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[ganked from my Goodreads account with minor edits]
Today's book, finished in more time than it really needed, is Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters. It's about two trans women, one of whom has detransitioned – I won't spoil why – and the cis woman whom the detransitioner knocks up, and what the three of them plan to do about it.
Maybe a trans woman shouldn't be reviewing a book by and about trans women. Why would I say that? Because I'm anxious about the messages it sends to cis people. No, it isn't my experience that trans women tolerate abusive relationships as long as their partners validate their femininity any more than cis women tolerate them. No, I haven't come acrosstoo many any trans women with an overpowering drive to become mothers. And the entire premise of the story – that a cis woman might knowingly share parenting with not one but two trans people – really rang false to me. It vastly underestimates the ambient transphobia among cis people.
That said, there are so many details in this book that are so right, especially the ones about trans people. Yes, I'm one of a lot of trans women who own a lot of old MAC makeup. Yes, trans poverty and sex work for survival are things. Yes, queer bashing and suicide are horrifically common in the trans world.
I dunno. Read this is you're cis. You might learn something, but beware the negative generalizations about trans people that you may take away from it. If you're trans, you might laugh at a few things, but you'll also cringe, yell, and put the book down for days at a stretch.
Today's book, finished in more time than it really needed, is Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters. It's about two trans women, one of whom has detransitioned – I won't spoil why – and the cis woman whom the detransitioner knocks up, and what the three of them plan to do about it.
Maybe a trans woman shouldn't be reviewing a book by and about trans women. Why would I say that? Because I'm anxious about the messages it sends to cis people. No, it isn't my experience that trans women tolerate abusive relationships as long as their partners validate their femininity any more than cis women tolerate them. No, I haven't come across
That said, there are so many details in this book that are so right, especially the ones about trans people. Yes, I'm one of a lot of trans women who own a lot of old MAC makeup. Yes, trans poverty and sex work for survival are things. Yes, queer bashing and suicide are horrifically common in the trans world.
I dunno. Read this is you're cis. You might learn something, but beware the negative generalizations about trans people that you may take away from it. If you're trans, you might laugh at a few things, but you'll also cringe, yell, and put the book down for days at a stretch.
