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[alyson]

full title: The Bride Wore Black Leather and He Looked Fabulous

This is a book of etiquette, primarily, but it is written by and for members of the "altsex" community (a word I hadn't heard before). Mostly it does deal with your basic etiquette issues: how to respond to invitations, how to deal politely with rudeness or presumption, how to write wedding invites and condolence letters, and so on.

It also deals with questions more specific to the altsex community. These relate to gender identifications (i.e. Q: What is the proper way to apologize for using the wrong pronoun to refer to someone?), the etiquette required when referring to or talking to slaves (please note, these are consensual slaves), coming out or not coming out, dealing with AIDS, being a Christian at a Pagan wedding, introducing primary and secondary lovers, etc.

As I find myself meeting more members of this community, certain things were particularly useful to know. Some of the questions in the book were purely informational. One example would be Q: What is the difference between someone who's intersexed and someone who's transsexual?

Basically, however, it's all about etiquette, alternative lifestyle or not. As such, it does well and it's an interesting read. Note the detailed bibliography for further etiquette and altsex reading.