Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Trans i pół, bejbi by Torrey Peters

124 reviews

d00rframe's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

I loved this book. the characters aren't perfect, and I love that. pregnancy is a topic I'm not usually a fan of, but I thought I would try something new and I'm glad I did. it's definitely a harder book to read due to all the sensitive topics, as well as just generally feeling like a like book to read, but it is so worth it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Toxic friendship

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense 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

Moderate: Cursing, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Outing, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

suhair's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Transphobia

Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Suicide

lucyhicks's review against another edition

It’s a heavy read, really well written but I might try again when I’m not in the trenches

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Pregnancy

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: Misogyny, Racism, and Transphobia

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

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

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

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: Hate crime, Infidelity, Transphobia, and Pregnancy

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

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