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Es una historia muy real (salvando las obviedades) y deprimente de la realidad de lo que es la comunidad travesti en el interior del país. No es decir que no sea una mierda en todos lados pero la intolerancia, transfobia y homofobia siempre se elevan en lugares más remotos ya que se tiene en un pedestal a lo tradicional y lo "correcto".
Es la primera vez que leo un libro de donde soy, que comparte mi vocabulario y modismos de todos los días y fue una experiencia rarísima ver por primera vez escritas muchas palabras que uso cotidianamente pero escasa vez llegan a lo mainstream por ser "muy criollas". Leer sobre lugares que conozco y sobre estas mujeres que he visto y cruzado muchas veces hizo que esta lectura me tocara muchísimo.
Creo que por lo menos es un libro que toda persona queer debería leer, para tratar de ponerse en el lugar de estas mujeres aunque es imposible realmente entender lo que viven. Sin embargo muchas de las situaciones que viven son universales a la experiencia queer pero otras son únicas por sus circunstancias y lo que es nuestro país. Creo que si al menos ayuda a generar un ámbito menos tóxico y discriminatorio entre la comunidad queer es un cambio que puede llevar a algo mucho mejor para el futuro.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Abortion
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Classism
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria
Overall, Bad Girls was an intensely compelling yet absolutely devastating novel. Sosa Villada writes with a unique blend of humor, magical realism, and blunt honesty. I felt truly immersed in a world that I'd known absolutely nothing about prior and I'm so glad I was. (Even if it often completely broke my heart).
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Classism
Minor: Child death
Escucharlo en voz de la autora fue una experiencia maravillosa.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, Classism
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence
Told in the first-person perspective of Camila, a not even 23 years old transgender sex worker, the story revolves around her daily life and that of her trans sisters, watched over by Tía Encarna. While the present timeline follows them finding an abandoned baby in the park and going the motions of their lives (which often includes, drugs, alcohol and dealing with inconsiderate clients), we also go back and learn about the history of many of the women who surround Camila, as well as her own childhood. It's personal and raw, at times it reads like a personal diary, at other times it takes on a fairytale-like quality - finding morals and explanations for the horrors they had to endure and the happiness they got to experience. The main 'plot' is actually focused on Tía Encarna and the baby boy she decides to keep and how that changes the dynamic in the group. Camila is on the fringes, watching it all unfold.
Villada hold nothing back; there are scenes of abuse and assault, mistreatment, dysphoric moments and all the struggles that come with being poor, trans, and alone. She writes about all these shocking events with a neutrality that does not allow for glamorization or sensationalism. You can feel her emotions dripping of the page.
There is also an aspect of magical realism to the story (I think that is quite common with titles from Latin America, correct me if I'm wrong). It is mostly in the small details (headless lovers, a werewolf sister) that I quite liked. It reshaped some of the horrors in a different light and offered an alternative viewpoint to their bleak realities.
The ending is both expected and devastating.
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If you are looking for an English title with similar themes, I would suggest The Wild Ones by Nafiza Azad. It's Young Adult, and therefore not as graphic, and leans more into the fantasy aspect but both stories feature a group of queer women of colour at the center who have run away from abuse and past assault. Both stories also feature a first-person narrator (plural in the case of The Wild Ones) that tells the story from another main character (Tía Encarna and Paheli, specifically). Both show the harsh reality of life while offering an escape. (The Wild Ones is a more hopeful book overall.)
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Police brutality
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal death, Vomit