Munroe Bergdorf lands big book deal with Bloomsbury

I honestly think that MB feels themselves to be some sort of ‘gift’ to the world. They have stated that trans people of other cultures have always existed and served as ‘spiritual guides’ before colonialism tried to wipe them out and impose the evil ‘binary’ on us all. A massive amount of co-opting of indigenous cultures there that some have quite rightly objected to.

What ‘wisdom’ will they impart I wonder? I prefer to get my wisdom from people who’ve done more than modelled in underwear, DJ-ed in obscure London clubs and have undergone extensive plastic surgery in order to create a stereotypical, commodified version of ‘Woman-hood’. I don’t think being on This Morning or Good Morning Britain makes you a serious ‘campaigner’ or ‘commentator’. And they haven’t shown any talent for writing (although I know that’s no obstacle theses celebrity-ridden days). Pastel coloured aphorisms as posted on Insta won’t sustain a whole book surely?

Shon Faye's book has not appeared and I suspect never will.

'The experience being a ‘ciswoman’ has changed over the years' by some random, unfathomable process that women have just passively observed. Probably from a reclining position on a chaise long.

Reading the Bookseller piece again, and the idea for the book sounds extraordinarily thin and vague.

The book will draw on Bergdorf’s own experience, as well as research from experts and activists, to "explore how deeply ingrained transitioning is" in human experience. Transitional will interrogate six topics, including adolescence, sexuality, gender, relationships, identity and race, and explore the act of transitioning as something "we all face in every phase of life"

Just guessing here, but I'd wager it hasn't been written yet, and might never be because it's based on a premise as flimsy as candy floss.

Janet Mock's books have sold well. I haven't read them but from the blurbs they seem to be very much about Janet Mock's personal experiences- which is fair enough - than lecturing to others.

Advances from a publisher can be great, and they help to create hype. But as others point out, they are rarely earned out (and the obligations they put you under can be problematic).

But the proud reference to Bergdorf's "first film" is curious. Even the Guardian reviewer only gave this three stars (out of five), noting a lack of deep and meaningful engagement with the topic.

The same topic that will undoubtedly be the focus of this book.

Given the unfortunate predilection for making spontaneous statements that later prove to have been unwise, I don't envy whoever has to oversee that publicity tour.

This kind of reminds me of when Shon Faye wrote their own gender- whatever book priced at £200 or something. This has a lot more marketing behind it I'm sure, but will it pull in readers outside the woke bubble?

It’s just a box ticking exercise so they can say they support trans and BLM. They’ve basically got a two for one. I wonder if they would publish anything by a women that has publicly made sexist, racist and homophobic comments?

I think we already know the answer to that.

Did I miss something in ‘Her first film, "What Makes a Woman" ‘? I watched it and it was a doco about the transition. Not about women including that they went to the Bristol meeting and contributed nothing of substance. I compared it to Olly Lambert and Stella O’Malley’s doco which I watched straight after and thought MB’s was just a fluff piece about them. And taking a teddy bear to hospital felt like an infantalising stereotype somewhat.

"I've gone into the depths of my own navel."

Fortunately there are a never-ending list of women who understand only too well about women's oppression. So anything MB writes on the subject of women, will be able to be comprehensively analysed.

I'm quite looking forward to it.

"What it's like to be a cisgender woman today is not what it was in the middle ages, or the 1950s, or even the 1980s."

////

I am getting very cross with this individual claiming to know anything about what it's like to be a woman and drop the cis please, MB, I fond it offensive. What the F have they ever done to support women or our causes?

Can you imagine the uproar if I claimed to know what it's like to be trans, ever?

It's quite hard to read about the historical and relentless oppression of women, without developing some form of understanding of why and how it happens.

Will empathy be developed though?

I assume this is a loss leader to inject credibility into the Bloomsbury brand that they're giving a platform to a black transwoman of colour in these times of Black Lives Matter.

It's quite hard to read about the historical and relentless oppression of women, Presumably only male women will be included?

MB has an honorary doctorate? Wow.

And perhaps Bloomsbury are being smart, here so they can't be accused of bias.

I predict 2/3 of the book will be about how horrible everyone has been to MB all their life.

#BeKind.

2021 eh?

So who’s betting the bubble will have burst by then?

Also:
It promises to be a book of rare wisdom about the difficulties and possibilities embodied in the choices of the 21st century identity.

Rare wisdom?

Also It promises to be a book of rare wisdom about the difficulties and possibilities embodied in the choices of the 21st century identity

How have we all managed thus far without this 'rare wisdom"?

Presumably MB will have to do a lot of research. You never know, they might genuinely learn something.

It's quite hard to read about the historical and relentless oppression of women, without developing some form of understanding of why and how it happens.

Here's the write up in The Bookseller.

Bloomsbury signs Bergdorf for six figures after 11-way auction
Published July 17, 2020 by Ruth Comerford
Share
Bloomsbury has won an 11-way auction to publish the first book by model, activist and writer Munroe Bergdorf.

Associate publisher Alexis Kirschbaum acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, and translation rights, to Transitional, in a six-figure deal from Abigail Bergstrom at Gleam Titles.

Kirschbaum said: "What an inspiring woman Munroe Bergdorf is. Transitional will be an affective and insightful guide to how to integrate personal authenticity and the realities of the modern world. It promises to be a book of rare wisdom about the difficulties and possibilities embodied in the choices of the 21st century identity. Munroe has a point of view that is exceptionally wise and humane, and the life experience to back it up."

The book will draw on Bergdorf’s own experience, as well as research from experts and activists, to "explore how deeply ingrained transitioning is" in human experience. Transitional will interrogate six topics, including adolescence, sexuality, gender, relationships, identity and race, and explore the act of transitioning as something "we all face in every phase of life".

Bergdorf has spoken on international panels and contributed to publications including the Guardian, Evening Standard, Grazia, i-D, British Vogue, Elle, Teen Vogue and Paper Magazine. In 2019, she was awarded an honorary doctorate for her contributions campaigning for transgender rights by the University of Brighton, and was recently appointed a National Advocate for UN Women UK. Her first film, "What Makes a Woman", premiered on Channel 4 in 2018.

Bergdorf said: "I’m so excited to be welcomed into the Bloomsbury Publishing family. This is a tough time for trans people living in the UK and around the world, so it means so much to be working on my first book with the largest independent publishing house in the country. By sharing my lived experience as a black trans woman, I hope that this book will serve to open more minds, start important conversations and help to educate all kinds of people in a way that brings us closer to a global consciousness—especially during this time of division."

Bloomsbury will publish the work in 2021.

Lots to unpick there, I think. One of the things that leaps out at me is the sentence I hope that this book will serve to open more minds, start important conversations and help to educate all kinds of people in a way that brings us closer to a global consciousness I predict much PR in the run-up to publication - interviews etc, which, given MB's rather - ahem - abrasive personality and robust views about what women are and are not allowed to talk about, is very likely to open eyes, as well as minds. (Just not in the way MB is envisaging.)

Actually it was Cassandra Parkin’s hilarious takedown of 50 Shades I was thinking of... off topic, sorry!