world as everybody else does who’s not white and doesn’t come from money. You have to maintain and hold on to the ground that you’re standing on, ward off the things that are out there that bring us harm, and keep yourself safe and stay strong. I don’t mean you need to go to a damn gym, but keep yourself mentally, spiritually, and emotionally strong, because those are the things that are hard to get over."
June 2, 2024
What an excellent read from such a legendary and dedicated queer elder. Miss Major is truly a delight to hear from - she has so much wisdom, generosity and insight into how we make activism meaningful. She speaks to the intersection of so many social issues and how power structures are all strategically situated together.
I think as a queer person growing up nowadays it’s easy to take for granted how much progress and opportunity has been afforded to us by trans women of color. While there’s always more work to be done, Miss Major strikes the fine balance of celebrating successes without forgetting to acknowledge the most marginalized in today’s society. Her view about the narrow scope of queer liberation movements and visibility were particularly interesting. I think this a great overview of activism with tangible examples and speaks a lot to the fatigue so many marginalized communities feel. We so often see white upper-class figureheads overtaking the (seldom acknowledged) work that has been done before them, only to then put the onus on marginalized communities to evaluate their efforts and hold them accountable.
The reason this isn’t a 5 star for me is the format. While Miss Major has clearly had a colorful life and a huge web of connections, the interview style doesn’t lead to clear cohesive story. I think there could have been a better balance of consolidating her responses into a more logical flow without altering the integrity of her words. It would have resulted in a much clearer timeline and fundamental understanding of Miss Major’s life. It gets very muddled and repetitive at times to its own detriment, which is a shame given how insightful and accomplished she is.
I think as a queer person growing up nowadays it’s easy to take for granted how much progress and opportunity has been afforded to us by trans women of color. While there’s always more work to be done, Miss Major strikes the fine balance of celebrating successes without forgetting to acknowledge the most marginalized in today’s society. Her view about the narrow scope of queer liberation movements and visibility were particularly interesting. I think this a great overview of activism with tangible examples and speaks a lot to the fatigue so many marginalized communities feel. We so often see white upper-class figureheads overtaking the (seldom acknowledged) work that has been done before them, only to then put the onus on marginalized communities to evaluate their efforts and hold them accountable.
The reason this isn’t a 5 star for me is the format. While Miss Major has clearly had a colorful life and a huge web of connections, the interview style doesn’t lead to clear cohesive story. I think there could have been a better balance of consolidating her responses into a more logical flow without altering the integrity of her words. It would have resulted in a much clearer timeline and fundamental understanding of Miss Major’s life. It gets very muddled and repetitive at times to its own detriment, which is a shame given how insightful and accomplished she is.
March 6, 2024
this is a must read!
July 1, 2024
The trans fight is no different from the feminist fight. Yt came in, made the fight their own, left us with the mess to clean up. Hard uphill battle when 90% of resources is owned by 10%. Learned so much reading this.
May 22, 2023
Miss Major is a force of nature. Read this book as soon as you fucking can and thank all the universe she exists.
June 23, 2023
finished this at a boygenius concert
MISS MAJORS A FUCKING HERO!!
MISS MAJORS A FUCKING HERO!!
July 14, 2025
everyone needs to read this book
October 14, 2025
Happy Pride Month! (2025)
Update: Rest In Paradise Miss Major 🕊️
Update: Rest In Paradise Miss Major 🕊️
August 18, 2024
This was educational, harsh, truth-telling, eye-opening. Think I would’ve preferred to simply hear Miss Major’s voice rather than the interview style with author’s questions included, but I stopped noticing after a while. 3,5 star, rounding off to 4 simply for the opportunity it gave to get to know this badass lady.
————-
”Oh well, I’ve never used white privilege.” “Bitch, just the fact you can say that, and you did - you’re using white privilege. Excuse me? Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?” “Well, I have Black friends.” “That’s your maid, bitch, and you don’t see her outta the house.”
————-
I took everything I owned and put my clothes in one bag, and took a little makeup bag, plus a hatbox for my wigs. It seemed like I was waiting an hour and I couldn’t get a cab to stop, so I said, “Fuck it.” I stole a car.
