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Nothing to Hide: Voices of Trans and Gender Diverse Australia
Nothing to Hide is Australia's first mainstream anthology of trans and gender-diverse writing, a powerful contribution to Australian letters.
'This is literature at its finest - tender, attentive and daring.' Omar Sakr, author of Son of Sin
Nothing to Hide is Australia's first mainstream anthology of trans and gender-diverse writing.
While there has been unprecedented trans visibility in Australia in the last decade, this visibility has not always been positive, shadowed at every step by transphobic misinformation and extremist rhetoric. As a counter to the harmful chorus of anti-trans voices, this collection features the work of thirty trans and gender-diverse people across the spectrum of age, race, geography and circumstance. The writers give voice to their communities and tell their own stories, on their own terms.
Showcasing the wealth of creativity within the trans and gender-diverse community and providing illuminating insights into the challenges and joys of trans experience, Nothing to Hide is a powerful contribution to Australian literature.
'This is literature at its finest - tender, attentive and daring.' Omar Sakr, author of Son of Sin
Nothing to Hide is Australia's first mainstream anthology of trans and gender-diverse writing.
While there has been unprecedented trans visibility in Australia in the last decade, this visibility has not always been positive, shadowed at every step by transphobic misinformation and extremist rhetoric. As a counter to the harmful chorus of anti-trans voices, this collection features the work of thirty trans and gender-diverse people across the spectrum of age, race, geography and circumstance. The writers give voice to their communities and tell their own stories, on their own terms.
Showcasing the wealth of creativity within the trans and gender-diverse community and providing illuminating insights into the challenges and joys of trans experience, Nothing to Hide is a powerful contribution to Australian literature.
228 pages, Paperback
Published August 29, 2022
24 people are currently reading
361 people want to read
About the author
Sam Elkin
10 books7 followersSam Elkin is a writer, lawyer and radio maker.
His essays have been published in Antithesis Journal, Bent Street and Overland, and he is the co-host of the podcasts Transgender Warriors and Transdemic.
In 2019 he was a Wheeler Centre Next Chapter fellow, and is currently at work on a collection of autobiographical essays.
His essays have been published in Antithesis Journal, Bent Street and Overland, and he is the co-host of the podcasts Transgender Warriors and Transdemic.
In 2019 he was a Wheeler Centre Next Chapter fellow, and is currently at work on a collection of autobiographical essays.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 7, 2022
As a cis heterosexual person, it was really integral for me to read an understand the experiences of those identifying as trans and gender-diverse. I found this quite powerful and drove home how recent trans and gender-diverse people have had access to support (and even still, this may not always be the case). I read about those who moved to Australia from countries who are less accepting, the perspective of First Nations People, and intergenerational trauma.
I was thoroughly invested in this book and definitely is one to read.
I was thoroughly invested in this book and definitely is one to read.
January 31, 2023
These short and thought provoking pieces are very varied and most of them have a personal touch. Some were better crafted than others but all had something interesting and important to offer including the diversity of the trans/non-binary experience, there is not just one way to transgress after all.
I feel this would be useful/reassuring to trans youth or people just discovering their gender identity but it ought to be also read for cis-straight types who have never considered such a thing. I personally particularly loved the poem about being non-binary as it was very much how I feel.
Highly recommended
I feel this would be useful/reassuring to trans youth or people just discovering their gender identity but it ought to be also read for cis-straight types who have never considered such a thing. I personally particularly loved the poem about being non-binary as it was very much how I feel.
Highly recommended
June 30, 2023
5 stars
this anthology made me feel and spread the feeling of trans joy to literally everybody around me.
I unfortunately fell into a reading rut and couldn't read this as closely as I would've, however reading these still gave me such a sense of belonging while seeing almost all of the areas mentioned so clearly because I had lived there for so long.
I really needed this.
this anthology made me feel and spread the feeling of trans joy to literally everybody around me.
I unfortunately fell into a reading rut and couldn't read this as closely as I would've, however reading these still gave me such a sense of belonging while seeing almost all of the areas mentioned so clearly because I had lived there for so long.
I really needed this.
