Core
The hottest new sport in the UK is Ranked Competitive Breast Growth, where cis men (and ONLY cis men) compete to see who can grow the biggest tatas in three years. Winner gets a million dollars. Obviously this sport would appeal to lots of cis guys, and no other demographic! But if you do get exposed to not be a cis guy you're instantly booted from the competition. (Despite this, orchiectomies are considered meta.)
This should be ridiculous, but somehow it manages to seem grounded by the end. The first half is a bit like an absurd trans sitcom: four roommates all participate, and hijinks ensue, all of them basically convinced they're the trans one going undercover in the competition who must keep their cover lest the others get them booted from the competition. However, the narrative doesn't shy away from what a hostile situation this is, and it's crystal clear about what drives them all to participate. (Surely there are no parallels to reality here, it's pure fiction I'm told.) For this reason the second half shifts to be less of a sitcom and more of a (sad) character study.
I'm beginning to think I don't treat my fellow trans girls very well.
This really worked for me! I would say I found the first half more fun, but the second half was what got me hooked.
It's not perfect — for example, there's a segment that basically goes on a long tangent to summarize one of Bhatt's essays. While it's a good essay I found it a bit grating; it does get weaved in afterwards in a way I liked, but in the moment it was still very clunky.
All in all though I'd recommend it as a fun read, at least if a transfeminist sitcom sounds appealing. Quite similar to Sisters of Dorley but also distinct enough to have its own things to say. If the next book was already out I'd be reading it immediately
The hottest new sport in the UK is Ranked Competitive Breast Growth, where cis men (and ONLY cis men) compete to see who can grow the biggest tatas in three years. Winner gets a million dollars. Obviously this sport would appeal to lots of cis guys, and no other demographic! But if you do get exposed to not be a cis guy you're instantly booted from the competition. (Despite this, orchiectomies are considered meta.)
This should be ridiculous, but somehow it manages to seem grounded by the end. The first half is a bit like an absurd trans sitcom: four roommates all participate, and hijinks ensue, all of them basically convinced they're the trans one going undercover in the competition who must keep their cover lest the others get them booted from the competition. However, the narrative doesn't shy away from what a hostile situation this is, and it's crystal clear about what drives them all to participate. (Surely there are no parallels to reality here, it's pure fiction I'm told.) For this reason the second half shifts to be less of a sitcom and more of a (sad) character study.
I'm beginning to think I don't treat my fellow trans girls very well.
This really worked for me! I would say I found the first half more fun, but the second half was what got me hooked.
It's not perfect — for example, there's a segment that basically goes on a long tangent to summarize one of Bhatt's essays. While it's a good essay I found it a bit grating; it does get weaved in afterwards in a way I liked, but in the moment it was still very clunky.
All in all though I'd recommend it as a fun read, at least if a transfeminist sitcom sounds appealing. Quite similar to Sisters of Dorley but also distinct enough to have its own things to say. If the next book was already out I'd be reading it immediately
