PC235: Recognizing Gabe: Un Cuento de Hadas

[eytanz]

I don't speak any Spanish and have never studied it, but at no point did I feel that it was a barrier to my understanding of this story. Sure, there were a couple of exchanges I didn't understand, but they were hardly crucial.

[Listener]

I came into this story a little "eh" because I'd just heard the first five minutes of EP371 and skipped it because it didn't thrill me... and here was PC235, next in my queue, with another story about gender (in all fairness, EP371 may not have been about that, but it started out talking about a character with mutable gender/sex characteristics; I didn't listen to the whole thing). But because it was short -- the entire episode was only 25 minutes -- I figured I'd give it a shot.

I'm glad that I did.

The moment when the father says "he's my son and he doesn't need a special suit" or whatever it was was a true throw-the-horns and shout "YES!" moment. It wasn't foreshadowed that much, and that made it more powerful; I think everyone expected Nina Tere to have to be the one who validates Gabriel's gender, and it was great that the father does what all parents with nontraditionally-gendered/sexual kids should do in the first place: love them anyway. My adopted "little sister" came out to her parents and her dad was totally against it (her family is quite religious, and she, while spiritual, is not actually a religious person). She and her mom get along okay, but the relationship with both parents is strained, more so because she moved out to be with her girlfriend, then moved home when the two of them broke up. I realize that, for some parents, their nurture becomes their nature and they are unable to deal with these things, and I really love seeing/hearing stories (real or fictional) of parents who love their children no matter what.

If I had any quibbles with the reading, it was that we needed a bit of a pause after the father makes his declaration -- that whole part needed to be a bit slower, or at least have more pauses within it. It seemed to pass VERY quickly. Also, I got a little muddled with Nina Tere's first appearance; I wasn't sure how long we were staying in the past, or exactly when we got there.

Overall a great episode.

[Moon_Goddess]

I registered this account to make this post, my first time commenting on any of these stories.

I almost turned this story off twice.

The spanish threw me, and honestly I'm not to fond of the fantasy stories that take place in a more modern setting, I honestly feared it would turn out to be something that was better suited to psuedopod or escape pod.

But I stayed because of the gender issues, See I am a transgender woman, so while the issues of a transgender man are different than my own issues they are still my brothers in arms so to speak.

This story touched me so much, the Fairy Godmother recognizing Gabe for his true self without any question, was just so touching to me but then when his father stood up for him.   That was what broke me, No one has ever done that for me, and I just wanted to say how much this episode meant to me.

[Unblinking]

I registered this account to make this post, my first time commenting on any of these stories.

I almost turned this story off twice.

The spanish threw me, and honestly I'm not to fond of the fantasy stories that take place in a more modern setting, I honestly feared it would turn out to be something that was better suited to psuedopod or escape pod.

But I stayed because of the gender issues, See I am a transgender woman, so while the issues of a transgender man are different than my own issues they are still my brothers in arms so to speak.

This story touched me so much, the Fairy Godmother recognizing Gabe for his true self without any question, was just so touching to me but then when his father stood up for him.   That was what broke me, No one has ever done that for me, and I just wanted to say how much this episode meant to me.

Like!

[ElectricPaladin]

I wanted to say - as a cis male who would totally be an awesome dad to a trans kid - that I loved the twist. The dad's fury at the fairy godmother... it made my heart happy. The rest of the story was also beautiful - I liked how it focused on the family's struggle, not a simplistic black-and-white of rejection and revenge - but that moment was just... there aren't words. I loved it.

[Max e^{i pi}]

Reading all the comments here made me give this story another try.
Going in to the story the second time, I knew what it was about and what is supposed to happen. And to make it even more palatable I read the text, instead of listening to it. With Google Translate I was able to understand every word.  

So what do I think?
Well, it's an entirely different story to the one I had listened to.
First of all, the flashbacks were recognizable, since Strange Horizons has those little dashes between the paragraph breaks. Also, when reading it, it is clear that the story in the present is told in present-tense, and the flashbacks in the past-tense. When I was listening to it that was one more thing that had slipped me up.
Second, I was able to follow the story without getting thrown out of it every few lines due to the Spanish. (This is not a general complaint about non-English text in stories. I think that it adds a lot of flavor and authenticity to a story, but this time it totally threw me for a loop).
So, the story was a nice story about a transboy's coming out and his parents' (and siblings') acceptance of that.
I have a few trans friends, so I understand how hard that part is for them, and I can see where this story would touch people in that warm fuzzy spot.
This being a PC story I would have expected the suit to give him the equivalent to SRS, but I don't think it did.
One particular thing that I liked was how the setting was in a society with very strongly enforced stereotypical gender roles, and Gabe breaks them by not only being trans, but by still enjoying "women's activities" after he came out to his parents. That extra touch wasn't necessary for the story, but it added a lot IMO.