November 28, 2025
read this specifically hoping to get some affirmation around body dysmorphia - so while i did still really enjoy this (and obviously didn’t just read it for that reason), i guess i was just hoping for something very specific that i didn’t quite get/didn’t resonate with these stories as much as i was hoping to. but still a really enjoyable collection - and particularly love that its aussie!!
favourites
watching things grow - liz duck-thong
“i’ve told my creation myth so many times - to so many people including myself - that i truly no longer remember what’s truth and what’s convenience”
“gender leaves its splinters in those of us who try to break it, and yet we’re expected to sand back the grain for the next person to come along”
“i spent so many years wanting to end my life that i am still not used to the feeling of not wanting that, like the shadow of something important is missing from inside of me, with time, i learn that its absence allows something to grow in the gaps. with time, i learn that what grows can be beautiful”
imagining abolitionist futures - nayuka gorrie, witt gorrie, rosalina curtis
- “the prison industrial complex is genocide that hasn’t ended it only adapted with time”
the colonial trappings of gender - sandy o’sullivan
- “she pondered how - after choosing to never record our complexities of gender and sexuality - the colonial system has the temerity to insist on the proof of that which it has erased”
- “not all indigenous people agree. on anything” - about what queer terms to use, anti-colonial goals, opinions on queerness/transness - and there is a problem with assuming all indigenous people are inherently accepting etc - “you can’t adapt exorcised, disconnected, or reductive ideas from our cultures to make a case for yours. sort out your own shit first”
- “the notion of ordered indigenous people into categories that can be maintained and understood by the coloniser seeps into all aspects of colonial life today”
- “i have resisted the use of ‘transition’ to describe any work i do on my gender or body, and instead use ‘affirmation’. the journey is complex and will never be over, but i will persistently be affirmed” (and viewing ‘de-transitioning’ as affirmation also)
- “there is a perception that non-binary people are young and white, because of course there is. while there are few statistics that confirm this, the idea that resistance to social containers requires both privilege and the affordance of folly in youth is a condescending colonially that is hard to shake”
some others that stood out
iskin in the game - SJ norman
- “these experiences have taught my body, deeply, what it is to be trapped. its a sensation i am hardwired to flee from: i’ve arranged a life that supports my constant motion”
- “a woman is not a thing i am or have ever been, but something that has been done to me. a disciplinary code enacted, most perniciously in my own experience, by women themselves. often through the vernacular of assumed sameness, or supposedly common understanding of certain kinds of understanding”
trans broken arm syndrome - robin m eames
ilanguage - shreya tekumalla
- “what is your purpose right now? it’s to educate yourself. you don’t need to do more. the world isn’t riding on your shoulders”
- “it is better to perform your duty, however imperfectly, than it is to perform someone else’s, even if done perfectly”
non-binary as in - dan hogan
ia trans and gender de-mythology - julie peters
- such an interesting history
- “i invent my own gender”
gender euphoria through dance - hayden moon
- so beautiful reading about euphoria <3
memento moratorium - jack nicholls”
- hearing about the history of transness, what made jack decide to transition
matter - samuel luke beatty
favourites
watching things grow - liz duck-thong
“i’ve told my creation myth so many times - to so many people including myself - that i truly no longer remember what’s truth and what’s convenience”
“gender leaves its splinters in those of us who try to break it, and yet we’re expected to sand back the grain for the next person to come along”
“i spent so many years wanting to end my life that i am still not used to the feeling of not wanting that, like the shadow of something important is missing from inside of me, with time, i learn that its absence allows something to grow in the gaps. with time, i learn that what grows can be beautiful”
imagining abolitionist futures - nayuka gorrie, witt gorrie, rosalina curtis
- “the prison industrial complex is genocide that hasn’t ended it only adapted with time”
the colonial trappings of gender - sandy o’sullivan
- “she pondered how - after choosing to never record our complexities of gender and sexuality - the colonial system has the temerity to insist on the proof of that which it has erased”
- “not all indigenous people agree. on anything” - about what queer terms to use, anti-colonial goals, opinions on queerness/transness - and there is a problem with assuming all indigenous people are inherently accepting etc - “you can’t adapt exorcised, disconnected, or reductive ideas from our cultures to make a case for yours. sort out your own shit first”
- “the notion of ordered indigenous people into categories that can be maintained and understood by the coloniser seeps into all aspects of colonial life today”
- “i have resisted the use of ‘transition’ to describe any work i do on my gender or body, and instead use ‘affirmation’. the journey is complex and will never be over, but i will persistently be affirmed” (and viewing ‘de-transitioning’ as affirmation also)
