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A review by beastbark
Your Body is Not Your Body by Alex Woodroe
5.0
I read this in the tragic wake of Brave Boy World (my review), and thank God I did because Your Body is Not Your Body whipped ass. Not all of the stories were all that great, but the book delivered on its promise of featuring weird fiction exclusively by trans, non-binary, and intersex writers. Not every story was about transness or featured trans characters, but the anthology isn't necessarily striving to highlight stories that centre transness in their execution, but instead offer solidarity with trans readers who seek solace in horror (hi that's me).
Are all of the stories in this particularly good? No, not really, but none of them are bad, offensive, or disrespectful to the intended trans audience (I'm looking at you, "Spoiling Veena"; seriously, why did Takeda let that make its way into Brave Boy World?). Issues I had were with incomprehensibility due to pompous writing styles, or general lack of clarity in what's actually happening in the story, but that's about it honestly! A lot of the stories are maybe a bit middling or average, but yeah, I'll take that, they were enjoyable to read nonetheless. My main advice to potential readers would be to check the trigger warnings at the back because these writers hold NOTHING back.
tl;dr: read Your Body is Not Your Body if you like horror/weird fiction written by trans folks, have a strong stomach, and can handle triggering content
Here's my own list of favourite stories from this anthology
"tonsilstonesplatterpunk666!" by [a: Rain Corbyn|5455941|Rain Corbyn|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1649336737p2/5455941.jpg]: I LOVED THIS ONE SO MUCH, really humorously written, oozed with satire, loved the MC a lot (non-binary and autistic! fuck yes), and the trans vengeance was cathartic as fuck. Body horror was also the most grotesque I've ever read!
"High Maintenance" by [a: S.A. Chant]: sad. ow. really heart-wrenching exploration of new love and grief
"The Infinite Being" by [a: F.T. Catulla]: cool story, T4T, cosmic horror, unique writing style
"Brother Maternitas" by [a: Viktor Athelstan]: this was so fucked up and yummy (no I'm not biased towards religious themes what are you talking about)
"The Same Thing That Happened To Sam" by [a: M. Lopes da Silva|7856125|M. Lopes da Silva|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: funny. queer spite
"Ballad of the Pest" by [a: Meagan Hotz]: this was a bit too relatable
"Hybrid" by [a: Rose Sable|7116372|Sable Rose|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1508710885p2/7116372.jpg]: man-made horrors beyond our comprehension, creature edition
"Why We Keep Exploding" by [a: Hailey Piper|18453878|Hailey Piper|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1660148263p2/18453878.jpg]: about patriarchal silencing of women, and how a trans girl turns the tide against Tall-Boy
"We've Been Trying To Reach You" by [a: Charles Maria Tor]: unflinching, heart-wrenching, and horrific story about schizophrenia. I'm not schizophrenic myself so I can't quite judge if this is considered good representation due to the inherent pessimism of the story and how it ends, but nothing jumped out as being ignorant or malicious in Tor's depiction of the MC. Definitely proceed with caution for this story if you have psychosis, paranoia, or hallucinations because this story could be a heavy, heavy trigger
"Fencing Chestplate" by [a: Avi Burton|14357158|Aviana Burton|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: probably one of my favourite stories from this anthology. Body horror and teenage trans rage/revenge; explorations of a disconnect between body dysphoria and social expectations, internalization of how cis people perceive our gender, and how we react and respond to transphobia.
