Maybe you’re the kind of person who’s very upfront; you might have it in your bio, or told people before a first date, because that’s just a rule you want to live by. Maybe you’ve had a not-so-great past experience that’s led you to be more cautious now. If telling a previous date resulted in them publicly and abruptly ending things, it would make sense why somebody might now choose to go on a first date and only decide to tell them once they’re sure they wanted to see them again (they might even decide to not come out in person this time.

The first book that provides an affirming and relatable account of the trans experience from the largest trans man YouTuber. I want to welcome you to The T in LGBT where you can explore and learn about so many topics surrounding gender identity: realising you're trans, starting hormones, considering surgery, and everything in between. Whether you're questioning your own identity and are looking for advice on certain stages of transition, or whether you're wanting to learn about the trans experience to support someone or understand allyship, I hope this book can be your one-stop guide to everything trans related. Hey, I'm Jamie, a 29-year-old trans guy from the UK. I've been transitioning for 12 years now after realising I was trans (by accident!) at sixteen years old. I knew I was a boy since the age of four, but realised whilst growing up that I was different. It was only in my teens that I found the words to express who I was and what I needed to do. Since then, I've been on testosterone for more than a decade - I know, I can't believe it either - I've also had top and bottom surgery and legally changed my sex, so I know a few things about the transitioning process and being trans! Jamie's extraordinarily wonderful wife, Shaaba, also pops in now and again to give advice to the allies who may read the book. This is a great detail as sometimes people find it easier to listen to another ally rather than their own trans loved one (Listen to trans voices though, please, it's important).I also want this book to equip allies, or anybody who wants to learn more, with information to help them better understand trans people and realise that actually, we’re not scary!” In this extract from The T in LGBT, Jamie interrogates the topic of dating and relationships through the lens of the trans experience.

As a fan of Juno Dawson from both her YA novels and her other titles such as 'This Book is Gay' and 'The Gender Games' - her new book 'What's The T?' doesn't disappoint.Fantastic! This Book Is Gay was a VERY important book for me in my adolescence and I’m hoping this book can do the same for others. You are lovable. I don’t think trans people get told this enough. I certainly didn’t hear it – ever – when I first came out, and I think being told that I was lovable would have helped a huge amount. I did, however, realise this was a big concern for my mum. That somehow, coming out could change whether I would live a happy and fulfilled life, including finding a partner. Not because she didn’t think I could or should, but because of society’s opinion and treatment of trans people. So, to all the trans people reading who need to hear it: you are lovable. Being trans doesn’t exclude you from finding love in all of its forms. Jamie now wants to help other young trans people get support as they transition. It was the driver behind his book, The T in LGBT , which aims to detail ‘everything you need to know about being trans’. It’s definitely a good idea to shop around and find which apps you feel most comfortable using. There are dating apps made specifically for the LGBT+ community, and some, even more specifically, for trans people. Some trans people feel most comfortable dating other trans people, or happen to socialise with other trans people more frequently, leading to ‘T4T’ (or ‘trans for trans’) relationships. It’s perfectly okay for people to want T4T relationships. It makes sense that a shared experience, unspoken understanding, and guaranteed acceptance of your identity would take away some of the scary aspects of dating. The best way to combat these myths is to listen to trans people and professionals directly, as the misinformation is being spread by people who have no experience with, or have never spoken to, a trans person. They just have loud voices and a platform to share it. When learning about people, or a group of people in society, we should always draw our knowledge from those people directly. I wouldn’t look to a white person to fully understand the experience of a person of colour, or an able-bodied person to understand how best to support disabled people. The same should go for the trans community.”