Your Body is Not Your Body

by Alex Woodroe (Editor), Matt Blairstone (Editor), Michelle Belanger (Introduction)

A centaur seeks illicit surgery in an alien bodily modification club.

Two medieval monks react to their transformation and demonic pregnancy in very different ways.

A resourceful trans teen destroys sports bigots through the power of pluckiness...and abundant body horror.

A stellar cathedral crosses galaxies to dump the corpse of God into a star before the mission devolves into a panoply of psychedelic orgies.

A doxxed teen falls victim to violent assault and dishes out some
harrowing retribution of their own.

Over thirty Trans and Gender Nonconforming creators unite to voice their rage, and the rules of conventional Horror go out the f$%&ing window in this collection featuring murderous pleasure-bots; proselytizing zombies; acid-filled alien cops;
science run amok; sorcerers, ghouls, cannibals...and that barely scratches the grave-dirt.

YOUR BODY IS NOT YOUR BODY
Table of Contents

Introduction by M. Belanger

The Flensing Lens—LC von Hessen
Tonsilstonespunksplatter666!—Rain Corbyn
High Maintenance—S.A. Chant
The Infinite Being—F. Tullia Catulla
Brother Maternitas—Viktor Athelstan
The Same Thing That Happened to Sam—M. Lopes da Silva
Ballad of the Pest—Meagan Hotz
Playing House—Ziggy Schutz
Hybrid—Rose Sable
Cholesterol-Monoxide—W.N. Derring-Judith
Why We Keep Exploding—Hailey Piper
We've Been Trying to Reach You—Charles Maria Tor
Lost in Reincarnation—Devaki Devay
Because My Mother Tells Me So—Dayna Ingram
Seaflowers—Ori Jay
Fencing Chestplate—Avi Burton
Gender Envy—Gabriel Valentine
Rest, my head.—Cosmin-Mihai Bîrsan
The Divine Carcass—Bitter Karella
Chironoplasty—Joe Koch
#MOTHERMAYHEM—Jei D. Marcade
The Lives of Scavengers—Rhiannon Rasmussen
The Simulacrum—Max Turner
The Roots They Pull—Taylor J. Pitts
Stench—Vincent Endwell
The Pearl Diver—Bri Crozier
Tiny Magic—G.E. Woods

Cover art
Mx Morgan G Robles

Featuring illustrations
Harrison Webb
Lex
Lillian Hochwender
Becca Snow
Rieroo
Cori Walters
William Taylor

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Queer, LGBT, Anthologies, Fiction, Transgender

263 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2022

About the author

Romanian writer and editor of dark speculative fiction. Editor-in-chief of Tenebrous Press and writer of WHISPERWOOD, THE NIGHT SHIP, and TATRATEA, as well as short stories and articles.

Reviews

[Sadie Hartmann]

YOUR BODY IS NOT YOUR BODY edited by Alex Woodroe and Matt Blairstone
Release Date: May 2022
Genre: Mixed/Horror
Sub-genre/Themes: LGBTQIA2S+, Body horror, religious stuff, human monsters, home invasion, science-fiction, technology gone awry, medical experiments, sexual/psychological/emotional trauma, child abuse, transphobia, homophobia (specific triggers for individual stories in the back of the book)

A carefully and lovingly curated anthology celebrating identity and sexuality within the spectrum of horror. A portion of proceeds goes toward Equality Texas as a response to attempted criminalization of trans/GNC youth and their families in the state of Texas. I read this during #transrightsreadathon taking place during the week of March 17-27, 2023.

My favorite stories: (*****) = special mention/5 stars
The introduction by M. Belanger
(*****)The Flensing Lens by LC von Hessen
(*****)Tonsilstonespunksplatter666! by Rain Corbyn
High Maintenance by S. A. Chant
Brother Maternitas by Viktor Athelstan
The Same Thing That Happened to Sam by M, Lopes da Silva
(*****)Why We Keep Exploding by Hailey Piper
Because My Mother Tells Me So by Dayna Ingram
(*****)Fencing Chestplate by Avi Burton
The Simulacrum by Rhiannon Rasmussen
(*****)Stench by Vincent Endwell
Tiny Magic by G. E. Woods
..

Please see my "real time" reading updates for review notes and pulled quotes.

