I really enjoyed Bethany Beeler's self-published and narrated memoir of her life as a trans woman who came out later in life. There aren't very many mI really enjoyed Bethany Beeler's self-published and narrated memoir of her life as a trans woman who came out later in life. There aren't very many memoirs by trans people who came out later in life so this felt special to me as a trans person who also came out later in life.
Although I still thoroughly enjoyed the book, it could have used a good editor. I wondered if Bethany has ever considered she might be autistic/AuDHD as this book totally came off as written by a neurodivergent person! I loved that about it, as I found it relateable, but also, it was a lot of detail and specific references to a wide array of cultural texts she just assumes the reader is familiar with. Sometimes that made the story hard to follow. The non-linearity of the memoir was also a bit confusing at times in terms of understanding the timeline.
Also, for a memoir ostensibly about coming to terms with being trans, the bulk of the memoir is written before Beeler's "egg crack" (term in trans community for realizing you are trans), and then I felt like she rushed over that egg crack moment. It kind of jumps from "I was thinking a lot about the sacred feminine" to "I told my wife I'm gender fluid" (which was how she initially described her growing gender feelings). I would have really liked some of her attention to detail to flesh out this process a little more, as it's one of the things I'm always most fascinated in trying to parse out in my own gender journey, and that I'm most curious about in others' stories.
I'm still really thankful to Bethany for sharing her story, though, and would recommend, especially to trans people coming out later in life, and to queer and trans people who are wrestling with faith in the process of coming out....more
This book resolutely undoes the idea that Canada does not have the same anti-Black racism problem as the USA. Activist and journalist Desmond Cole goeThis book resolutely undoes the idea that Canada does not have the same anti-Black racism problem as the USA. Activist and journalist Desmond Cole goes through a year of resistance to anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism in Canada with each chapter focusing on a specific incident or response to anti-Black and/or anti-Indigenous racism in each month of 2017.
I really appreciated this format which gave a deep dive in journalistic style of what happened, the historical, social and political context, how activists (and those effected and thrust into activism) mobilized, and the response from politicians, the media, and the public. I was familiar with the catalysts in some of the chapters - the protests by Black Lives Matter at Toronto Pride; the death of Andrew Loku at the hands of police; Chief Theresa Spence's hunger strike and the global Idol No More protests. Others I was not aware of, and even having, I felt, a pretty good awareness of the reality of anti-Black racism in Canada (at least for a white person who does not experience it) admittedly I was still a little shocked at some of what is happening that there is so little awareness (or maybe just little care?) about in the public (white dominated) discourse. In particular, the way that Canada is treating immigrants, including children, and its use of indefinite detention in poor conditions was horrifying to read about. I was also disturbed to know the extent of police enmeshment in Toronto schools. The focus is on Toronto, where Cole lives, but he also has a chapter on
And although Cole does turn a journalistic rigour on these stories, he also doesn't shy away from his personal connection to them as a Black man and an activist. The emotion of his own and his community's encounters with police and other white supremacist institutions comes through and adds a relatable human dimension to the facts that he presents.
Oh man, I could not put down this latest instalment in the Erin McCabe mystery series. I think this is my favourite yet. Although the first three bookOh man, I could not put down this latest instalment in the Erin McCabe mystery series. I think this is my favourite yet. Although the first three books involve trans victims or defendants, and focus more on systemic transphobia, this book focuses more on systemic racism, especially that of the police. Although Gigl's not exactly ACAB (she's a lawyer, writing a legal thriller, so I don't exactly expect that) the plot does importantly focus around systemic racism and organized white supremacy within policing, and the way that racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism and other types of oppression intersect. In this volume it was Swish's turn to be more centrally impacted as a Black man (though they are both under threat for being involved in a case that threatens murderous cops). The plot was so well constructed as they come across different clues and piece them together, and I totally didn't see the denouement coming.
(view spoiler)[I've said before that I like the didacticism of the series, and I stand by that. The side plot of Erin and Mark starting a family with Erin's sister-in-law as a gestational surrogate using Mark's sister's egg and Erin's sperm felt important instructionally in that it showed the hurdles trans people have to go through legally and medically to reproduce, it felt a bit flat for me emotionally? This may just be that it is a side plot and so we don't get to spend much time with Erin preparing to become a mother. I felt like a scene with her having a baby shower or something might have helped to build some warmth around her a as a mother. I am really glad that we get to see a trans woman character becoming a mom and her family supporting her in this, but it felt quite mechanical - a check list of steps to be completed before suddenly she is a parent. Other than the issue of Mark's family contesting Erin's maternity, everything also went suspiciously smoothly around conception, gestation and birth. Liz and Sean-the former transphobe-have seemingly no complicated feelings about Liz's surrogacy. This felt pretty fantastical to me, though I understand Gigl's point in her afterward that she couldn't dive into the complexity around trans people's reproductive journeys in a legal thriller. I just hope we get a bit more depth to Erin's motherhood in future volumes if there are more to come which I really hope there are! (hide spoiler)]...more
This, #3 was my favourite so far in the Robyn Gigl legal thriller series. Content note for transphobia, incarceration, and transphobic violence.
I feelThis, #3 was my favourite so far in the Robyn Gigl legal thriller series. Content note for transphobia, incarceration, and transphobic violence.
I feel like Gigl is really hitting her stride in terms of plot construction. There was a bit more of a mystery element here, in the sense that we don't necessarily know who the killer is, whereas the previous books in the series focused more on proving a known case. There are probably the most nail-biting moments of danger in this book than in any in the series, so hold on and keep those pages turning!
There's some interesting trans history included in the plotline around the victim, who was a closeted trans woman (this is revealed in the beginning, so not a spoiler), and the second plotline around a trans child's name and gender change being contested felt all too topical to the current political moment in America (and the world), even though the book takes place in the early '00's.
At times Gigl's didacticism is a little heavy-handed but I actually love that. If she can educate about the injustices of transphobia and racism while also telling a good story all the better. In this volume, I especially appreciated the way uses her characters Erin (a white trans woman) and Swish (a black cis man) and the interplay between them as partners at law, to highlight their differing experiences of privilege and systemic discrimination, even as upper-middle-class people.
I loved Logan as a character (yay non-binary representation!) and hope we see more of them.
Also, the bridge scene was so poignant. Gigl had me in tears....more
I just love Ivan Coyote's writing so much. Their personal essays and vignettes render the everyday, and the complexity of relationships, with such nuaI just love Ivan Coyote's writing so much. Their personal essays and vignettes render the everyday, and the complexity of relationships, with such nuance and authenticity. I also love that especially in this book (but in all their work) they are expansive in their vision of taking care of each other, making space for those on the margins. They offer an idea of 'tomboy' that is for anyone who didn't fit the norms of gender, culture, growing up. Their work always makes me feel at home, and battles back some of the despair that seems to surround us out in the world....more
Loading...
