Reviews with content warning for Deadnaming - Bad Girls

Camila's semi-autobiographical story of the Travesti sex workers of Cordoba, Argentina is heartbreaking and uplifting, cruel and tender, brutal and soft and it's the story of women who find their family in a city where they are not welcome except by those that seek their companionship during the night for a price.

Auntie Encarna is a 178 year old who loves a headless man back from the war and "adopts" a baby she finds in the bushes, naming him "Twinkle in Her Eye", Maria is a deaf mute that transforms into a bird, and Natali is a she-wolf that requires restraint during the full moon. Each character broken yet strong in their own way.

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twirlsandwhirls's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

This was a hard read for me. The subject matter is heavy. I knew that going in but I was comforted by the elements of magical realism that was sprinkled into the story. Learning more about Auntie Encarna and Twinkle in Her Eye was so fascinating and simultaneously uplifting and heartbreaking. The book spent a good deal of time looking inward at Camila's experience of being a sex worker, her family of origin, her experiences with other sex workers at the park, and encounters with the police.

I'm glad I read Bad Girls because I enjoy learning more about different perspectives and life experiences, I haven't yet gotten in life. I was hoping for a little more joy in the story, though.

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bookdragon217's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative 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? No

4.25

"Death was a concept I couldn't get my head around. All I knew was hot to get through the day and avoid the dangers that stalked me at every turn. I didn't yet know that death had been with me since I was born, that she had my name tattooed on her forehead, that she holds my hand at night, sits down to eat with me, that we breathe in unison".

Bad Girls by Camila Sosa Villada is a coming of age, translated work about travesti sex workers in Argentina. The author includes a note as to why they choose to identify as travestis and why language is important in claiming their own narrative.

This story was heartbreaking and compelling. It really brings to light the importance of community in the trans world for survival. Society asks them to continually die to themselves in order to be worthy of being loved and accepted. They are met with unspeakable violence if they live as their authentic selves.

The author uses visibility as an important theme to show the ways that trans women long to be fully seen in their humanity but at the same time have to stay hidden to avoid violence at the hands of men. This story also talks about the importance of owning their own bodies and what bodies society deems valuable and worthy of respect. Camila, the main protagonist speaks of the ways many transwomen struggle with acceptance and love because of the rejection of their parents that forced them onto the streets.

It was interesting to see how class affects who gets to come out, what economic opportunities are available and how privilege is traversed between worlds. The magical realism aspects added layers to the story and were a metaphor for the ways that some tranwomen literally transform because of the pain that they feel.

The aspect of community is at the core of this story. Being in relationship with others just like themselves is how transwoman form their identities, get the support & safety that they need and literally how they survive day to day. Society pushes this community to the outskirts of the margins and slowly kills them through medical discrimination, gentrification, criminalization & patriarchal violence.

The aspect of language is crucial to identity as well. It is one of the only things that allows them to not only identity themselves but to voice their stories to the world. Motherhood is explored in a nuanced way as you see their community mother tap in to her maternal instincts when she finds an abandoned baby and takes him in. They all play a part in mothering this child as the neighborhood rallies against them and hurls violence and threatens legal action. They cling to motherhood for their own survival and for the survival of their community. This an essential read and I highly recommend that you pick this one up.

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leilorenzo's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Es de los que quedan en la cabeza por un buen rato.
Muestra la realidad que se quiere borrar, por lo que deberia promoverse por todos lados.
Desgarrador, descriptivo y emotivo.

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carolinacortez's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Que buena novela, que podría pasar por una crónica facilmente, que cruda realidad la que viven las mujeres trans del mundo, pero en este caso específicamente las latinoamericanas, Camila nos cuenta su vida como prostituta cuando estaba en sus earlies 20s, de la comunidad que se hace entre las mujeres trans con esta misma profesión, pero sobre todo de lo cruel que es el mundo con ellas, tanto hombres como mujeres, tanto personas heteros u hoosexuales, como las mujeres trans se sentían excluidas y bajo sus propias palabras, como las cucarachas de la sociedad, Camila tiene una manera muy poética de describir y narrar todas las cosas por las que vivió ella desde su casa con su familia hasta su vida en las calles, una novela muy cruda pero a la vez muy bella de leer, concuerdo con el prólogo cuando dijo que Las Malas es de esos libros que acabas y quieres que todo el mundo lea.

pd. checar trigger warnings antes de leer.

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