[Briar Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

While several of the stories here could have used another couple drafts, or read more like rough sketches than short stories per se, and while the collection as a whole could have used more thorough copyediting...this fucking rips! Explosive creativity in every entry, whether prose, poetry, or illustration, and an astonishing variety of splatterpunk and body horror the likes of which I haven't seen in any other anthology from the past ten years. Trans people really are the imaginative masters of this genre.

Standout stories include S.A. Chant's "High Maintenance", a tightly crafted and relatively subtle tale of a robot's unconditional, pre-programmed love for his perpetually dissatisfied owner; "#MOTHERMAYHEM" by Jei D. Marcade, a flash story that paints a rich, surreal, and poignant world of teen angst in just a few pages; "The Divine Carcass" by Bitter Karella, a sexy, confusing, hilarious bizarro carnival ride through a spaceship shaped like a giant cathedral, and G.E. Woods's modern dark fairy tale "Tiny Magic".

My favorite illustration is Becca Snow's gloriously goopy-looking, woodcut-like piece on page 128. It reminds me a bit of the game WE KNOW THE DEVIL.

[Helen Whistberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A diverse anthology of body horror stories that reads like a collective howl of pain, fury, desperation, and sheer gorgeous power and beauty from a talented group of trans and gender nonconforming writers. There are pitch-dark themes and grotesque images as you would expect from this genre, but the publisher has considerately included story-by-story content warnings at the end of the book to help navigate. As always, when I review anthologies, I will highlight a few of the stories that particularly spoke to me, but with the variety and range to be found here, I’m sure every reader will claim their own favorites.

"The Flensing Lens" by LC von Hessen uses poetic language to set a mood of serenity and adoration that is perversely at odds with the actions being described. Metaphorical, moving, and dreamlike.

"High Maintenance" by S.A. Chant is a nerve-wracking examination of a most unusual and yet all too familiar abusive relationship. The building tension as the unequal power dynamic plays out in this love affair had me holding my breath until the final, devastating line.

"The Same Thing That Happened to Sam" by M. Lopes da Silva imagines a society where android “brain worms” are routinely implanted to root out “undesirable” gender and sexuality traits. This dystopian vision is unfortunately too believable given current efforts to stamp out non-conformity in our own world. Loved the defiant ending of this one.

"Why We Keep Exploding" by Hailey Piper details a horrific battle of the sexes on a college campus. Spine-tingling imagery in this clear-eyed exposé of the casually cruel misogyny female-presenting persons endure. Revenge may be sweet, but the pain suffered, the price paid can never be forgotten.

"Seaflowers" by Ori Jay is another poetically meditative piece. More quietly folkloric than outright horror but no less affecting for that.

"The Roots They Pull" by Taylor J. Pitts is an effective take on Gothic romance and forbidden love. Swoony and spooky, sad yet satisfying.

"Tiny Magic" by G.E. Woods weaves a fairy tale spell when a child-eating witch of the woods more than meets her match in a person who has had to learn from a too-tender age how to look after themself. Well-written fantasy.

Looking back over my picks, I see I have tended to gravitate toward the more gentle and emotional side of the horrors presented here, but there are plenty of gore-heavy and in-your-face tales if that is more your bag, including some memorable speculative and sci-fi stories.

There are also a number of imaginative illustrations throughout the volume. I read on a traditional ereader, which isn’t the best for seeing the detail of these but was able to zoom in and look at them more closely and with sharper contrast on my phone. One of those times where the paperback version is probably a more satisfying medium to do the included art full justice.

Overall, this is a very rewarding and eclectic collection for readers who enjoy weird horror drenched in thoughtful and often searing takes on gender, alienation, and the struggle and magic of nonconformity.

[bri]

Overall, a really interesting and funky collection of short stories. It really needed some better copy editing, as I noticed some glaring mistakes in repeated clauses and POV/tense shifts. As with any collection like this, some will be better than others, but this had a significant amount of stories that were abstracted almost (or entirely) beyond comprehension, which was very frustrating.
I did still have some faves however, particularly:
Brother Maternitas by Viktor Athelstan- considering my personal obsession with the humoral body and medieval/early modern perspectives of gender, this was absolutely going to be a hit with me
Ballad of the Pest by Meagan Hotz- I love short stories that have multiple applications but packs a sucker punch of a feeling and god I felt this one.
Why We Keep Exploding by Hailey Piper- Probably the most technically skilled writing in the whole anthology.
Seaflowers by Ori Jay- Proves that abstraction and metaphor can be so impactful. Poetic, just gorgeous and haunting.
The Divine Carcass by Bitter Karella- I am SO excited that Karella has a book coming out this year because this was my favorite in the collection. Tightly woven and appropriately Weird for this anthology and amazing because of it. I immediately reread it and had to sit to process it for a bit.

