Amanda's Reading Room: "The Trudy Show"

Hello.

The latest caption story in the Reading Room is: "The Trudy Show"

Check it out at: http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/Amandas_Reading_R oom

Amanda

HI Amanda,

Great concept. The opening pages were terrific. I'd love to see this storyline carried out more along the lines of the Truman Show movie -- in that they transform the boy into a girl and then he wakes up months later as if it's the next day and everyone treats him like he's always been a girl. The camera's are HIDDEN as in the Truman Show, so the TV audience at home gets to watch the new girl adjust to her life.

I know that's a different story from the one you wrote, but just thought I'd throw it out there. The main thing was that I found this story enjoyable until the last pages. The ending truly left me cold and left a bad taste in my mouth. Wish it had ended some other way.

Hey, femur.

I agree, the Truman Show would definitely be an interesting theme for a TG story. It was only a partial inspiration for this story, so I was referring to it only obliquely. The problem would be coming up with an appropriate ending.

I appreciate your critique. The ending to "The Trudy Show" is definitely a downer. It was meant to be. It's the kind of story Mercurius might have meant in his "TG tragedy fiction" poll in the other forum. I notice that "No" is leading the field in that poll. I'm not surprised. Most TG stories (and caps) are essentially wish-fulfillment fairy tales (no pun intended). Having a story end badly for the hero (our surrogate self) isn't what most of us would wish for. This story tries to make the point that being a woman isn't necessarily as easy, or as positive, as we might imagine. (I concede, however, that it might be a bit heavy-handed.)

I'm sure many of us deplore this kind of scenario, but fantasies like this often appear in TG fiction. More broadly, many TG stories involve personal degradation and/or the loss of the self. (Is losing your identity any different than dying?) I've written stories like that myself, like in "Mother's Boy" where the hero loses his own identity. That should be a tragedy, but I'll bet most people didn't feel that way about it.

I'm hoping that this kind of story gets people thinking. However, I suspect that most of us will continue to prefer straight-ahead fairy tales. The nature of the beast, I'm afraid.

Amanda

How will mom feel when she realizes Trudy really IS going to pull the trigger. How will the police handle the Columbine like killing of the Trudy Show's entire production staff. But then I suppose she's been programed to be unable to harm them ... hmmm, wonder if they included mom.

Say what? Sorry, Jezzi, I don't get it. Where did guns and killing enter the story?

Missed this. I've got to spend more time here. :)

Dee

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