"Show Me," by Susan Perabo
In Electric Literature's The Commuter, Issue No 332, July 17th, 2024
935 words
I read this because I liked the sound of the Electric Lit tagline, "Please Delete All Memories Where I'm Not a Boy," which is admittedly a great tagline. I sort of wish I'd gone in cold, though. The first anecdote, about the mittens and gloves, leaves the character's feelings somewhat ambiguous: It could be a fantasy of being stronger, older, or more masculine. The second, with the tulle dress, is about more than one kind of discomfort. It's only in the third, with the football uniform, that the theme of gender dysphoria comes into sharp focus. I might have enjoyed experiencing that slow reveal without the expectations created by the tagline; but then again, without the tagline to catch my eye, I might have missed out on the story altogether. It's a conundrum.
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