————-
[…] for a lot of the girls it’s just a fact that on a dark night, a cisgender person could clock them from a mile away. It’s our allies that need to be more visible. You can’t miss us! We’ve been visible since time began, and as a result, for just as long we’ve been harassed, or something worse.
————-
”Oh well, I’ve never used white privilege.” “Bitch, just the fact you can say that, and you did - you’re using white privilege. Excuse me? Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?” “Well, I have Black friends.” “That’s your maid, bitch, and you don’t see her outta the house.”
————-
I took everything I owned and put my clothes in one bag, and took a little makeup bag, plus a hatbox for my wigs. It seemed like I was waiting an hour and I couldn’t get a cab to stop, so I said, “Fuck it.” I stole a car.
————-
[…] for a lot of the girls it’s just a fact that on a dark night, a cisgender person could clock them from a mile away. It’s our allies that need to be more visible. You can’t miss us! We’ve been visible since time began, and as a result, for just as long we’ve been harassed, or something worse.
May 25, 2024
"underneath all of this is, people who clock us and beat us up, and kill us, they can kill us as a person, but they can’t kill the idea of who we are. they can’t get rid of the feeling of being transgender or nonbi-nary. they can’t eradicate it from the world."
the phrase "remember your history" was said multiple times in this and i can't emphasize enough how important that is. knowing/remembering your history as a queer person does nothing but strengthen your connection to the communities around you and if you aren't doing that then you're doing a disservice to yourself and other queer people. i hope everyone gets a chance to read these conversations and learn just as much as i have afterwards.
the phrase "remember your history" was said multiple times in this and i can't emphasize enough how important that is. knowing/remembering your history as a queer person does nothing but strengthen your connection to the communities around you and if you aren't doing that then you're doing a disservice to yourself and other queer people. i hope everyone gets a chance to read these conversations and learn just as much as i have afterwards.
Read
May 9, 2024"Why do people want to be accepted for who they are by the government that created this system more than accepted by themselves?"
"So it becomes a matter of sorting out whether we are actually helping the system and ingratiating ourselves with it by making little changes, tinkering around the edges, or we are trying to get rid of it entirely."
This is a radical, unfiltered series of interviews between Miss Major Griffin-Gracy and her friend and colleague Toshio Meronek. Through swears and slurs, Major shares her life story, views, and advice on all sorts of things, from trans liberation to movement organizing. She does not sugarcoat anything and does not try to endear herself to priveleged readers or the Powers That Be, as she calls the power structures that dominate all our lives. As with the few other radical books I've read, this was both energizing and, at times, challenging to read. And obvious as it is, it was refreshing and heartening to hear from an elder activist that there is so much more to TLGB (as she orders the acronym) progress than rainbow-washed ads every June and legislation aimed at assimilation.
"So it becomes a matter of sorting out whether we are actually helping the system and ingratiating ourselves with it by making little changes, tinkering around the edges, or we are trying to get rid of it entirely."
This is a radical, unfiltered series of interviews between Miss Major Griffin-Gracy and her friend and colleague Toshio Meronek. Through swears and slurs, Major shares her life story, views, and advice on all sorts of things, from trans liberation to movement organizing. She does not sugarcoat anything and does not try to endear herself to priveleged readers or the Powers That Be, as she calls the power structures that dominate all our lives. As with the few other radical books I've read, this was both energizing and, at times, challenging to read. And obvious as it is, it was refreshing and heartening to hear from an elder activist that there is so much more to TLGB (as she orders the acronym) progress than rainbow-washed ads every June and legislation aimed at assimilation.
August 16, 2024
Miss Major is such an incredible human being. There are truly few words to capture my awe of her. PLEASE read this book!
February 9, 2025
Great discussions around trans experiences, the nonprofit industrial complex, allyship, and resistance.
June 25, 2025
this was such a good read that i somehow finished it amidst the sorrows of my thesis deadline week ✨
September 5, 2025
“Why would someone want to assimilate into being something that was so hateful? Into this society that couldn't care less if we went extinct?”
October 7, 2025
“…you can't throw anybody under the bus. You can't leave anybody behind. And that's become my favorite thing to say to people: I won't throw anybody under the bus, and I'm not leaving anybody. It has to include us all, or it's not going to work.”
June 24, 2023
UN MUST
BLACK FURIA TRAVESTI
BLACK FURIA TRAVESTI
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