Summary

In Chapter 2, which begins “Eight years before conception” (45), the narration details Reese’s past relationship with an abusive man named Stanley, who she met on a fetish site. Reese thought that it was better to date men who were specifically interested in trans women than men who had to be convinced that trans women were attractive. On their first date, Stanley stated that his desire to dominate women was not based in role-play, and that he preferred to subjugate women in reality by controlling them through financial means. Reese disapproved of his attitude but continued to see him while accepting the money he gave her.

Stanley sought to manipulate Reese in various ways, such as by buying her a pair of expensive boots that he knew she would not like but believed she would wear simply because they were a designer brand and she...