Whipping Girl had been on my radar for a few years, but I'm kind of glad that my procrastination led me to reading it alongside my partner and benefiting from her perspective along the way. (I will never learn my lesson about not letting books languish for years until the universe stops rewarding this bad behavior.)

While Serano's stance on representation in art/media and her misuse of the word "class" (when "status" would be a more accurate term) grated on me (and my partner), I think Whipping Girl is a valuable book. It covers some basic trans terminology and concepts, dismantles misconceptions about trans women, and analyzes the way society denigrates femininity and how this feeds into the sexism trans women face. It's not the kind of book that I could hand to, say, my conservative parents and expect them to get much out of it; it's not a book that coddles the reader. But I do think that cis people who care about trans rights and consider themselves to be allies should read it. A lot of trans narratives that we consume tend to follow the same format, hitting the same beats over and over again. Reading theory like Whipping Girl provides deeper understanding and more nuance.

If that sounds too dry, rest assured that Serano writes in an engaging and sometimes thrillingly snarky style. And if, like me, you enjoy feeling righteously angry about TERFs in an "I need to sword fight someone right now" kind of way, then you'll find plenty of rage fodder here! (Seriously, what is even the point of me being a lesbian if I don't have a TERF-fighting sword?)