- “there is a perception that non-binary people are young and white, because of course there is. while there are few statistics that confirm this, the idea that resistance to social containers requires both privilege and the affordance of folly in youth is a condescending colonially that is hard to shake”
some others that stood out
iskin in the game - SJ norman
- “these experiences have taught my body, deeply, what it is to be trapped. its a sensation i am hardwired to flee from: i’ve arranged a life that supports my constant motion”
- “a woman is not a thing i am or have ever been, but something that has been done to me. a disciplinary code enacted, most perniciously in my own experience, by women themselves. often through the vernacular of assumed sameness, or supposedly common understanding of certain kinds of understanding”
trans broken arm syndrome - robin m eames
ilanguage - shreya tekumalla
- “what is your purpose right now? it’s to educate yourself. you don’t need to do more. the world isn’t riding on your shoulders”
- “it is better to perform your duty, however imperfectly, than it is to perform someone else’s, even if done perfectly”
non-binary as in - dan hogan
ia trans and gender de-mythology - julie peters
- such an interesting history
- “i invent my own gender”
gender euphoria through dance - hayden moon
- so beautiful reading about euphoria <3
memento moratorium - jack nicholls”
- hearing about the history of transness, what made jack decide to transition
matter - samuel luke beatty
November 25, 2022
Nothing to Hide is an anthology of writing by trans and gender diverse Australian authors.
I find it rare to read gender diverse material online without having to also wade through the negative criticism that follows so it was lovely to read a physical anthology without all the backlash presented so closely. As someone who identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth I can never truly understand the experience of someone who is not accepted for who they are which is why I thought it was so important to pick this book up. Nothing to Hide is an accessible collection of work containing diverse formats, there are interviews, poems and more conventional stories contained, there is something for everyone within these pages. I found this work to be impactful, moving and a window into the lives of talented creatives who deserve an audience to listen to their voices. A very big thank you for Pauline for putting this one on my radar!
An important read 5/5
I find it rare to read gender diverse material online without having to also wade through the negative criticism that follows so it was lovely to read a physical anthology without all the backlash presented so closely. As someone who identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth I can never truly understand the experience of someone who is not accepted for who they are which is why I thought it was so important to pick this book up. Nothing to Hide is an accessible collection of work containing diverse formats, there are interviews, poems and more conventional stories contained, there is something for everyone within these pages. I found this work to be impactful, moving and a window into the lives of talented creatives who deserve an audience to listen to their voices. A very big thank you for Pauline for putting this one on my radar!
An important read 5/5
September 6, 2024
A collection of trans stories, bound as a powerful Australian publication to inform, challenge, share, and represent. A beautiful journey through gender questioning, transitioning, living, loving, and being.
The form is as diverse as the contributors' stories. Poetry, narrative, essay with references, graphic stories. From trans and gender diverse - spelling out the issues with the binary - and First Nations and culturally diverse backgrounds. A true range of the Australian population.
Loved the nuance around age spectrum, and these experiences - of feeling left behind with the societal progress. The complexities around naming, the First Nations phrases for trans, and who they leave behind.
Lots to expand this ally's thinking, lots to mull over and consider. A frank and important collection - a must read, for all.
The form is as diverse as the contributors' stories. Poetry, narrative, essay with references, graphic stories. From trans and gender diverse - spelling out the issues with the binary - and First Nations and culturally diverse backgrounds. A true range of the Australian population.
Loved the nuance around age spectrum, and these experiences - of feeling left behind with the societal progress. The complexities around naming, the First Nations phrases for trans, and who they leave behind.
Lots to expand this ally's thinking, lots to mull over and consider. A frank and important collection - a must read, for all.
February 13, 2023
An absolute must-read collection of stories from trans- and gender-diverse contributors. Each story was unique in experience and perspective, and each touched me differently. I particularly loved Liz Duck-Chong’s essay “Watching Things Grow”. Some of the entries are difficult to read with some confronting content, but it is so important that we sit in our discomfort and hear the voices of our trans brothers and sisters.
March 10, 2023
I started this in November and got held up as I had to return it to the library, so there was a gap of some months in the middle there. As such I don't have a good memory of the beginning sections.
