WORTHY OF THE EVENT

A selection of interwoven queercentric musings on human existence, identity, and transphobia.     

Split into seven intelligent, intuitive segments, transgender essayist Blaxell first addresses the nature of disappointment by sharing an intimate dissatisfaction with a plastic surgeon who congratulates her on her “reasonably functional neovagina,” then admits during their consultation that her “vulva might be a bit of a disappointment” to improve upon. An authority on Asian history and culture, Blaxell elaborates further with a list of three great disappointing places in Japan, then moves on to contemplate her relationship with “W,” a childhood male friend who remained fiercely smitten with her despite the realization that she was “not the kind of girl he imagined me to be.” She painfully reflects on family members and casual sex partners who resorted to abandonment rather than acknowledging and respecting her trans identity. In other equally resonant sections, Blaxell writes appreciatively and fondly about the gender evolution of trans Australian-born writer and researcher McKenzie Wark and how the work of a variety of notable novelists, entertainers, and philosophers (as well as the fallout from several international natural disasters) intersect with humanity, death, and the journey of the trans person. Others make appearances throughout these essays, like her lover, whom she dubs “Fairy,” who provides companionship and commentary on Blaxell’s life and authorial endeavors. She expansively deliberates on modern colonialism, the notion of “God,” and even excrement to make way for meditations on the challenges and difficulties of gender transition, which Blaxell poetically describes as “a journey in time and body through feeling, thinking, relationships, looks, and culture.” While many of Blaxell’s brilliant witticisms, philosophies, and pointed perspectives orbit around trans and queer concerns, her essays expand to encompass the wider human interest readership outside LGBTQ+ communities. Capitalizing on these broad scholarly brushstrokes, she stresses the fierce importance of resistance, independent thought, and, perhaps most critically, bodily autonomy for all human beings.

Provocatively introspective and intrinsically reflective discourses on the human condition.