THE NEAREST EXIT MAY BE BEHIND YOU by S. Bear Bergman (Arsenal Pulp), 205 pages, $19.95 paper. Rating: NNNN
Speaking as someone who’s had her feminist and queer politics nudged, massaged and then blown away by the trans movement, I’m supremely grateful for S. Bear Bergman’s essays.
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Bergman, who was once Sharon and is now a Bear of a guy, lectures and performs on the theme of the trans experience. In The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You, the T.O.-based author delivers a book of essays that are smart, challenging and, most important, completely engaging.
He opens with an anecdote about a homophobe who rejects him as a seatmate on a plane, an event that prompts him to riff on being automatically viewed as transgressive. A series of stories probes how being Jewish defines his brand of maleness. Another essay explains why he hasn’t said yes to surgery.
Whether he’s dissing the term “passing” or explaining why he took considerable risks to fly back from a gig in the U.S. to Canada for gall bladder surgery, Bergman is consistently generous, clear and courageous. And he can be outrageously funny, too.
The only tiny misstep is The Velveteen Tranny, an almost word-for-word reproduction of his way too theoretical correspondence with a trusted friend who had said the wrong thing.
This is a book for anyone interested in gender politics and a must-read for any trans person. But you could also give it to your know-nothing friends and relatives, whether you’re trans or not, who need to hear from this unique voice.
Bergman’s just become a new dad. Can’t wait to see what he has to say about all that.
Bergman reads at Proud Voices on the James Canning stage at 7:30 pm, Saturday (July 3). See Pride listings.
