““This is not a contemporary treatise on gender identity. This is a first person story told by an 8 year old as she grows up in a small southern town during the 80's. The characters know how they feel but back then did not have the language to express it because we did not have the role models, media, social media, or even cell phones to teach us. Please do not expect an 8 year old and a 10 year old to speak like an educated queer and transgender male of today. Admire their strength to live in their truth the best way they knew how back then. Love Wayne for his courage and heart. Trust me, when these two become adults, they will rock the modern world in my next novel.””
![“["Manning Up"'s] essays definitely nuance the idea of transitioning into a “shared manhood” (much like feminists of color have complicated the idea of “shared womanhood”). Trans men don’t all transition to just become “men,” which was one of the projects’ cornerstone concepts. They become black…” quote by Mitch Kellaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/118/mitch-kellaway-52397_feminism_manning-up-s-essays-definitely-nuance-th_1256955.jpg)