As with any anthology I definitely liked some of them more than others. There's a variety of formats. Prose, poetry, drawings. I liked the more overtly prose sections more.
Read as part of my trans reading project to understand more and be a better ally.
As with any anthology I definitely liked some of them more than others. There's a variety of formats. Prose, poetry, drawings. I liked the more overtly prose sections more.
Read as part of my trans reading project to understand more and be a better ally.
March 19, 2023
so easy to read, diverse range of voices and stories, highly recommend. It's a mix of personal essays documenting incredibly important life stories and more creative pieces and poetry. the Bridget Flack section made me cry and so did SJ Norman's chapter. Crystal Love Johnson, Julie Peters, Jack Nicholls' pieces also stood out to me. I also really enjoyed Hayden Moon's piece that made me nostalgic for Irish dancing. Made me want to watch Riverdance with mum haha
November 13, 2022
As this is an anthology, there is a lot of variation in the voices of these pieces.
Some of them touched me more than others, but all of them offered a perspective that ought to take up space on the page.
A very important collection, I was very grateful to receive this book as a gift and will revisit it, particularly when I need a dose of unapologetic trans joy.
Some of them touched me more than others, but all of them offered a perspective that ought to take up space on the page.
A very important collection, I was very grateful to receive this book as a gift and will revisit it, particularly when I need a dose of unapologetic trans joy.
November 23, 2022
A really important collection of writing that represents a broad perspective of being trans in Australia.
Some of it was hard to read, particularly with the pain and trauma that seems to play a part in a lot of the stories. Not something that I'd recommend to someone who's not in a good mental space, but it definitely is a book that everyone can learn from.
Some of it was hard to read, particularly with the pain and trauma that seems to play a part in a lot of the stories. Not something that I'd recommend to someone who's not in a good mental space, but it definitely is a book that everyone can learn from.
April 2, 2023
a really great, timely anthology of unique/important/beautiful/difficult/horrific/brave/ubiquitous australian stories. i’m thankful to the authors for sharing their experiences and perspectives, and am glad this is being published and celebrated.
this is an important read for anyone who wants to broaden their understanding of what it means to individuals to be trans/gender diverse.
this is an important read for anyone who wants to broaden their understanding of what it means to individuals to be trans/gender diverse.
June 7, 2023
3/5
"I think of her now still out for a long walk, probably one of her longest. I hope that the flowers are blooming at her feet, that an interesting abando or two presents themselves for a suss and maybe a little pub is open somewhere along the way where she can get one of those fancy but kind of gross craft beers she liked as a treat"
"Bub, you were built for balancing"
"I think of her now still out for a long walk, probably one of her longest. I hope that the flowers are blooming at her feet, that an interesting abando or two presents themselves for a suss and maybe a little pub is open somewhere along the way where she can get one of those fancy but kind of gross craft beers she liked as a treat"
"Bub, you were built for balancing"
January 31, 2023
Mixed feelings, in the way that you often have in an anthology.
How do you read a book from many different people, all with different goals, and not end up with mixed feelings?
Georgous throughout.
How do you read a book from many different people, all with different goals, and not end up with mixed feelings?
Georgous throughout.
February 26, 2024
A really beautiful anthology mixing poetry, art, fiction and non fiction stories. This diversity of styles shows the diversity of the trans community, and how each persons gender and journey are unique.
February 1, 2023
Some incredible stories of trans and gender diverse Australians in here!
March 15, 2023
Gorgeous
March 28, 2023
Excellent and moving and beautiful
May 1, 2023
“Eventually, I understood that only those who could see me beyond gender could relate healthily.”
May 28, 2023
Very insightful. Highly recommended.
May 30, 2023
super raw and diverse different stories. Loved it
December 1, 2023
Probably my favourite anthology I’ve read, really enjoyed all the works in here. Highly recommend
February 14, 2024
Caddyshack three word review:
Creative, illuminating & powerful
Creative, illuminating & powerful
July 29, 2025
Great anthology of new and established queer/trans/gender diverse writers with a connection to Australia. Loved the author diversity and their different styles of writing, poetry and stories.
Read
January 14, 2023This book does a good job at compiling stories from a wide range of trans and gender diverse individuals who live in Australia. There is no unified narrative or true way to be transgender or gender diverse which is this books strength. Some writing was stronger than others but each story will speak to somebody.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews