Codex Blorbonicus

I could maybe understand if this was about whether or not I was not Native enough - I am definitely a descendant and not a tribal citizen, though I'm still trying to locate the last doc I would need to get enrolled. But also, I grew up with a small-but-urban Native community, where I was encouraged by Native mentors in my life to embrace this aspect of my identity and family so long as I was participating and contributing in the community. Everything I've spoken about, on tumblr and elsewhere, comes from the very real experiences I've had in that context.

If you know me irl, I am planning to make a public statement, including sharing the documentation I have, in the next few weeks. Unfortunately I'm not so sure I feel comfortable sharing all of that on tumblr. At this point it may well get screenshotted too, so who knows. What I just want to emphasize is that I have not lied to any of you. I know that is a real fear that exists today because of past occurrences, but I don't know what to say besides, that's not me.

so the spoiler ending is that Klara (who I'm going to call Klara and she/her even though she is referred to by her birthname and he/him pronouns for all but the last two paragraphs of the book) is an asexual intersex trans woman !!!!

I'd really like to hear intersex and transfem perspectives on the book, though frankly I don't know personally anyone else who's read it. Because it's definitely not A Trans Book, it's not really interested in exploring Klara's #GenderJourney. We get the lead up to the reveal that she's intersex, and then there's like one foreshadowing scene where she tries on the deceased Klara's clothes in kind of a trance, and then at the end she's like okay gonna be Klara for real now.

which I love. even though it's NOT an exploration of her coming to realize she's trans in a typical way, the part where she thinks about two possible (awful) futures she could live as a man, and then she's like orrrrrr I could take this dead lady's passport and fuck off and be a woman. iconic.

I also will say it drives me nuts to read reviews where people are like "this book is about a bunch of misogynist men" or "a book about feminism where all the characters are men" because while it's true basically all the OTHER characters are men, I think when you reach the end and have to reconsider the whole book that Klara is a transfem egg, it totally changes the tenor of the story. Makes me think about what I've heard many trans women say about the horrors of being the only girl in the boy's locker room and hearing all the awful things they say. That's what Klara was experiencing this whole book!!!!!

also tbh once I realized what was going to happen at the climax I was a little nervous it was going to be kind of bioessentialist, like the Tuntschi don't take Klara because she's intersex rather than a cis man. But I think Tokarczuk actually handles it pretty well - it's implied Klara is unaffected because she's asexual (which is pretty clear throughout the book) and when the Tunschi describe her, they focus not on her genitalia but on the fact that she is a gentle person who carefully saves dried leaves. also could be foreshadowing of her transition. Assigned Female At Magic Personified Forest.