Research Guides: 2SLGBTQIA+ Resources: Finding Books + Film

Finding Books and Films

Browse the results list of your keyword search and look at the full records to see the subject headings assigned for relevant titles. Note that the results are sorted by relevance. You can change the results to sort by date, author, or title. Click on the subject headings to find more books on your topic.

After you find a relevant book on your topic, you can also browse the catalogue by the Library of Congress call numbers to find more titles.

Please keep in mind that the classification system used in academic libraries often does not use terminology or language that reflects the current appropriate language or terminology, and can in some instances be offensive.

Subject Headings:

Gender identity--History.
Homosexuality and literature.
Queer theory.
Homosexuality.
Bisexuality.
Lesbianism.
Gender nonconformity.
Gender expression.
Transgender people--Identity.
Transgender Persons.

First Stories - Two Spirited by Sharon A. Desjarlais, Director
Publication Date: 2007
This short documentary presents the empowering story of Rodney "Geeyo" Poucette's struggle against prejudice in the Indigenous community as a two-spirited person. Geeyo registers as a dancer in the Kamloopa Powwow under the Jingle Dress category (normally reserved for women). Deeply humiliated by a misguided elder, Geeyo is reminded by his grandmother that two-spirited people were once respected and honoured for their spiritual gifts. Geeyo eventually makes a triumphant return to the powwow arena, realizing that the only way to change people's minds is to walk proudly while being true to one's spirit.
Location: Online
Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives by Aerlyn Weissman & Lynne Fernie, Directors
Publication Date: 2014
This award-winning movie became the most popular ever produced by the National Film Board of Canada.
Location: Online
Into Light by Sheona McDonald, Director
Publication Date: 2021
When a child reveals who they truly are on the inside, how does a parent set aside their own expectations to help them become their most authentic self? Sheona McDonald's documentary captures a season of change as a mother and child navigate the complexities of gender identity together.
Location: Online
Leitis in Waiting by Dean Hamer & Joe Wilson & Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Directors.
Publication Date: 2018
Leitis In Waiting is the story of Joey Mataele and the Tonga Leitis, an intrepid group of transgender women fighting a rising tide of religious fundamentalism in their highly religious and conservative South Pacific Kingdom.
Location: Online
My Transgender Life by Yonela Simetu, Director
Publication Date: 2016
Seven transgender individuals share their experiences of what it is like to be born the wrong sex, the path to transitioning, and their lives afterward.
Location: XWI7XWA
Shannon Amen by Chris Dainty, Director
Publication Date: 2019
Shannon Amen unearths the passionate and pained expressions of a young woman overwhelmed by guilt and anxiety as she struggles to reconcile her sexual identity with her religious faith.
Location: Online
Some of the Stories: A documentary about Trans Youth by Jacob Simpson, Director
Call Number: DVD PY S56 S66 2001
Publication Date: 2001
Features five youth discussing trans issues: What does "trans" mean? Who are transgender people? How does society's treatment of trans people affect us? The youth talk about how transgenderism intersects with other issues in their lives, such as poverty, disability and culture. The video addresses the legacy of colonization and how the struggle for trans rights is intimately linked with the struggle for Aboriginal rights.
Location: XWI7XWA Library
Standing on the Line by Paul Émile d'Entremont, Director
Publication Date: 2018
In both amateur and professional sports, being gay remains taboo. Few dare to come out of the closet for fear of being stigmatized, and for many, the pressure to perform is compounded by a further strain: whether or not to affirm their sexual identity. Breaking the code of silence that prevails on the field, on the ice and in the locker room, this film takes a fresh and often moving look at some of our gay athletes, who share their experiences with the camera.
Location: Online
Two Soft Things, Two Hard Things by Mark Kenneth Woods & Michael Yerxa, Directors
Publication Date: 2016
As a small group in Nunavut, Canada prepare for a seminal LGBT Pride celebration in the Arctic, the film explores how colonization and religion have shamed and erased traditional Inuit beliefs about sexuality and family structure and how, 60 years later, a new generation of Inuit are actively "unshaming" their past.
Location: Online
Two Spirits by Lydia Nibley, Director
Publication Date: 2010
Two Spirits interweaves the tragic story of a mother's loss of her son with a revealing look at the largely unknown history of a time when the world wasn't simply divided into male and female and many Native American cultures held places of honor for people of integrated genders.
Location: Online
The Watermelon Woman by Cheryl Dunye, Director
Publication Date: 1997
Cheryl Dunye plays a version of herself in this witty, nimble landmark of New Queer Cinema.
Location: Online
When Love Is Gay by Laurent Gagliardi, Director
Publication Date: 1995
When Love Is Gay explodes myths about gay love.
Location: Online
Boys don't cry by Kimberly Peirce, Director
Call Number: PN1997 .B697 2009 dvd
Publication Date: 1999
A transgender youth starts living as a man and assumes the name, Brandon Teena. He moves to a tiny Nebraska town and begins making new friends under his new identity. All goes well until his new friends discover his secret. Based on a true story about hope, fear, and the courage it takes to be yourself.
Location: Okanagan Library & Online
Paris is Burning by Jennie Livingston, Director
Publication Date: 1991
Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women-including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza-PARIS IS BURNING brings it, celebrating the joy of movement, the force of eloquence, and the draw of community.
Location: Online
Tangerine by Sean Baker, Director
Publication Date: 2015
It's Christmas Eve in Tinseltown and Sin-Dee is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend hasn't been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the working girl and her best friend, Alexandra, embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumour. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles.
Location: Koerner Library
Happy Birthday, Marsha! by Reina Gossett & Sasha Wortzel, Directors
Publication Date: 2017
A film about iconic transgender artist and activist, Marsha "Pay it No Mind" Johnson, and her life in the hours before she ignited the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City.
Location: Online
XXY by Lucía Puenzo, Director
Call Number: PN1997.2 X998 2008 dvd
Publication Date: 2008
Location: Okanagan Library