To Divorced Cis Women

Reese turns back to Katrina. "The only people who have anything worthwhile to say about gender are divorced cis women who have given up on heterosexuality but are still attracted to men."

Katrina leans in. "Really?" She's interested, Reese can tell. She's asked the question with a plain curiosity.

"Yes." Reese nods. "I mean, they go through everything I go through as a trans woman. Divorce is a transition story. Of course, not all divorced women go through it. I'm talking about the ones who felt divorce as a fall, or as a total reframing of their lives. The ones who have seen how the narratives given to them since girlhood have failed them, and who know there is nothing to replace it all. But who still have to move forward without investing in new illusions or turning bitter--all with no plan to guide them. That's as close to a trans woman as you can get. Divorced women are the only people who know anything like what I know. And, since I don't really have trans elders, divorced women are the only ones I think have anything to teach me, or who I care to teach in return."