"Gender Envy" by [a: Gabriel Valentine]: so true tbh
"The Divine Carcass" by [a: Bitter Karella]: this kind of fell into the camp of a work that was confusing to read, but I think that was intentional. More religion (trans people are God, actually)
"#MOTHERMAYHEM" by [a: Jei D. Marcade]: really interesting, even though I don't quite get it, but that's because I just haven't. figured it out yet lol
"The Simulacrum" by [a: Max Turner|4902840|Max Turner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1344112781p2/4902840.jpg]: THIS WHIPPED ASS SO HARD HOLY FUCK. science-driven experimental life, trans revenge
"The Pearl Diver" by [a: Bri Crozier|68012|Brian Crozier|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1344623703p2/68012.jpg]: short meditation on death (I do mean that broadly because it is pretty broad)
"Tiny Magic" by [a: G.E. Woods|137623|Geraldine Woods|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1600353709p2/137623.jpg]: phenomenal ending to a thrilling series of little horrors. story about youth enacting justice with murder
Are all of the stories in this particularly good? No, not really, but none of them are bad, offensive, or disrespectful to the intended trans audience (I'm looking at you, "Spoiling Veena"; seriously, why did Takeda let that make its way into Brave Boy World?). Issues I had were with incomprehensibility due to pompous writing styles, or general lack of clarity in what's actually happening in the story, but that's about it honestly! A lot of the stories are maybe a bit middling or average, but yeah, I'll take that, they were enjoyable to read nonetheless. My main advice to potential readers would be to check the trigger warnings at the back because these writers hold NOTHING back.
tl;dr: read Your Body is Not Your Body if you like horror/weird fiction written by trans folks, have a strong stomach, and can handle triggering content
Here's my own list of favourite stories from this anthology
"tonsilstonesplatterpunk666!" by [a: Rain Corbyn|5455941|Rain Corbyn|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1649336737p2/5455941.jpg]: I LOVED THIS ONE SO MUCH, really humorously written, oozed with satire, loved the MC a lot (non-binary and autistic! fuck yes), and the trans vengeance was cathartic as fuck. Body horror was also the most grotesque I've ever read!
"High Maintenance" by [a: S.A. Chant]: sad. ow. really heart-wrenching exploration of new love and grief
"The Infinite Being" by [a: F.T. Catulla]: cool story, T4T, cosmic horror, unique writing style
"Brother Maternitas" by [a: Viktor Athelstan]: this was so fucked up and yummy (no I'm not biased towards religious themes what are you talking about)
"The Same Thing That Happened To Sam" by [a: M. Lopes da Silva|7856125|M. Lopes da Silva|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: funny. queer spite
"Ballad of the Pest" by [a: Meagan Hotz]: this was a bit too relatable
"Hybrid" by [a: Rose Sable|7116372|Sable Rose|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1508710885p2/7116372.jpg]: man-made horrors beyond our comprehension, creature edition
"Why We Keep Exploding" by [a: Hailey Piper|18453878|Hailey Piper|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1660148263p2/18453878.jpg]: about patriarchal silencing of women, and how a trans girl turns the tide against Tall-Boy
"We've Been Trying To Reach You" by [a: Charles Maria Tor]: unflinching, heart-wrenching, and horrific story about schizophrenia. I'm not schizophrenic myself so I can't quite judge if this is considered good representation due to the inherent pessimism of the story and how it ends, but nothing jumped out as being ignorant or malicious in Tor's depiction of the MC. Definitely proceed with caution for this story if you have psychosis, paranoia, or hallucinations because this story could be a heavy, heavy trigger
"Fencing Chestplate" by [a: Avi Burton|14357158|Aviana Burton|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: probably one of my favourite stories from this anthology. Body horror and teenage trans rage/revenge; explorations of a disconnect between body dysphoria and social expectations, internalization of how cis people perceive our gender, and how we react and respond to transphobia.
"Gender Envy" by [a: Gabriel Valentine]: so true tbh
"The Divine Carcass" by [a: Bitter Karella]: this kind of fell into the camp of a work that was confusing to read, but I think that was intentional. More religion (trans people are God, actually)
"#MOTHERMAYHEM" by [a: Jei D. Marcade]: really interesting, even though I don't quite get it, but that's because I just haven't. figured it out yet lol
"The Simulacrum" by [a: Max Turner|4902840|Max Turner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1344112781p2/4902840.jpg]: THIS WHIPPED ASS SO HARD HOLY FUCK. science-driven experimental life, trans revenge
"The Pearl Diver" by [a: Bri Crozier|68012|Brian Crozier|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1344623703p2/68012.jpg]: short meditation on death (I do mean that broadly because it is pretty broad)
"Tiny Magic" by [a: G.E. Woods|137623|Geraldine Woods|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1600353709p2/137623.jpg]: phenomenal ending to a thrilling series of little horrors. story about youth enacting justice with murder