Shoulder to Shoulder – A Preview of Gender Failure by Rae Spoon and Ivan E. Coyote – Arsenal Pulp Press (2014)

If the title does not clue you in, this is not the queer give-to-your-grandmother story collection for which Coyote is famous. It does not sing to an electro-pop beat. There are no country roots, but there is wilderness–and in this wilderness, Rae and Ivan have decided to come out.

Gender Failure is a non-fiction, storytelling piece which represents a distinct departure from the trans* narratives before it.  The “trapped my body” trans* tropes are shelved, while gender is shown to be highly personable, subject to a dialectic. The book is a joint manifesto of sorts, separating sexual preference firmly from gender identity. It draws us into the roots of binary discomfort with a camera lens that, at times, feels like the Blair Witch Project: immediate, disorienting, raw, unflattering messy, and circumscribed by fear.

Our two heroes, alternating chapters, weave through personal histories and presentations. Pronouns are placed in situ but by the end of the book, we must confront that the singular “they” pronoun is requested–plain and simple. Their stories are so compelling in fact, the reader might want to take the cue from Rae and announce their own gender retirement.  As Ivan suggests, this could be our second chance too.

– K Wade

Gender Failure is co-written by Rae and Ivan and published by Arsenal Pulp Press.

Join Sad Mag TONIGHT at the Rio Theatre (1660 East Broadway, Vancouver) for the official book launch of Gender Failure.
This show is All Ages. Box office and Will Call will open with doors at 7pm. Advance tickets are no longer available. Tickets will be $25 at the door.