So, my main grievance is with the reading. The story was pretty good. It will probably stick in my mind for longer than the average PC story, but I think that's because I changed my opinion about it. And I'm not sorry that I did.

[Unblinking]

I wanted to say - as a cis male who would totally be an awesome dad to a trans kid - that I loved the twist. The dad's fury at the fairy godmother... it made my heart happy. The rest of the story was also beautiful - I liked how it focused on the family's struggle, not a simplistic black-and-white of rejection and revenge - but that moment was just... there aren't words. I loved it.

Had to go look up "cis male"--good to know what that means.  For those who don't:

In gender studies, cisgender and cissexual gender identities are two related types of gender identity where an individual's self-perception and presentation of their gender matches the behaviors and roles considered appropriate for one's sex.

what does one call it if one tends to mix and match whatever you feel like from gender roles?  Maybe there is no particular word for that.  Some meetings at our company lately have had trivia questions, half of which are "male-oriented" (which means sports, judging by the questions) and half are "female-oriented" (which means Sex and the City and makeup trivia, judging by the questions).  I have no chance at answering any question in either category. 

[Umbrageofsnow]

Great narration BDoomed!

I really liked this one. I don't speak a word of Spanish, to the point that I just realized that "Tio" must be "Uncle" or something, from "Tio Gilberto and the 27 Ghosts" I had just assumed it was his name. So yeah, context clues ftw. I don't think any of it was confusing as it was all so well explained by the story.

The Spanish in this story added a ton of flavor, and using a Mexican-American culture for the story really improved it, by giving us a society with particularly strict gender roles, as was mentioned above.

I thought it was really sweet to have a story where the transgender protagonist was happy with who they were, rather than wanting to become a "real boy." Would love to see more of this sort of thing at Podcastle.  I'm really not sure why it is so confusing, but at least we know some people are having their gender-identity horizons broadened, and that's always a good thing.

I like the interpretation of this as a two-step plan by the fairy godmother, to get the family to recognize Gabe for who he is, but I think she was just not as open-minded as she wanted to think she was. She realizes her mistake in the end, hence the lack of supernatural punishment. The more I think about this story, the more I like it, and that's always a good sign. I do want more stories about these fairy godmothers though.

Some meetings at our company lately have had trivia questions, half of which are "male-oriented" (which means sports, judging by the questions) and half are "female-oriented" (which means Sex and the City and makeup trivia, judging by the questions).  I have no chance at answering any question in either category. 

If it makes you feel any better, my girlfriend and I would both fail at all those subjects.  I think those stereotypes indicate a stereotypical frat-boy understanding of gender roles (see, I can put people in boxes too!) You and I are not the bros that game is designed for, and I think we should all be proud of that.

[Fenrix]

I thought about hitting "next" when it occurred to me that this was a Gender Issues Message Story. I'm glad I stuck with it. This was an effective presentation, as the story tells what SHOULD be rather than show what is. It was strong while avoiding the danger of a ham-fisted message delivery. In the details it's as complex as a good mole sauce, but at its heart as straightforward and delicious as a tamale.

[chemistryguy]

In the details it's as complex as a good mole sauce, but at its heart as straightforward and delicious as a tamale.

Mmmmmm...mole sauce.  I wish someone would teach me how to make it right.

[Unblinking]

If it makes you feel any better, my girlfriend and I would both fail at all those subjects.  I think those stereotypes indicate a stereotypical frat-boy understanding of gender roles (see, I can put people in boxes too!) You and I are not the bros that game is designed for, and I think we should all be proud of that.

Oh, it doesn't make me feel bad.  Well, except that those trivia questions are rewarded with gift cards that I will definitely never get.  I'm glad that I don't feel constrained to like the things guys are supposed to like.  My wife would also fail those questions.  At some point I might drop a suggestion to the guy to mix up the subject matter a little bit more, but he's high enough up in the company I'd be a little uncomfortable doing that over something that really doesn't matter all that much.

[Listener]

In the details it's as complex as a good mole sauce, but at its heart as straightforward and delicious as a tamale.

Mmmmmm...mole sauce.  I wish someone would teach me how to make it right.

1. Insert mole into blender.
2. Press "puree".
3. Wait several minutes.
4. Profit.

I've never actually enjoyed mole sauce myself. I've tried several people's recipes and it just doesn't do it for me.

