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A review by juniper_reads_things
Story of L by Debra Hyde
1.0
For context, I am trans non-binary and my pronouns are they/them.
I had so much hope for this book. Lesbian BDSM? Hell yeah. What more could I want out of a book?!
Several things, apparently. Trans-inclusive language is the major thing this book is lacking.
I realize that this book was published in 2017, and that some of the points I’m angry about are outdated language. I realize this author could not have had the resources that are on the internet now. But I also realize that I got a copy of this book thru Netgalley, so that implies to me that this book could be undergoing an editing process. My review contains the things I wish could be edited into this book. Primarily the use of trans inclusive language.
This book includes several trans people, however, this author does not use inclusive language. Hyde’s descriptive language of her trans characters also reads as if Hyde has never personally spoken with a trans person about their identity before. I realize that is a harsh thing to say, but I think it’s true. The first trans character we meet is Quinn, and frankly Hyde’s description doesn’t make sense. She writes that Quinn has a “transgendered identity”. The next sentence confuses me. It reads, “her bulky female bio body, despite its chromosomal baseline, only seemed to reinforce her identity.” I don’t know what to think of that sentence, so I ignored it.
The rest of the paragraph moved on to Liv’s gender identity, which is described as not quite male and not quite female, sort of being in the middle. This sentence angers me: “she didn’t feel undefined; being queer was enough, and she did not like having to fall into a strict dichotomy. It was like having her cake and eating it too.”
These sentences describes someone who doesn’t identify as male or female, which can mean genderqueer, agender, or at the very least, nonbinary. Gender nonconforming people are not “undefined”. We know who we are. We know what we are. Wanting to “not label yourself” is staying in the closet, not “having your cake and eating it too.” Not wanting to define your gender is fine, and identifying just as queer without wanting to do research about yourself and your identity are also fine. But “having your cake and eating it too” feels like transphobia. Because there are clear descriptions of genderqueer identities that you can find on the internet. Not wanting to label yourself as trans when you match a clear definition of trans is transphobia.
Then we move on to Cassandra who is frequently swings from straight circles to lesbian circles, implying that this woman enjoys male and female sex. Which, generally speaking, is bisexual. But then Hyde describes Cassandra as refusing to go for bi women. And then Liv is nervous that Cassandra won’t like her because Liv has had dick before. Guess what this is called? Biphobia.
And now we move on to the description of Reese. Reese is a trans man. Correct ways to refer to trans men include the phrase “assigned female at birth.” This phrase is trans affirming as it lets confused people know what you were born as while including what you identify as. I was assigned this at birth, but my brain does not match my body parts. Simple. Efficient. You know what’s happening. Trans non-inclusive language is this sentence: “his slender height, tall for the woman he had once been, average for the man he was now.” This is not inclusive language as it implies a “that was then, this is now.” As in, he was a woman before but now he’s decided to be a man. It feels condescending, like when someone refers to your correct pronouns as “your chosen pronouns.”
Trans people don’t choose their identities like you choose what to wear for the day. Trans people do not choose this life. It’s not a choice. It’s what we were born as. If I was born with the correct body, none of this would be a problem. But since my body came out wrong, I can fix it to match my identity.
Nobody chooses to be a gender like you choose wether or not you want chocolate syrup in your coffee or vanilla. It’s something we were born as.
Because of the transphobic and biphobic language, I chose not to finish this book.
**side note: I think it’s odd that the target audience (kinky queers) is not reading this book. I’ve only seen reviews about The Story of L written by cis/het women. Somehow, some way… this book isn’t hitting the target audience, which is disappointing but also one must ask themselves… why?
While that question could be read and interpreted as sarcastic or mean, I genuinely mean this question. Why and how are the lesbian queers not finding this book…?
So uh if you’re queer and you’ve read my review and also The Story of L, hit me up. Let’s talk about it! Lol**
I had so much hope for this book. Lesbian BDSM? Hell yeah. What more could I want out of a book?!
Several things, apparently. Trans-inclusive language is the major thing this book is lacking.
I realize that this book was published in 2017, and that some of the points I’m angry about are outdated language. I realize this author could not have had the resources that are on the internet now. But I also realize that I got a copy of this book thru Netgalley, so that implies to me that this book could be undergoing an editing process. My review contains the things I wish could be edited into this book. Primarily the use of trans inclusive language.
This book includes several trans people, however, this author does not use inclusive language. Hyde’s descriptive language of her trans characters also reads as if Hyde has never personally spoken with a trans person about their identity before. I realize that is a harsh thing to say, but I think it’s true. The first trans character we meet is Quinn, and frankly Hyde’s description doesn’t make sense. She writes that Quinn has a “transgendered identity”. The next sentence confuses me. It reads, “her bulky female bio body, despite its chromosomal baseline, only seemed to reinforce her identity.” I don’t know what to think of that sentence, so I ignored it.
The rest of the paragraph moved on to Liv’s gender identity, which is described as not quite male and not quite female, sort of being in the middle. This sentence angers me: “she didn’t feel undefined; being queer was enough, and she did not like having to fall into a strict dichotomy. It was like having her cake and eating it too.”
These sentences describes someone who doesn’t identify as male or female, which can mean genderqueer, agender, or at the very least, nonbinary. Gender nonconforming people are not “undefined”. We know who we are. We know what we are. Wanting to “not label yourself” is staying in the closet, not “having your cake and eating it too.” Not wanting to define your gender is fine, and identifying just as queer without wanting to do research about yourself and your identity are also fine. But “having your cake and eating it too” feels like transphobia. Because there are clear descriptions of genderqueer identities that you can find on the internet. Not wanting to label yourself as trans when you match a clear definition of trans is transphobia.
Then we move on to Cassandra who is frequently swings from straight circles to lesbian circles, implying that this woman enjoys male and female sex. Which, generally speaking, is bisexual. But then Hyde describes Cassandra as refusing to go for bi women. And then Liv is nervous that Cassandra won’t like her because Liv has had dick before. Guess what this is called? Biphobia.
And now we move on to the description of Reese. Reese is a trans man. Correct ways to refer to trans men include the phrase “assigned female at birth.” This phrase is trans affirming as it lets confused people know what you were born as while including what you identify as. I was assigned this at birth, but my brain does not match my body parts. Simple. Efficient. You know what’s happening. Trans non-inclusive language is this sentence: “his slender height, tall for the woman he had once been, average for the man he was now.” This is not inclusive language as it implies a “that was then, this is now.” As in, he was a woman before but now he’s decided to be a man. It feels condescending, like when someone refers to your correct pronouns as “your chosen pronouns.”
Trans people don’t choose their identities like you choose what to wear for the day. Trans people do not choose this life. It’s not a choice. It’s what we were born as. If I was born with the correct body, none of this would be a problem. But since my body came out wrong, I can fix it to match my identity.
Nobody chooses to be a gender like you choose wether or not you want chocolate syrup in your coffee or vanilla. It’s something we were born as.
Because of the transphobic and biphobic language, I chose not to finish this book.
**side note: I think it’s odd that the target audience (kinky queers) is not reading this book. I’ve only seen reviews about The Story of L written by cis/het women. Somehow, some way… this book isn’t hitting the target audience, which is disappointing but also one must ask themselves… why?
While that question could be read and interpreted as sarcastic or mean, I genuinely mean this question. Why and how are the lesbian queers not finding this book…?
So uh if you’re queer and you’ve read my review and also The Story of L, hit me up. Let’s talk about it! Lol**