The Two Revolutions - (Queer / Trans / Digital) by Avery Dame-Griff

About the Book

"The Two Revolutions tells the long history of transgender communities online, reconstructing the various digital networks of transgender activists, cross-dressing computer hobbyists, and others interested in gender nonconformity who laid the foundations for contemporary trans life"--

Book Synopsis

The internet origins of the American transgender movement

The Two Revolutions explores how the rise of the internet shaped transgender identity and activism from the 1980s to the present. Through extensive archival research and media archeology, Avery Dame-Griff reconstructs the manifold digital networks of transgender activists, cross-dressing computer hobbyists, and others interested in gender nonconformity who incited the second revolution of the title: the ascendance of "transgender" as an umbrella identity in the mid-1990s.

Dame-Griff argues that digital communications sparked significant momentum within what would become the transgender movement, but also further cemented existing power structures. Covering both a historical period that is largely neglected within the history of computing, and the poorly understood role of technology in queer and trans social movements, The Two Revolutions offers a new understanding of both revolutions--the internet's early development and the structures of communication that would take us to today's tipping point of trans visibility politics. Through a history of how trans people online exploited different digital infrastructures in the early days of the internet to build a community, The Two Revolutions tells a crucial part of trans history itself.

Review Quotes

"This study is invaluable not only for expanding readers' knowledge base of the formation and evolution of the transgender community, but also for offering an encyclopedic reference for the terms and language of online community organization."-- "CHOICE"

"What The Two Revolutions uncovers are the half-forgotten, yet monumental steps of (primarily North American) transgender communities in cyberspace. In his detailed archival work, Dame-Griff outlines two intertwining revolutions that, he argues, were paving the foundations of the transgender movement as we know it today: the early development of the Internet, and the evolution of 'transgender' as an umbrella term ... highlights a rapidly dissolving piece of contemporary digital history."-- "Cultural Sociology"

"For those deeply versed in trans culture and history, The Two Revolutions is an affirming read. Dame-Griff is gracious enough to provide the relevant introductory information for those hesitant to engage in either or both topics. Picking this book up is easy. Putting it down might be a bit more complicated. Not constantly returning to it for inspiration will be downright impossible."-- "Internet Histories"

"Scholars, creators, and activists alike could easily use this book to inspire the next era of the trans internet... The Two Revolutions provides an ample basis for a robust discussion of where histories materially go in the digital age and how to recover them while honoring the intended meaning of users."-- "Convergence"

"The Two Revolutions is both an academic history of the trans Internet and a political call for contemporary users to demand more of our digital media platforms. Dame-Griff does a fantastic job weaving together these projects."--Lauren Herold "Autostraddle"

"A delightfully readable academic work that tells a story of trans online life since the earliest days of the dial-up modem ... it's as much a straightforward history as it is an experiment in using digital materials to tell recent history."--Jamie Lauren Keiles "The Baffler"

"A detailed, fascinating, and deeply researched look at trans culture online."--s.e. smith "YES! Magazine"

"A critically necessary history. Avery Dame-Griff shows that the development of the internet and the history of transgender life and identity are inextricably bound up in one another. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, The Two Revolutions is a transformative work."--Jacob Gaboury, author of Image Objects: An Archaeology of Computer Graphics

"The book I've been waiting for! Through nuanced archival research, Avery Dame-Griff reveals how the internet helped create what is now known as the transgender community. In this book, we see how cross-dressers and transsexuals (and later trans youth) used shifting digital tools, from bulletin boards to social media tags, to share information, create and contest new identity terms, and find connection. The Two Revolutions promises to revolutionize trans and internet studies."--Laura Horak, director of the Transgender Media Lab at Carleton University

About the Author

Avery Dame-Griff is Lecturer in the Department of Women's and Gender Studies at Gonzaga University. He founded and curates the Queer Digital History Project (queerdigital.com).