I’m Afraid of Men
Published by Penguin Canada

I’m Afraid of Men, the best-selling book from Vivek Shraya, explores how masculinity was imposed on her as a boy and continues to haunt her as a girl—and how we might reimagine gender for the twenty-first century.
Read an excerpt
“My history has taught me that I can’t fully rely upon other women for sisterhood…”
Listen to the playlist
Check out the Reading Guide
#imafraidofmen
- Cover design by CS Richardson with Jennifer Griffiths
National bestseller
Finalist
- Lambda Literary Awards · Transgender Non-fiction
Nominee
- Forest of Reading Evergreen Award · Ontario Library Association
Vivek Shraya transforms her long-festering fears of men into cultural rocket fuel.
Emotional and painful but also layered with humour, I’m Afraid of Men will widen your lens on gender and challenge you to do better. This challenge is a necessary one—one we must all take up. It is a gift to dive into Vivek’s heart and mind.
Vivek Shraya’s writing is always empathetic but challenging, kind but sharp, and I’m Afraid of Men forces you to confront what you think you know about masculinity, privilege, and fear. Reading Shraya’s writing will make you a better person, through and through.
A gift and a hell of a book—beautiful, intimate, insightful and essential.
Viscerally powerful… creating tectonic fissures into antiquated beliefs around gender identity.
The time is now for Vivek Shraya’s I’m Afraid of Men.
I’m Afraid of Men is spare, elegant, raw, meticulous,intimate, and direct .
In I’m Afraid of Men, Vivek Shraya owns and exposes her own history with masculinity and offers a way out of this harmful and old-fashioned binary we call gender. My head nodded along quietly in agreement any time I wasn’t wiping away rising tides of tears. Vivek Shraya is a superior voice, and this book is essential reading for everyone.
She writes with honesty and vulnerability, all the while asking challenging and personal questions that inspire deeper reflection. This crucial addition to shelves offers the vital and often ignored perspective of a trans woman of color. A book to carry with you.
A literary catalyst for self-reflection and change… it just takes one voice, like Shraya’s, to start the conversation.
All of us should read this.
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Interviews with Vivek
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A Moment with Vivek Shraya
Presented by Indigo.