The first Big Ten Open Books collection focuses on gender and sexuality studies, with a special emphasis on LGBTQ+ identities. From first-person narratives of discrimination to celebrations of art and creativity, readers will find a wealth of stories, studies, and analyses in these books - available for free to read and reuse thanks to Big Ten Academic Alliance libraries and the presses that they support. Funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's Public Knowledge program enabled additional discovery and workflow support for this collection.

The 100 books in the Gender and Sexuality collection were selected with the aid of an analysis of library holdings across the Big Ten Academic Alliance. Many have never before been available electronically. They come from Indiana University Press, Michigan State University Press, Northwestern University, Purdue University, University of Michigan Press, and the University of Wisconsin Press. The distinctive emphasis of each press emerges in the selections.

From Jewish studies at Indiana University Press to journalism at Northwestern University Press, the historical strengths of the parent universities becomes apparent. Purdue's identity as a land grant institution leads naturally to a consideration of how gender and identity manifest in areas such as agriculture and veterinary medicine. At University of Michigan, the intersection of performance and gender reflects a renowned music, theater, and dance program, while Michigan State University's excellence in African and African American studies informs a selection that explores the intersectionality of race and gender. At the University of Wisconsin, a focus on life-writing yields an invaluable collection of accessible personal memoirs of developing gender identities.