Transparent made history as the first television show to feature a transgender character in the main role, as the first streaming series to win the Golden Globe for Best Television Series, and as, in the words of journalist Debra Nussbaum Cohen, “the Jewiest show ever.” No television show in history has depicted the lives of American Jews with as much attention to Jewish rituals, quirks, or culture. And no series has portrayed issues of gender and sexuality alongside Judaism with such nuance and depth, making Transparent a landmark series in the history of television.
 
Blessings beyond the Binary brings together leading scholars to analyze and offer commentary on what scholar Josh Lambert calls “the most important work of Jewish culture of the century so far.” The book explores the show’s depiction of Jewish life, religion, and history, as well as Transparent’s scandals and criticisms and how it fits into and diverges from today’s transgender and queer politics. 
 
The first book to focus on Transparent, Blessings beyond the Binary offers a rich analysis of the groundbreaking series and its connections to contemporary queer, trans, and Jewish life.
 

Queer Joy in Theory and Practice: Essays on Resistance, Thriving, and Liberation centers queer joy as a radical method of resistance and world-building in the face of rising homophobia, transphobia, and systemic violence. Rather than framing queer and trans lives solely through trauma, this groundbreaking collection explores how joy functions as a site of possibility, solidarity, and social change. This book bridges theory, research, and practice to examine queer joy across classrooms, communities, art, public spaces, and activism. With chapters on education, abolitionist politics, drag, parenting, street art, and festivals, this timely and interdisciplinary volume illuminates joy as a transformative force—one that refuses despair and instead imagines liberatory, life-affirming futures for queer and trans communities worldwide.