BIGGER AND MORE PRIDEFUL THAN EVER BEFORE 
more about the novel Paul
Finally hit me: probably the most odd element about Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl, aside from clashing magical realism against a grungy 90s queer narrative, is that there is no textual acknowledgement of trans people. I know it's the 1990s, but think about Nevada, right? Maria Griffiths cannot ever shut the fuck up about her gender, and that's a common throughline, in Manhunt or Light From Uncommon Stars. (How intentional each case is and whether or not it's a flaw is subject to debate 
)
But despite the fact that Paul is very fucking much a book about gender, its author is nonbinary and I mean just look at it, its entire world is basically cisnormative and everything that it actually says about gender, everything that isn't Paul's goofy second-wave observations about gender, is uncharacteristically subtle. It is I guess more of a commentary on gender than a blog post about it.
this ones a little stranger than I had expected tbh
Edit: OKAY LOOK RIGHT
Paul loitered outside the door, pretending to study the posters announcing various benefits and open mics and documentaries of interest to the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual community.
Feel that the textual exclusion of the T could equally be an artifact of the time as a deliberate prod, Idk.
