Gendertrash from Hell: The First Print Collection of the Zine That Changed Everything

“Welcome gender queers/ to the world of gender trash,” announces the poem that opened the inaugural issue of the 1990s Canadian zine resurrected in this riotous collection. Edited by activist Ross, one of the zine’s cocreators, this volume reprints all four published issues, alongside additional archival materials. Understood as “a space of our own” made by and for trans people, Gendertrash from Hell stood out for its wide-ranging and radical coverage, including furious reviews of films and books that misrepresent trans individuals (“It’s academic researchers like you who we despise!” one reads), informative articles about electrolysis, a serial novel, defiant poetry, interviews with sex workers about their ideal clients (“someone that carries a VISA gold card”), diaristic accounts of gender affirmation surgery, and biting quizzes ranking cisgender (then described as “genetic”) jerks. Some of the zine’s coverage is a fascinating mid-1990s time capsule—laudatory reviews of The Crying Game; withering reports on the trans-exclusionary Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival—while other entries address issues that continue to have resonance today, such as the ability of trans women to access services like women’s shelters. The most powerful aspect of this compendium is witnessing the zine grow its readership and outreach via its expanding personals section, letters to the editor, and cross-advertising from other trans publications. It’s a remarkable and inspiring record of community-building. (Nov.)