I'm a cismale, and at the risk of writing one of those cringey, self-absorbed "oh I'm trying so hard to be an ally" shmucks, I don't exactly find myself going after trans-aligned media so often. Sometimes it's the dumb "I don't think I'd relate to it" 'excuse', other times it's mainly cause I don't think they like, outright appeal to me in terms of genres. Still, I do at least try to get through them when they hit my marks, Matrix being a go-to example which I like and appreciate (yet to have seen the fourth one though), and though I have yet to actually mention this anywhere online, seeing the queer allegory of Serial Experiments Lain unfold in real-time - literally even, since I binged it all in a day - was pretty fuckin awe-inspiring. Hopefully in October I finally get around to watching Ginger Snaps since I've seen and have researched its impact on transfolk as well.

Pushing all that aside, I am glad to have gone through this regardless. While the prose and general style is a wee bit expository and not exactly my taste of romanticism/flowery shit, I find Roxy S. does a pretty admirable job invoking a sense of anxiety, especially with how different colors and pause-breaks affect the reading. The discomfort of meeting online friends for the first time, not knowing how they'd react IRL compared to Discord or even Twitter, is a very real thing to get distressed over, and I seriously cannot imagine how much more troubling and worrying that'd be for someone that came out to them, and is essentially showing their real self for the first time. All things considered, I hope she and whoever else ended up feeling this hardcore are doing well, and at least met the people they love and cherish in a positive and wonderful manner.

Reviewed on Sep 28, 2022


Comments