The 57 Bus

The 57 Bus

by

Dashka Slater

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The 57 Bus makes teaching easy.
A gender identity that is different from one’s “birth sex.” Andrew, who is biologically born Samantha, is a transgender man.

Transgender Quotes in The 57 Bus

The The 57 Bus quotes below are all either spoken by Transgender or refer to Transgender. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Gender and Sexuality Theme Icon
).
Part 1: Luke and Samantha Quotes

It was part of the disorienting feeling she’d had for years, that feeling that everyone except her had been issued a handbook. Samantha knew it was important to be pretty and cute, but she had no idea how to be those things, or even why she was supposed to want to be. Her body was growing curvier. Breasts burst from her chest like twin cannonballs, but they didn’t feel sexy and good, they just felt heavy. She hid them under baggy T-shirts and sweatpants and watched the other girls come to school in tiny skirts and spaghetti straps, wondered why everything was so much hard for her than it was for them.

Related Characters: Andrew / Samantha
Page Number: 23-24
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Victim-Impact Statement Quotes

“We do not understand your actions,” Debbie went on. “But we also think that hatred only leads to more hatred and anger. We don’t want you to come out of prison full of hate. Following the incident, communities near and far affirmed Sasha’s—and everyone’s—right to not be harassed or hurt or bullied for how they dress, or whether they are gay or trans or agender. We truly hope that you will gain some understanding and empathy in the years to come. Maybe sometime in the future you will be the one coming to the aid of someone being bullied.”

Related Characters: Debbie (speaker), Sasha, Richard
Page Number: 264
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Andrew and the Binary Quotes

“Actually,” [Andrew] said, “I’m starting to identify a little bit as—I don’t even know the word I want to use yet. I like androgynous. I like genderqueer.” What held him back? Fear. Fear of other people’s judgements, their questions, their hostility, their fascination. “Because I fall neatly within the binary, I feel comfortable right now,” he explained. “But if I were to radically shift my appearance in a way that more androgynous, I don’t know how comfortable that would be for me. I mean, I’ve already been asked enough questions about my genitals. I’m just done with that.”

Related Characters: Andrew / Samantha (speaker), Sasha
Page Number: 290
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The 57 Bus LitChart as a printable PDF.
The 57 Bus PDF

Transgender Term Timeline in The 57 Bus

The timeline below shows where the term Transgender appears in The 57 Bus. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1: Luke and Samantha
Gender and Sexuality Theme Icon
Discrimination and Social Justice Theme Icon
...immediately knew why she felt so disoriented in her own body. “I think I might be…transgender?” Samantha said to her therapist. “I don’t think you know what transgender means,” the therapist... (full context)
Part 1: Gran Turismo 2
Gender and Sexuality Theme Icon
Binary Thought and Inclusive Language Theme Icon
...turned to Sasha and, after saying she had something important to tell them, said, “I’m transgender.” She told Sasha how she felt about her body and what her therapist had told... (full context)
Gender and Sexuality Theme Icon
...gender, and it was quite some time before he told his parents that he was transgender. He was even Sasha’s date for a dance at school, but his dress and makeup... (full context)
Part 1: How Do You Know What Gender You Are?
Gender and Sexuality Theme Icon
Discrimination and Social Justice Theme Icon
...not who I was at all.” Still, being a guy wasn’t easy for Andrew. His “trans status was a topic of constant rumor and gossip,” and he had recently been having... (full context)
Part 1: Gender, Sex, Sexuality, Romance: Some Terms
Gender and Sexuality Theme Icon
Binary Thought and Inclusive Language Theme Icon
...biologically having both male and female anatomy, has replaced the antiquated term “hermaphrodite.” To be “transgender” is to feel that one’s “gender is different from their birth sex.” (full context)
Part 1: Skirts
Gender and Sexuality Theme Icon
Binary Thought and Inclusive Language Theme Icon
Discrimination and Social Justice Theme Icon
According to Slater, transgender people become the victims of a disproportionate number of crimes each year. A quarter of... (full context)
Part 3: The Desk
Adolescent Crime vs. Adult Crime Theme Icon
...is surprised to receive a letter from the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Transgender Law Center. Both organizations ask her in a joint letter to reconsider charging Richard as... (full context)
Part 3: What They Sent
Discrimination and Social Justice Theme Icon
...a really hard time,” Debbie says. “An African American? Oh, evil! But then it’s this trans kid wearing a skirt. What?” Karl smiles. “They can’t figure out who to root against,”... (full context)
Part 4: Binary
Gender and Sexuality Theme Icon
Binary Thought and Inclusive Language Theme Icon
Discrimination and Social Justice Theme Icon
.../ Gay and Straight. / Black and White. / Normal and Weird. / Cis and Trans.” She continues, “Victims and Villains. / Cruel and Kind. / Guilty and Innocent.” Slater repeats... (full context)
Part 4: Progress Report
Discrimination and Social Justice Theme Icon
Accountability, Redemption, and Forgiveness Theme Icon
...become an ally who will stand up against the bullying and hatred of gay and trans people,” Karl says. “Thank you,” Richard silently mouths. (full context)
Part 4: Andrew and the Binary
Gender and Sexuality Theme Icon
Discrimination and Social Justice Theme Icon
...“identify a little bit as […] genderqueer.” He is still hesitant, though. As a gay transgender man, Andrew still fits neatly in the male/female “binary,” and he is scared to step... (full context)