CW:
The Flensing Lens: body horror, eye horror, blood & gore
TONSILSTONESPUBJSPLATTER666!: body horror, eye horror, blood & gore, gun violence, rape, violence, toxic relationship, transphobia, ableism, misgendering
High Maintenance: sexual content, violence, blood & gore, domestic abuse, murder (past)
The Infinite Being: gun violence, emesis, violence, body horror
Brother Maternitas: emesis, pregnancy, misogyny, miscarriage, blood, sexual assault, body horror
The Same Thing That Happened to Sam: insects, eye horror, emesis, homophobia, transphobia, child abuse
Ballad of the Pest: death, animal death, claustrophobia
Playing House: cannibalism, blood & gore
Hybrid: human experimentation, animal death
Cholesterol-Monoxide: blood & gore, body horror
Why We Keep Exploding: self-harm, misogyny, bullying, transphobia, suicide attempt (past, mention)
We've Been Trying to Reach You: schizophrenia/hallucinations, ableism, loss of mother abusive relationship (mention), suicide, emesis, misgendering, murder, violence, blood & gore, body horror
Lost in Reincarnation: arranged marriage, body horror
Because My Mother Tells Me So: body horror, insects, cancer, loss of father (past), alcohol, imprisonment
Seaflowers: drowning, death
Fencing Chestplate: transphobia, misogyny, loss of father (past), homophobia slur, self-harm (for magic, body horror, emesis, blood & gore
Gender Envy: body horror, violence, homophobic slur
Rest, My Head: confinement, emesis
The Divine Carcass: drug use, body horror hallucinations, violence, blood & gore
Chironoplasty: medical content, transphobia
#MOTHERMAYHEM: body horror, death
The Lives of Scavengers: insects, murder, death, grief
The Simulacrum: human experimentation, transphobia, dysphoria, self-harm, blood & gore, murder, misgendering
The Roots They Pull: misgendering, sexual harassment, rape (attempt), blood & gore, murder, emesis
Stench: pregnancy, infidelity, sexual content (implied), death, dead animal, dead body, blood & gore, body horror
The Pearl Diver: blood & gore, animal death, car accident
Tiny Magic: domestic abuse, CSA, murder, kidnapping, emesis, poison, blood libel (antisemitic)

[Cait · Rating 3 out of 5]

floating around in the 2- to 3-star range; rounding up For A Good Cause ("This anthology began in reaction to the attempted criminalization of trans/GNC youth and their families in the state of Texas. It has evolved into a rallying cry and Horror-drenched celebration of identity of every stripe. A portion of all proceeds go to Equality Texas").

suffers from the issues of so many anthologies and also seems to have a disproportionate amount of newbie authors, perhaps because they were trying to uplift voices and give previous un- or little-published writers a chance. the most common issue is that many of the authors just cannot figure out how to end a damn story, which is a real fuckin shame and makes for a frustrating reading experience but is certainly not a problem unique to this anthology.

as a miscellaneous note, there sure is a lot of pregnancy in this book lol, perhaps because pregnancy can be such a contentious issue for trans people (people capable of pregnancy horrified by the thought; people incapable of pregnancy mourning that inability; etc.), and perhaps also because pregnancy is sort of our number-one real-world instance of one's body not being or feeling one's own—the original bodysnatcher hijack.

anyway! roundup of thoughts on the individual stories (the collection also features works of art but I wasn't moved by any of them enough to jot anything down about em).

