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No Poster Boy: Trans Fag Essays
Outsider. Workingclass. Neuroatypical. Nonbinary. No Poster Boy.
Elliott DeLine is an award-winning author of Refuse, I Know Very Well How I Got My Name, and Show Trans. His dynamic fiction and memoir writing has been informed by his experiences as a young transgender man contending with discrimination, poverty, mental illness, trauma and sexual identity.
No Poster Boy is a collection of his most accessible, intimate, and daring essays on the subject of an underrepresented population: transgender men who are attracted to men. His humorous and sobering writing is eye-opening to outsiders and validating to those who share his experiences. Speaking from a place outside academia, outside metropolitan queer life, and challenging to mainstream puff-trans-politics, “Elliott DeLine is of the most searingly honest voices in this exciting generation of young trans writers.” (Roger Hallas, former director of LGBT Studies at Syracuse University)
Elliott DeLine is an award-winning author of Refuse, I Know Very Well How I Got My Name, and Show Trans. His dynamic fiction and memoir writing has been informed by his experiences as a young transgender man contending with discrimination, poverty, mental illness, trauma and sexual identity.
No Poster Boy is a collection of his most accessible, intimate, and daring essays on the subject of an underrepresented population: transgender men who are attracted to men. His humorous and sobering writing is eye-opening to outsiders and validating to those who share his experiences. Speaking from a place outside academia, outside metropolitan queer life, and challenging to mainstream puff-trans-politics, “Elliott DeLine is of the most searingly honest voices in this exciting generation of young trans writers.” (Roger Hallas, former director of LGBT Studies at Syracuse University)
86 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2016
About the author
Elliott DeLine
9 books113 followersElliott DeLine (born 1988) is a writer from Syracuse, NY. He is the author of the novel Refuse, the novella I Know Very Well How I Got My Name, and his latest, Show Trans: A Nonfiction Novel. His essays and excerpts have been featured in The New York Times, The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard, Original Plumbing Magazine and The Advocate. He is currently a content writer for The Body is Not an Apology. Elliott is the founder and former vice president of the non-profit CNY for Solidarity as well as the lead coordinator of Queer Mart, an LGBTQ artist and crafts fair. Elliott is also a visual artist and songwriter. He currently lives on land in upstate, NY with his partner.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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July 4, 2022un placer haber leído a elliott para mi tfg <3 me ha gustado y aportado bastante leer este librillo y le he cogido cariño al pibe jdshhj espero q le vaya genial
July 14, 2022
Content warnings are listed at the end of my review!
The introspective journey this book provided by giving Elliot DeLine’s self and world reflections comes through quick essays and short fiction. I found myself having to put the book down frequently to just mull over the things I read in awe, triggering my own self reflection at times. This isn’t your polished trans narrative, but a glimpse into the darker and difficult parts of a transmasculine transition, aggressively challenging the assumed norms of the transmasc community. It reads similarly to a vent, seeking to spit these memories out and figure out what they mean as we explore his experiences with mental illness, trauma, relationships, sexuality, dysphoria, and transphobia. His experiences are upsetting and hard to swallow, but are all honestly portrayed without reservation, offering the reader a unique vulnerable perspective.
Existing as a transgender person can be exhausting when the world as a whole refuses to understand you, and No Poster Boy is here to show that. From losing your voice in discussions about “women’s” issues that effect you as a trans man, to sleeping with men who won’t respect your masculinity, he explains how these situations impact him and leads the reader to understanding their greater implications. Even transphobia in the LGBT community is explored, like cis catering, gay men exhibiting sexism, and sterilized support groups. This provides an emotional and heart wrenching 101 on the inner monologue many transmasc people have, giving a voice to problems that the community often struggles to voice and highlight.
One issue I had was as a white writer, he did include the full spelling of a racial slur when quoting an act of racism he beheld. Though he wasn’t using the word himself, I thought him writing out a word that he couldn’t reclaim wasn’t the best choice, instead of stopping the quote and saying the person used a racial slur.
Summary:
Readability: ★★☆☆☆, (2.5?) I was torn trying to specifically rate this. The language is conversational, and the formatting into short essays helps with keeping things exciting- not to mention how short the book is. But on the other hand, this book is brutally straightforward about Elliott’s experiences and feelings, showing all aspects of intimate and upsetting moments. Difficult things are bluntly shown in full detail and examined extensively, so the trigger warnings are fairly crucial to acknowledge before reading.
Entertainment: ★★★★★, I enjoyed reading this, the emotional nature of his stories got me easily hooked and left me thinking for quite awhile. The quick pacing and passion kept my focus well, and it was easy to put down and pick back up. There’s plenty of reread value because of it. Even though I felt familiar to many of his experiences, his writing offered well thought out insight, putting fitting words to the feelings.
