Detransition, Baby

This chapter occurs one week after Chapter 5, when Katrina and Reese first meet. It opens with Reese attending a funeral for a deceased trans girl Reese was acquainted with. Funerals for trans women are described as being “among the notable social events of a season,” implying that they happen frequently (209). Reese attends these funerals for a number of reasons. One is to “remind Reese not to kill herself,” as the “mortifying” way that trans women are remembered at funerals deeply embarrasses Reese (210). Reese also attends to “know she is not a psychopath”: She waits for a moment of intense emotional anguish to come over her and to “puncture” her otherwise indifferent and cold façade in response to such tragedies (210).

The funeral Reese attends is for Tammi, a trans woman Reese loosely knew who killed herself by driving off a bridge. Reese makes jokes about the funeral, and about the regularity of funerals for trans women in general, with her friend Thalia. A fellow attendee criticizes their flippancy. Reese is suddenly interrupted by a phone call from Katrina, who tells Reese that she “might have betrayed Ames” and urgently needs Reese’s advice but does not provide more explanation (214).