🎥 "THE FLENSING LENS," lc von hessen — But Why
🩸 "TONSILSTONESPUNKSPLATTER666!" rain corbyn* — jesus fucking christ lol. funny!
🤖 "HIGH MAINTENANCE," s.a. chant — not my favorite of chant's, but still: OUCH! a nasty little thing
⚫ "THE INFINITE BEING," f. tullia catulla — meh. not sure the choice to tell it in verse added anything
👹 "BROTHER MATERNITAS," viktor athelstan — of the author: "he's fascinated with medieval monks and their relationship with gender and the supernatural." lol I'll say. good for brother columba! #sidewound representation. I think this is actually my first exposure to 'morituri te salutant,' somehow
🪱 "THE SAME THING THAT HAPPENED TO SAM," m. lopes da silva — OUCH! YIKES!
🪤 "BALLAD OF THE PEST," meagan hotz — the potential to frighten, and an interesting metaphor but not one I think was established thoroughly enough for it to work here at the end
🫁 "PLAYING HOUSE," ziggy schutz — we made you dinner. — lol. fun!
🪖 "HYBRID," rose sable* — some would call this cruelty, but is it cruel to sharpen a knife that has dulled? — a neatly horrific idea, but also one that I believe could have been pushed further at the end
🚔 "CHOLESTEROL-MONOXIDE," w.n. derring-judith* — a fever dream for the end times (which is to say, now). I don't fully Get It but I don't think I'm supposed to and I liked it for the most part and it's true that cops are just like that!
🤐 "WHY WE KEEP EXPLODING," hailey piper — fun premise! hailey piper pops up everywhere (deservedly)
☎️ "WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO REACH YOU," charles maria tor — a little silly and I think more could have been done to talk this into a "no, ze is actually being contacted by aliens" place that I think would have worked nicely but I still liked it! thought it was fun. extremely hilarious to google an author and have one of the top hits about hir be some queer leftist infighting
🐙 "LOST IN REINCARNATION," devaki devay — they squealed like rubber as she cut. — interesting, brief, transhuman. feels like one of those short-story-ast-testing-ground-for-novel-idea situations
🧟‍♂️ "BECAUSE MY MOTHER TELLS ME SO," dayna ingram — MUCH TOO MUCH UNEXPLAINED, WHAT IS UP WITH WRITERS OF SHORT STORIES FOR ANTHOLOGIES
🌊 "SEAFLOWERS," ori jay — meh
🤺 "FENCING CHESTPLATE," avi burton* — this one ended on a little bit of a whimper but was FUN and QUITE funny, a favorite so far. and I really appreciate the narrator being a trans person who doesn't hate his body
☕ "GENDER ENVY," gabriel valentine* — I want to texas chainsaw massacre this motherfucker. / [...] I want to disembowel him, / unravel his intestinal tract, / and wrap it around my neck / as a faggy little scarf. — between this one and the previous one turns out I like my trans body horror with a splash of comedy!
🌀 "REST, MY HEAD." cosmin-mihai bîrsan — tense confusion...outright errors...I want to charitably contribute this to english maybe not being the author's first language—I think he lives in romania—but this was unbearable even beyond the writing issues. unfortunately the worst story in the entire collection; utterly incomprehensible.
🚀 "THE DIVINE CARCASS," bitter karella — some minor tense confusion again... in the pro column: was not expecting this to be funny but then it went there, and successfully so; in the con column: but damn why do so many stories have trouble sticking the landing. like...like!!!
🎠 "CHIRONOPLASTY," joe koch — meh
🐚 "#MOTHERMAYHEM," jei d. marcade — excellent concept but as is all too often the case feels like the beginning of a longer story cut off
🪲 "THE LIVES OF SCAVENGERS," rhiannon rasmussen — this was fun! doesn't answer enough questions raised by the tantalizing worldbuilding, but feels at least more of a complete story than many of the others
🧪 "THE SIMULACRUM," max turner* — excellent! delicious! we all love frankenstein
🥀 "THE ROOTS THEY PULL," taylor j. pitts — nice! story-shaped! congrats!
🤰 "STENCH," vincent endwell* — this one started and I was like oh wow, the author can write, look at that! this is a nice horror movie tbh—and, again, really strong writing for the most part.
🦌 "THE PEARL DIVER," bri crozier — I like the concept, but the writing comes across as very amateurish
☠️ "TINY MAGIC," g.e. woods — ehh it was fine

*author to watch

[Netanella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need to collect my thoughts on this one, as they're currently all over the place. This anthology hits hard.