Audience: This book would be a great read for transmasculine gay and/or neurodivergent people, especially those who’ve had a difficult journey transitioning. Elliott’s words offer support and can help you feel seen, validating your outrage, exhaustion, and sadness. Cis allies or transfeminine people could get a valuable glance into transmasculine life, especially discrimination and struggles though this. Allies especially can come to understand some more intra-community or typically unspoken issues through this.
Content warning: ableism, anxiety, chasers, childhood trauma, deadnaming, depression, detransitioning?, dieting, drinking, dysphoria, eating disorders, enbyphobia, genital mutilation, guns, HIV stigma, homelessness, LGBT slurs, medical gatekeeping & discrimination, misgendering, murder, periods, poverty, racial slurs, racism, rape, sex, sexism, sexual harassment, sexualization, smoking, STDs, transphobia, violence, vomit, weight mention
The introspective journey this book provided by giving Elliot DeLine’s self and world reflections comes through quick essays and short fiction. I found myself having to put the book down frequently to just mull over the things I read in awe, triggering my own self reflection at times. This isn’t your polished trans narrative, but a glimpse into the darker and difficult parts of a transmasculine transition, aggressively challenging the assumed norms of the transmasc community. It reads similarly to a vent, seeking to spit these memories out and figure out what they mean as we explore his experiences with mental illness, trauma, relationships, sexuality, dysphoria, and transphobia. His experiences are upsetting and hard to swallow, but are all honestly portrayed without reservation, offering the reader a unique vulnerable perspective.
Existing as a transgender person can be exhausting when the world as a whole refuses to understand you, and No Poster Boy is here to show that. From losing your voice in discussions about “women’s” issues that effect you as a trans man, to sleeping with men who won’t respect your masculinity, he explains how these situations impact him and leads the reader to understanding their greater implications. Even transphobia in the LGBT community is explored, like cis catering, gay men exhibiting sexism, and sterilized support groups. This provides an emotional and heart wrenching 101 on the inner monologue many transmasc people have, giving a voice to problems that the community often struggles to voice and highlight.
One issue I had was as a white writer, he did include the full spelling of a racial slur when quoting an act of racism he beheld. Though he wasn’t using the word himself, I thought him writing out a word that he couldn’t reclaim wasn’t the best choice, instead of stopping the quote and saying the person used a racial slur.
Summary:
Readability: ★★☆☆☆, (2.5?) I was torn trying to specifically rate this. The language is conversational, and the formatting into short essays helps with keeping things exciting- not to mention how short the book is. But on the other hand, this book is brutally straightforward about Elliott’s experiences and feelings, showing all aspects of intimate and upsetting moments. Difficult things are bluntly shown in full detail and examined extensively, so the trigger warnings are fairly crucial to acknowledge before reading.
Entertainment: ★★★★★, I enjoyed reading this, the emotional nature of his stories got me easily hooked and left me thinking for quite awhile. The quick pacing and passion kept my focus well, and it was easy to put down and pick back up. There’s plenty of reread value because of it. Even though I felt familiar to many of his experiences, his writing offered well thought out insight, putting fitting words to the feelings.
Audience: This book would be a great read for transmasculine gay and/or neurodivergent people, especially those who’ve had a difficult journey transitioning. Elliott’s words offer support and can help you feel seen, validating your outrage, exhaustion, and sadness. Cis allies or transfeminine people could get a valuable glance into transmasculine life, especially discrimination and struggles though this. Allies especially can come to understand some more intra-community or typically unspoken issues through this.
Content warning: ableism, anxiety, chasers, childhood trauma, deadnaming, depression, detransitioning?, dieting, drinking, dysphoria, eating disorders, enbyphobia, genital mutilation, guns, HIV stigma, homelessness, LGBT slurs, medical gatekeeping & discrimination, misgendering, murder, periods, poverty, racial slurs, racism, rape, sex, sexism, sexual harassment, sexualization, smoking, STDs, transphobia, violence, vomit, weight mention
April 12, 2019
This is a unique collection of essays by the author about gender, identity, sex, hardship, and knowing thyself. I found it interesting and easy to read, though not necessarily the most insightful book. Though, I don't often find myself reading memoir-like content. Not a bad book, very interesting and poignant.
February 6, 2020
Broadened my understanding of Trans (specifically Trans Masc) communities! 10/10 would recommend to everyone!
January 5, 2025
I don’t know, I hate saying this about personal essays, but nothing stood out to me.
May 13, 2021
A solid collection of essays. Flamingo was my favorite.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews