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A review by kaa
Beyond Binary: Genderqueer and Sexually Fluid Speculative Fiction by Lee Mandelo
2.0
I really wanted to like this, because the title describes a book that I would probably love. Sadly, the actual book doesn't live up to its billing. Most troublingly, it doesn't seem to understand what genderqueer means.
As other reviewers have pointed out, there are not actually many genderqueer characters here. The editor doesn't seem to have understood that genderqueer is a gender identity. It has nothing to do with what anatomy a person does or does not have. Almost all of the transgender characters in these stories were binary trans people, who identified as either men or women, and not all of these stories navigate even this very well.
The amount of actual speculative content varies from story to story, but in many of the pieces is very minimal. There are some decent stories about bi/pan characters, but very few that I would say actually explore the topic of sexual fluidity. Worse, there are several where it is not clear to me that the character actually experiences a shift in their attraction or attraction to multiple genders. Which is fine, but cis monosexual queer people are not actually part of the book's supposed theme.
There were a few stories I thought were great: I've read both "Sea of Cortez" and "Fisherman" before, and enjoyed them a lot (both are only barely sff, but the protagonist of "Fisherman" is one of the only characters in the book who may actually be genderqueer). "Eye of the Storm" was fantastic, and was one of the only stories that explored sexuality in a way I found meaningful and interesting. And "Self-Reflection" was fabulous as well.
There were a couple others that worked for me, but which I thought were inappropriate for this anthology. I was excited to read "A Wild and a Wicked Youth" because it was a Richard St. Vier story I hadn't encountered before, but I really don't think it stands well on its own for those who aren't familiar with Swordspoint. And I liked "The Metamorphosis Bud" as a story, but a cis woman growing a penis has nothing to do with being genderqueer.
Several more weren't all that great for me as a reader, but didn't have any big problems either. However, there were a handful of stories that I had particular issues with:
-although the editor promises no "surprise trans reveal" stories, one does show up - (details and the name of the story under spoilers)
-"Prosperine When It Sizzles" -
-"Sex With Ghosts" - I have seen some asexual reviews with positive comments about the ace rep in this story, so I am not going to comment on that. However, I felt really disturbed by this story and think it at least deserves some warnings.
-"Spoiling Veena" - I was really uncomfortable both with the author's implication that allowing children to go through gender transition as they wish reinforces gender binaries (and that this is necessarily *medical* transition), and the way they imposed this on Indian culture, since the author seems to be a white person living in the U.S. The story's ending wasn't terrible, but I don't think it countered some of the icky narratives that were brought up.
As other reviewers have pointed out, there are not actually many genderqueer characters here. The editor doesn't seem to have understood that genderqueer is a gender identity. It has nothing to do with what anatomy a person does or does not have. Almost all of the transgender characters in these stories were binary trans people, who identified as either men or women, and not all of these stories navigate even this very well.
The amount of actual speculative content varies from story to story, but in many of the pieces is very minimal. There are some decent stories about bi/pan characters, but very few that I would say actually explore the topic of sexual fluidity. Worse, there are several where it is not clear to me that the character actually experiences a shift in their attraction or attraction to multiple genders. Which is fine, but cis monosexual queer people are not actually part of the book's supposed theme.
There were a few stories I thought were great: I've read both "Sea of Cortez" and "Fisherman" before, and enjoyed them a lot (both are only barely sff, but the protagonist of "Fisherman" is one of the only characters in the book who may actually be genderqueer). "Eye of the Storm" was fantastic, and was one of the only stories that explored sexuality in a way I found meaningful and interesting. And "Self-Reflection" was fabulous as well.
There were a couple others that worked for me, but which I thought were inappropriate for this anthology. I was excited to read "A Wild and a Wicked Youth" because it was a Richard St. Vier story I hadn't encountered before, but I really don't think it stands well on its own for those who aren't familiar with Swordspoint. And I liked "The Metamorphosis Bud" as a story, but a cis woman growing a penis has nothing to do with being genderqueer.
Several more weren't all that great for me as a reader, but didn't have any big problems either. However, there were a handful of stories that I had particular issues with:
-although the editor promises no "surprise trans reveal" stories, one does show up - (details and the name of the story under spoilers)
Spoiler
the story was "The Cony-Catcher" by Delia Sherman, in which the prospective lover is revealed as trans during a sexual encounter and at a moment when the protagonist is not able to say no to their partner. And then the partner apologizes for not revealing that they are trans. Yuck.-"Prosperine When It Sizzles" -
Spoiler
this story extended the "woman dressed as a man" trope in a way that seemed to really reinforce some binary ideas about gender and to misunderstand the relationship between gender and anatomy.-"Sex With Ghosts" - I have seen some asexual reviews with positive comments about the ace rep in this story, so I am not going to comment on that. However, I felt really disturbed by this story and think it at least deserves some warnings.
Spoiler
An asexual character's likeness is used without her consent as the model for a sex doll. The story raised a lot of feelings of violation for me, so that I was unable to appreciate any interesting ideas it may have also brought up.-"Spoiling Veena" - I was really uncomfortable both with the author's implication that allowing children to go through gender transition as they wish reinforces gender binaries (and that this is necessarily *medical* transition), and the way they imposed this on Indian culture, since the author seems to be a white person living in the U.S. The story's ending wasn't terrible, but I don't think it countered some of the icky narratives that were brought up.