[Emily M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection quite a bit overall.
Given that body horror is the connecting theme, I wouldn't recommend it if you are feeling squeamish (there's a helpful list of content warnings for individual stories at the back). However, there were actually quite a few stories that were funny or uplifting despite their grossness tucked in there as well! And all proceeds go to a good cause (https://www.equalitytexas.org/), so if you're a horror fan I recommend checking it out.

My favorite stories were:
- 'Tonsilstonespunksplatter666!': So over-the-top gross it was both funny and cathartic. I mean, how could I not like this: "I get back to the kitchen, where the roommate looks at his skillet, crisping shreds of fascist face now emitting a tempting bacony smell. He says, 'We've talked about not using my skillet to cook meat'" LOL, but also...excellent use of alliteration!
- 'Fencing Chestplate': Also quite funny in a dark way.
"What happened was nasty, I won't lie, but hey: if Coach and the administration weren't such a bag of d**ks, then the school wouldn't have had to hire six exorcists to clear out the gym. Hmm. That sounds a little victim-blamey, now that I say it aloud."
- 'High Maintenance': The preface lies. This doesn't start out sweet, it is wonderfully creepy from paragraph 1! Also good food for thought on whether if an AI didn't feel pain or emotion in quite the same way as a human...is it still wrong to treat them like this?
- 'Brother Maternitas': Not down with the monk MC's views on women, but totally with him on pregnancy and birth being pretty much body horror even under normal circumstances.
- 'The Simulacrum': This went how I expect another story, 'Hybrid,' ended up eventually! As with enslaving super-strong AIs or forcing monsters you built out of regular humans to kill people they know, you repeatedly misgender your lab-grown super-soldier at your own risk...
- 'The Pearl Diver': What with the talking animals who still act like animals, this reminded me of a particularly dark addition to Aesop's fables.
- 'Gender Envy': Another darkly funny entry.
- 'The Same Thing That Happened To Sam': You'd think having worms implanted in your body would be the horrifying bit of this. Nope! It gets worse in a far more fundamental way.
- 'Seaflowers': More of a poem, and quite lovely (in, again, a dark way).
"Never trust a drowned woman...
Never ask to see where her seaflowers bloom.
Because once you see them blossom - pulsing in the water like beating hearts, red leaves and vines whispering with the beat of the waves like angry scars, like living veins - no rose will ever look the same..."
- I had mixed feelings about 'Why We Keep Exploding'. It has a pretty great ending, with a message about the importance of not letting yourself be silenced by mere words. But the metaphor is rather mixed. Like, you'd think girls literally exploding is them being silenced but the way they AVOID exploding initially is to shut up and conform. So is exploding...social ostracization? But that doesn't actually remove you from the world, or stop you from speaking. Speaking from experience, you can form whole new and better communities on the edges! IDK, it gets confusing if you think about it too much!


For a few stories, though, I was more seriously confused about what the author was going for:
- Least confusing was 'Ballad Of The Pest', which is I'm almost 100% sure is about the horrors of late-stage capitalism. But I'm not sure it counts as "body horror".
- Then there's 'Playing House' where, yes, the husband is trash. But, ma'am...wouldn't it be easier to get a divorce than figure out how to turn meat and cake into a sentient cannibal doppelganger to murder him ? I mean, he's just a selfish partner, not a violent abuser or anything.
- 'Cholesterol-Monoxide': The acid-blood cop is terrifying, but it seems like there's more going on here than 'ACAB'...I just have no clue what it is. There's maybe some hints of environmental themes? And then there's a real cop and him getting murdered is a bad thing . Sooo...??
- 'Lost In Reincarnation': I liked this story, but I have no idea why the masseuse/witch turned the guy into an octopus . But what I really wonder is...did his wife know that was going to happen when she recommended the place?
- 'Stench': What with the Evangelical setting, I thought I knew where this was going, but I was wrong...and now I'm confused.
- 'Rest, My Head': I read this twice and, other than that the setting seems to be a hospital, I still don't know what was going on.


The author list (labeled as "anatomical chart") is rather a delight in itself. While a few of the entries are rather standard and boring, there are also gems like these:
-"Gabriel Valentine (they/them) is a poet, amateur bog witch, and library-dwelling raccoon based in Albany NY. 'Gender Envy' is their first published poem, and their other writing similarly centers on themes of queerness, drag, and total absurdism. They can be fount shitposting on twitter at..."
-"G.E. Woods (she/her/they/them) ran into the arms of horror as a 5-year-old working in haunted houses. Queer, NB, and disabled, she writes fantastical novels where marginalized identities are normalized. She's a parent of goblin twins, dances under full moons, and talks to the trees near her home outside Chicago"

[Kim Lockhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like 4.5⭐. These are, on the whole, high quality short stories. Body horror? Yes. But much more than that as well.

These stories have an extra dimension: the relationship these trans and other gender-nonconforming authors have with their bodies, is informed by their experiences with varying degrees of hostilty and both psychic and physical violence.

The creativity is, in a word, stunning.

[Lucien · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think what I felt most while reading all these stories was relief? validation? especially simulacrum really really spoke to me. what a fantastic collection of stories to read during pride month ❤️

[Melanie Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was für eine imposante Anthologie voller (für mich) neuer Stimmen, die mir wieder so viel Lust auf Weird Fiction und Weird Horror gemacht haben!

Es gibt einige Namen, bei denen ich in einer ruhigen Minuten schauen möchte, was sie noch veröffentlicht haben. Und ich möchte mir auch unbedingt die Anthologie noch als gedrucktes Exemplar kaufen, mittlerweile ist das auch abseits der Website möglich.

Vor allem "Why we keep exploding" wird noch lange in mir nachhallen, so großartig finde ich diese Geschichte!

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely incredible. Going into it, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to directly relate to the topics being discussed, so I took a little longer to read this anthology to make sure I understood what each short story was trying to say and what each perspective was. This book made me extremely emotional. A lot of stories reminded me of experiences some of my friends have told me about, and I found myself putting the book down very often either due to intense contemplation or intense emotions. As I mentioned, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to directly relate to the stories - there was one story in particular that caused me to cry for a good while because of how much I related to and understood it. “Why We Keep Exploding” is, without a doubt, the most powerful short story I’ve ever read. All of the stories were very well written and each one will definitely continue to have a long lasting impact on me. I literally cannot stop thinking about this book and will most likely pick it up again for a reread soon.

[Joshua Hair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll be posting a review on my YouTube channel in the next few days to discuss this one.

[max theodore · Rating 4 out of 5]

like most anthologies/collections, this has some real hits and some real misses. also like most works from small presses, there are some typos and some places where this could have been copyedited more thoroughly. all said, though: I LOVE YOU, TRANS PEOPLE. what i appreciate most about this collection--and about indie and transgender work in general--is how unabashedly weird it is, how willing the writers are to go all the way Out There. spend your money on indie work! find weird corners of the fiction internet! it may be less polished but i promise it will twist and remold your brain!

favorite stories:

Fencing Chestplate by Avi Burton
What happened was nasty, I won't lie, but hey: if Coach and the administration weren't such a bag of dicks, then the school wouldn't have had to hire six exorcists to clear out the gym. Hmm. That sounds a little victim-blamey, now that I say it aloud. Can you scratch that from the record?
full disclosure: avi burton is one of my best friends. that said, i mean it sincerely when i say this story whips ass. the voice is fantastic. the musings on trans assimilation hit hard. the main character deals with high school sports bigotry by summoning a demon. it fucking rocks

Tonsilstonespunksplatter666! by Rain Corbyn
"-just think it should be out there that THEY, okay, he uses THEY/THEM now, okay? That THEY have very different ideeas of how to navigate consent and power dynamics than I do, okay?" Ah shit. "So just like, watch out, alright? I'm safe now, going underground. But watch out for hi-uh, them. If you want to support me in this time, my Etsy link is in my bio."
how do i even describe this. it's splatterpunk, it's an action movie, it's a brutal satire of transmisogynistic partner abuse, it's luridly-visual representation of masking and autism, it's crazy. it feels a little like two stories stuck together, and i would love to see a longer version, but it is also living rent free in my head forever and ever. narrator of this i love you so dearly

Brother Maternitas by Viktor Athelstan
After I was taken, It did something to my body. I don't know why, but It did something.
one thing about me is i LOVE pregnancy-as-horror. pregnancy is so fucking scary. goddamn. another thing about me is i love to follow around a miserable little man that nobody likes. this story is great for both of those things. also, MONKS! shoutout brother columba congrats on the everything

Because My Mother Tells Me So by Dayna Ingram
I am being stalked by a zombie. He's unlike other zombies in that he's completely cognizant; he sits on my front porch and taunts me. I have a porch swing and he leans back in it, kicking his feet against the rail. He says, "Come on out, little girl," and flashes his rotted teeth at me. I haven't left the house in four days.
another fantastically out-there one. the zombie is evangelizing jesus christ. i'm not sure if i fully got what this one "means," but i loved the prose and i really enjoyed it, particularly the way it transmits the experience of being the only person who recognizes this type of stalkery evangelism as violence. what was with the worms in the shoes tho

Lost in Reincarnation by Devaki Devay
The knife was sharp. She sliced quickly, two slits like eyes squinting against the morning light. They squeaked like rubber as she cut.
i have no idea if this counts as horror but i liked it. very brief but the prose is absolutely gorgeous. i want to be an octopus tf

The Divine Carcass by Bitter Karella
When god died, we first thought that it was from lack of faith. Perhaps prayers nourished the body of the lord as much as they nourished the spirits of the faithful. Perhaps too many people had lost their faith, turned away from their prayers, and god had starved. But it was more likely that god had just been hit by an asteroid.
this one is soooooo fucking cool. the prose fucks hard. the setting is a ship on its way to dump the corpse of god into a black hole so a new god can be born. the protagonist loses her (?) dick. i did want this to be a little longer, a little coherent--i was left with some dangling questions that distracted me from the climax of the story--but this still rips like crazy

anyway, although there were definitely stories in here i liked more than others (and a couple i was baffled by entirely), i really enjoyed reading this collection! particularly as the lead-up to my Very Transgender December (top surgery. i got top surgery); i love wacky indie queer art. in sum: read transgender fiction, for it shall set thee free into a new world of weird shit.

[X · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this short story collection basically in order to donate to charity. It ended up being pretty good! Body horror, as it turns out, is a great topic for short stories because it grabs you quick but you’re not forced to wallow in any one story for very long. It was also great to have in hand (AKA in my phone) for subway trips etc where there wouldn’t be enough time to really dig into a novel.

The standout stories for me were:

High Maintenance by SA Chant - domestic robot horror, well-written in its simplicity and tone.

Brother Maternitas by Viktor Athelstan - creepy religious pregnancy horror at a medieval monastery, very fun in its setting and general tone

The Same Thing That Happened to Sam by M. Lopes da Silva - a great ending

Playing House by Ziggy Schutz - very funny domestic horror, reminded me of the most recent season of You

Hybrid by Rose Sable - I love an epistolary story. But please, military scientists, remember your supersoldiers *will* turn on you! They will *not* be happy with the problematic missions you assign them!

Cholesterol-Monoxide by W.N Derring-Judith - I love anything where a creepy character starts to turn into gross goo, it’s such a throwback horror trope (and kind of makes me want to rewatch that Angel episode where the cops are zombies).

Why We Keep Exploding by Hailey Piper - I think this is the longest one in here which allowed for a little more complexity than some of the other stories, and I enjoyed the structure.

Lost in Reincarnation by Devaki Devay - very beautiful, I loved where this story ended up.

Fencing Chestplate by Avi Burton - very funny interior monologue by the protagonist as he keeps justifying himself to his interviewer. Impressed that this author is still an undergrad student per the bio?!

The Divine Carcass by Bitter Karella - I liked this a lot but I wish it would have been longer. It was a little all over the place but I think there’s definitely enough depth in the concept that it would work well in a longer format.

#MotherMayhem by Jei D. Marcade - a great, spooky concept (combined with another spooky concept for enhanced spookiness haha)

The Simulacrum by Max Turner - another great epistolary story. All these scientists really gotta start acknowledging that their superhuman lab creations *will* brutally murder them as revenge for their poor treatment! Is no one taking notes on this phenomenon?? 😂

The Roots They Pull by Taylor J. Pitts - I loved the ending.

[pareidolia · Rating 5 out of 5]

All around excellent collection of body horror stories by trans and GNC authors, showcasing a variety of styles from poetry to experimental prose-poems to surrealist extravaganzas to some good ol' splatterpunk.