[lowky]

1. Insert mole into blender.
2. Press "puree".
3. Wait several minutes.
4. Profit.

I've never actually enjoyed mole sauce myself. I've tried several people's recipes and it just doesn't do it for me.

If you are willing to do that to the little bastards tearing up my lawn you would definitely profit.  I have twisted both ankles in last two weeks thanks to these little f@$%ers

[Unblinking]

1. Insert mole into blender.
2. Press "puree".
3. Wait several minutes.
4. Profit.

I've never actually enjoyed mole sauce myself. I've tried several people's recipes and it just doesn't do it for me.

If you are willing to do that to the little bastards tearing up my lawn you would definitely profit.  I have twisted both ankles in last two weeks thanks to these little f@$%ers

We had a problem with those ripping up our yard two or three years ago.  Oddly enough, they went away on their own.  I hear that putting Bubblicious gum in the mole tracks can be effective at getting rid of them.

[InfiniteMonkey]

Wow. I liked it.

(Original, I know, but I've been a very bad Monkey (involves harddrive crashes and a major American news topic), and was going to listen to everything I've not heard and only comment on the latest... but I had to jump in for this one)

I was raised in a part of the U.S. that used to be Mexico, so the Spanish angle was not a barrier (though the food made me hungry - plus it reminds me of my recent history for other reasons).  I did feel myself drifting because the story is a bit agenda-driven. It was becoming one of those stories.

But what saves it is dad's reaction to the Fairy Godmother, fatherly pride and acceptance -of a sort - in a way she can't really punish him for. Our narrator is "real", and doesn't need magic for it.

I was also put in mind of an anecdote with mom's problem with a man washing dishes, which is germane to the story: A journalist once went to a dinner party at the house of a famous Spanish bullfighter. Now, bullfighters are of course one of the epitomes of masculinity in this culture. And after the party the journalist was surprised to find the bullfighter in the kitchen wearing an apron washing the dishes, and he asked how he could do something so un-masculine, and bullfighter, pulling himself to his full height, full of pride, said "EVERYTHING I do is masculine!"

[Scattercat]

An extremely good story, all around.  There's really not much more to say.

[LaShawn]

Commenting! Wowowowowowow.

I loved this one so much it hurts. The language, the subtleness of the fantasy element, and the lovely surprises in it. I had to stop and rewind when I learned that Gabby was cis boy. On the one hand, it had the feeling that things would wrap up too neatly, but the way Alberto wrote this, it turned into a story that had me grinning at the very end. So lovely!

[eytanz]

He's not a cis boy, he's a trans boy.

[Ocicat]

This story made the final four in the Podcastle Best of 2012 Poll!  Voting is open until March 28th.

[childoftyranny]

An extremely good story, all around.  There's really not much more to say.

I'm just gonna quote Scattercat and call this my most cop-out posting every on a story. But dagnabbit I will comment on all of them I listen to!

[Fenrix]

I'm just gonna quote Scattercat and call this my most cop-out posting every on a story. But dagnabbit I will comment on all of them I listen to!

You have more fortitude than I. There's some stories that I pass because anything I could say has been said. There are some I pass because it falls under the category of "if you can't say something nice..."

[Unblinking]

I'm just gonna quote Scattercat and call this my most cop-out posting every on a story. But dagnabbit I will comment on all of them I listen to!

You have more fortitude than I. There's some stories that I pass because anything I could say has been said. There are some I pass because it falls under the category of "if you can't say something nice..."

You have more restraint than me, sir. 

[awfulhorrid]

OK, I know this is more than a year old, but I don't really care - I feel that strongly about making a "Thank You!" post. (I've been playing catchup for a long time, but this is the one that finally got me to register an account for comments.)

I don't have much to add to the story itself, although when the father shouted "¿Cómo se atreve a decir semejante estupidez de mi hijo?" at Nina Tere ... well, it brought tears to my eyes. I wish more parents could come to accept their children like that, although perhaps shouting in anger at a powerful magical entity isn't the best way to express that acceptance!

Something that made me laugh even more? I'm back in school right now, chasing my CS degree after >20 years in the IT world. Yeah, I'm doing it backwards, I know. I was listening to this story on the way into school Tuesday morning ... where my first two classes for the day were "LGBTQ Representation on Stage and Screen" and my second level of Spanish. (No, I couldn't follow all of the Spanish, but I was pretty happy that I was able to understand most of it.) Once I realized what the story was about, I had to pause so I could laugh about it.

Thanks again! Now I really want some tamales!