Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

120 reviews

emptzuu's review against another edition

Despite the author's claim that the book wasn’t intended to educate about trans people or to encourage better allyship, it comes across as preachy with generalized, unredeemed statements. It’s an incoherent mess that needs significant editing. The prose is cluttered, making the narrative hard to follow. Characters lacked motivation and articulation, which made their actions and dialogues implausible.

The author mentioned writing the book to be funny and relevant to her friends, portraying trans people as ordinary, flawed individuals. However, it instead focuses on the internalization of abuse and violence, with characters stuck in victimhood and unhealthy relationships. Critics call this a social comedy, yet it’s a dark, painful read devoid of humor, with an overwhelmingly negative tone. 

The book fetishizes pregnancy, abuse, and womanhood, presenting a violent, misogynistic view.  Although I’m comfortable with BDSM and sexual themes as an avid romance reader, the book's linkage of these themes with misogyny was deeply problematic. The book is riddled with stereotypes and problematic views of cis women, portraying them as objects, submissive sluts, or good girls needing to be dominated. It’s troubling to link girlhood with submission in such a way.  

Trans voices need more representation, but this book does a disservice to the community by perpetuating harmful stereotypes. The implication that trans women desire abuse from cis men is particularly troubling and potentially dangerous. The hypersexualization of both trans life and cis women is neither enjoyable nor constructive. I worry about the impact of this portrayal on both the trans community and broader societal perceptions. It would be refreshing to see well-written, non-victimizing, and well-rounded characters for once. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Transphobia, and Misogyny

fieldofhats's review against another edition

So, this is a lit fic novel. The prose are unnervingly and unnecessarily flowery at times, and there’s very little plot. The characterization is over-simplified in a way that’s made to look dramatic and realistic. For example, Reese liked being with Stanley because her perception of womanhood was contingent on the abuse that women face and thus felt affirmed being abused. If I was being kind I might say that this fucked-up view is representative of the weight and unyielding pressure of the patriarchy, and that its a brilliant look into the dark side of what it means to be a woman. But I have absolutely no love for lit fic and how it deals with topics like this, so I’m not going to be kind.

Reese is also simply unlikeable. I didn’t get far enough into the story, but I didn’t find Katrina to be very likable either. The only sympathetic character is Ames — and in a story about queerness, I think it’s extremely disingenuous to center a cis, detransitioned man in a story that is supposed to be about queerness.

And yes, I know that’s the point. I know that none of these characters are meant to be likable. But I also don’t care. I need at least one character to be a decent person, and we already established why the character Peters chose was problematic.

And as a minor note, the constant use of the word “transsexual” and the utter avoidance of “transgender” was unnerving and peculiar. It should have been my first clue to stop reading.

I thought perhaps that I would enjoy this novel because it’s about trans people by a trans author (as a trans fem person myself, I was naturally interested) — but I was sorely mistaken. Don’t get me wrong, the book isn’t bad because it’s trans. The book is bad because it does all the things that makes lit fic unbearable. There are better fiction novels about trans characters. Don’t bother with this one.

It’s pride month. Don’t read books that aren’t worth your time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexism, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Transphobia

Moderate: Gaslighting

beesbutreal's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Death, Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Medical content, Grief, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Abandonment, Self harm, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Bullying, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexism, Outing, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Infertility, Hate crime, Drug use, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy

clarkg's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The empathy, gravity, and humor with which Torrey Peters treats her characters is what made this book remarkable to me. Writing about queer family for a mixed audience is an unenviable task and Peters does so with a tremendous amount of grace. I have never read anything that so beautifully (and painfully) captures the tension between our desires, the people we have decided might help us fulfill them, and the struggle to imagine a future for which there is no clear framework. This book came to me at the exact moment I needed it and I suspect many readers will feel the same. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Infertility, Transphobia, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, and Misogyny

Moderate: Physical abuse, Cursing, Hate crime, Grief, Infidelity, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Outing, Abortion, Homophobia, and Alcohol

Minor: Police brutality

beansandrice's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I'm glad this book exists, but it definitely isn't for everyone. The overlapping realities of trans lives and reproductive rights are incredibly complicated, and Detransition, Baby doesn't shy away from this complexity. This book isn't at all about providing answers, but I'll be thinking back to it a lot with these topics nevertheless. In the end, Detransition, Baby is about capturing a certain kind of trans experience, and Torrey Peters undeniably succeeds at this. 

It does still have a few rough edges, especially how it left me wanting in its various conversations around ethnicity and race. Admittedly, I almost DNF'd it because the many explicit sex scenes were almost too much for me. I don't regret finishing it though. I saw myself so much in these characters, despite the fact that they're very different kinds of trans people compared to myself.

Don't expect perfection, expect a journey. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Transphobia, Infidelity, and Hate crime

Moderate: Outing, Abortion, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Racism, Deadnaming, and Physical abuse

hazelbynature's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Grief, Hate crime, Outing, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Deadnaming, Gore, Miscarriage, Dysphoria, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

sundayfever's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was an incredible read. A book written for trans people, not to explain trans people to the world. Deeply flawed but loveable characters who make mistakes and hurt each other, but with an undercurrent of love. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia, Infidelity, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Hate crime

Moderate: Abortion, Deadnaming, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Racism, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Toxic relationship

withlivjones's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

An unapologetic and eye-opening book about the trans experience (although, as the book demonstrates, there is no one way to be trans). The premise was so niche and different but nonetheless it was dealt with in a very realistic way, and the three main characters were all flawed and vaguely unlikeable but written in a way where you could still sympathise with them. Be warned: in order to enjoy the book you need to be comfortable with taking the scenic route to the plot, but Torrey Peters’ writing - if a little meandering - is so brilliant that I got a couple hundred pages in before realising that not much had actually happened plot-wise. I suspect that I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Outing, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Abortion, Pregnancy, Transphobia, and Infidelity

Moderate: Violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Deadnaming

Frequent use of transphobic and homophobic slurs

fisheyedfish's review against another edition

emotional funny informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

DNF 
Even halfway through it still felt like a slog. I found myself caring more about the present story but annoyed by the constant flashbacks. 
As a nonbinary person, I was annoyed that the author kept the characters very binary. They were either a man or a woman with no allowance for something in between or discussion of gender as a spectrum. I read Ames/Amy as a genderfluid person but the author and the other characters wanted to shove them in a box.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Sexism

Minor: Outing

lareinamags's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Dysphoria, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Outing, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Transphobia, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Suicide