Detransition, Baby
A trans woman, her ex who has detransitioned, and his new lover try to build a new family after an unexpected pregnancy. An unflinching and thought-provoking dive into the trans community, with thoughtful examinations of identity, shame, womanhood, and–in many ways–motherhood.
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My Review
Reese is a trans woman dealing with the fallout after her girlfriend, Amy, detransitions to Ames and her dreams of a peaceful family life are broken. Ames, too, is struggling. When he learns his new lover is pregnant, he wrestles with the idea of himself as a “father”–and wants to bring Reese into the mix to build their own version of family.
Detransition, Baby may be the book that’s made me work the hardest in recent memory–in a good way. This book brings the reader deep into trans culture, a place that is unfamiliar to me and surprising in many ways. Peters dives deep into the struggles of trans people–both internal and external–and every page brought insights that made me go back and reread (this wasn’t a fast read for me!).
It is unflinching and explicit, in ways that will make a lot of readers very uncomfortable. Nonetheless, I appreciate that aspect, as it felt like push-back to the uncomfortable public questions about very private matters that trans people deal with daily. Kind of a, “You really need to know about my genitals/sex life? Well, here you go.”
But that aspect aside, it’s also about identity, shame, womanhood, and–in many ways–motherhood. If you’re up for the rawness, this is endlessly thought-provoking.
Publisher’s Description:
A trans woman, her detransitioned ex, and his cisgender lover build an unconventional family together in the wake of heartbreak and an unplanned pregnancy.
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