Some of these are much more into gender theory and others use gender as an incidental element. I've only included resources that I'm familiar with personally. There are other resources on the net to find very long
lists (such as the sci-fi lover's gender swapping list of sci-fi books with transgendered themes) that haven't been verified so I'm not going to create one here.
- The Androgyne: Reconciliation of Male and Female by Emelre Zola
- Interesting research on the
place in androgyny and gender confusion throughout history, especially in
mythical contexts.
- Conundrum by Jan Morris
- This is a very good autobiography of Jan, formerly James, Morris. While I don't agree with all her perspectives, she says a lot of fascinating things and does a lot to make me think.
- The Doom
Patrol by Grant Morrison and Rachel Pollock
- Though it's been cancelled, you may still be able to find copies of this most outstanding comic. It's included such characters as Rebis, a hermaphrodite energy creature, Kate, a post-op transsexual superhero and Elliot, a member of the Tirisae, who change shape and sex at will.
- Dragonsword by Gael
Baudino
- This is actually part of a trilogy, followed by Duel of Dragons and Dragon Death. It explores gender identity and roles as well as many other issues in a pseudo-Celtic/mythical context. Highly reccomended.
-
The Invisibles by Grant
Morrison
-
One of the featured characters in this comic is "Lord Fanny," a transvestite secret agent. Also, one of the female characters is code named "boy" for reasons I'm sure we'll discover eventually.
- Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin
- An excellent work of fiction about a race which is asexual except once a month during which time they assume a sex role for the purpose of procreation.
- The Sandman by
Neil Gaiman
-
The Sandman is one of the most highly regarded comics in the industry and the vast majority of its issues are available as trade paperbacks. The one which deals most directly with gender issues is the story A Game of You, which features a pre-op transsexual. However, the character of Desire, who
shows up throughout the series, is represented as both male and female at various points in time for reasons that are, to an extent, explained within the books.
- Stone Butch Blues byLeslie
Feinberg
- This is one of the best books I've ever read. It's a very powerful tale of the experiences of a cross-gendered person over the course of quite a few years. There's no way I could give too much praise to this book.
- Vested Interests: Cross-Dressing and Cultural Anxiety
by Marjorie Garber
- Well-researched book
chronicling various aspecs of cross-dressing throughout history.