Gretchen Felker-Martin! Bad apartments! The yawning abyss! lol!

Hey friends,

Hope you’re all hanging in there. I woke up at 6:30am fully dressed (oops), immediately got a 15-minute nosebleed, cleaned that up and immediately walked through a giant spiderweb on my way downstairs, and then opened twitter at the exact moment that millions of Americans lost abortion access. At least the collapse of democracy put the nosebleed in perspective? If anyone needs me, I’ll be walking into the sea.

Seems silly to write my little newsletter in these conditions but I gotta distract my brain and maybe you do, too, so here we are. If you’d like some background music, Soccer Mommy and MUNA both put out new albums this morning (or you can keep looping the new Beyoncé until you quit your job).

This week, we’ve got Gretchen Felker-Martin on the show! We talked a little bit about Manhunt (but not enough to spoil the book, if you’re worried about that) and got the scoop on Gretchen’s next two(!) novels; we also discussed gender-plague books (especially The Men), secretly-trans horror movies, whether spitting is kink, and why fatness/transness/BDD are all fertile ground for body horror. (I’m so so glad that Ozzy could join this one to be our resident trans horror expert while I asked baby questions for babies.)

Next week, we’ve got Jackson King on the podcast; we’re also finally doing an oft-requested segment of “trans listeners telling us their wins,” which I think it will be cute and nice, especially given *gestures widely at the yawning abyss.*

Lol I like cannot think straight* at all but I think merch plug comes next? You’ve got a week left to grab this month’s merch. People have posted a lot of cute merch photos lately and I cherish them all.

*didn’t meant this as a gay joke but that too.

OK, time for Links & Stuff.

• I recommend not only skimming this article about SNL guys’ bad apartments, but clicking through the links and diving down all the related rabbit holes — that’s how I ended up re-reading stories about Julio Torres’ stunning living spaces and also rewatching this somehow.
• Gender Reveal alum Frankie de la Cretaz wrote about how Title IX actually prevents gender equity in sports.
• I’m fascinated by how polarizing this entire saga is.
• This photo essay of trans youth is cute.

Photo ID: Two trans teens eating slushies at a roller rink.

• From Ijeoma Oluo: We’ve got to stop lying to kids about how childhood is good lol.
• Is getting COVID inevitable at this point? (Spoiler: No, but it’s getting harder as people stop trying at all.)
• Here’s a website that lists abortion funds specific to each state.
• Leaving on a light note: Perfume Genius is so so funny, I had no idea.

That’s it for now. Here’s your weekly Rhubarb. She’s doing great.

Photo ID: Ruby laying on the carpet. She is covered in little rainbows of light.

Xo,
Yr resident gender detective