Some favorites:

Rain Corbyn's TONSILSTONESPUNKSPLATTER666! hit uncomfortably close to home, scratching fingernails over the barely closed wound of having to contort myself, to perform for neurotypical comfort.

S. A. Chant's High Maintenance is an expertly paced gutpunsh of a story.

Catulla's The Infinite Being - hello, darkness, my old friend - is the kind of noir-tinged weird fiction I can't get enough of.

M. Lopes da Silva's The Same Thing That Happened to Sam, while short, touched on some deep-seated fears wrt loss of autonomy and loss of self.

Dayna Ingram's Because My Mother Tells Me So is funny, in the way where a zombie on your front porch is the least thing to be concerned about.

Max Turner's The Simulacrum is sad - but is it too weird to see a bit of hope in its bloody ending?

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

This anthology starts out with a bang, with one of the best introductions I've ever read. The first half also has the best stories, so it starts out fantastic, and stays at that level for awhile. The "energy level" does die down in the second half with more traditional feeling stories, and a few that don't really match with what the prompt seems to be.

This could have done with more proofreading, as there are some very blatant mistakes that definitely should have been caught. There are at least several instances of repeating words, such as "throat sore throat", or even entire repeated sentences. (It is obvious that these are not intentional) There are also some typos, such as "don't't".

As someone who is not generally a fan of body horror, I went into this book feeling nervous that it might be too much for me. That was not the case at all, and there are actually very few stories in here that made me feel squeamish. Not every story deals with body horror, and only a handful take it to the extreme. So if you feel nervous like I did, I'd definitely give it a try, as I honestly think the first half of this book are some of the best short stories I've ever read.

I'm going to list each story in this collection, give a one sentence summary, and also list any content warnings that the book listed. The content warnings for this are listed on the very last page, so I figure it'd probably be good to include them in my review. It does also say, "some degree of violence, gore, sex and/or death is present in most of these stories," so the content warnings are in addition to that.

THE FLENSING LENS
An apparatus with blades is inserted into a man's eye, travels down his body, and exits out his anus. Just a two page story. I have no idea how to feel about that.

TONSILSTONESPUNKSPLATTER666!
Someone with what seems to be DID is targeted by a hate group. You might not understand a few paragraphs if you aren't familiar with internet culture.

CW: Violent transmisogyny, partner emotional abuse, ableism, rape

HIGH MAINTENANCE
Heartbreaking story. You can see what's going on immediately. A man continually "upgrades" his Android lover.

CW: Domestic abuse

THE INFINITE BEING
A couple who does heists together in a world of magic make the mistake of accepting a job to steal a Sorcerer's ring.

BROTHER MATERNITAS
A monk, who was transformed into a woman by a demon, hides their pregnancy.

CW: Sexual assault, miscarriage

THE SAME THING THAT HAPPENED TO SAM
Tiny man made creatures called worms, are placed in the brain to "correct" your sexuality. Very short, but hard hitting.

CW: Child abuse

BALLAD OF THE PEST
A person discovers mice in their apartment, but the traps aren't catching anything.

PLAYING HOUSE
A housewife isn't exactly happy with how her life has turned out.

CW: Domestic Abuse

HYBRID
Human-animal hybrids are created by the government for the elimination of targets.

CW: Animal Death

CHOLESTEROL-MONOXIDE
A guy driving on the highway is pulled over by what first appears to be a cop, but quickly turns into a nightmare.

WHY WE KEEP EXPLODING
What a great metaphor. The freshman girls of Sutton college keep exploding when taunted by the upperclassman boys.

CW: Bullying & abuse

WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO REACH YOU
An individual with a family history of schizophrenia runs away from the incessant sound of a ringing phone.

CW: Suicide & ableism

LOST IN REINCARNATION
A man is told by his masseuse that he has skipped a life.

BECAUSE MY MOTHER TELLS ME SO
A woman is plagued by a religious zombie that won't leave her porch.

SEAFLOWERS
1 & 1/2 pages long. Reasons why you should never trust a drowned woman.

FENCING CHESTPLATE
A trans teenager turns to the demonic to make it on the fencing team.

CW: Transphobia & homophobia

GENDER ENVY
A gory poem about wanting to be a man.

REST, MY HEAD
I'm not sure how to summarize this one. It seems like the individual might be confined and questioning their existence.

THE DIVINE CARCASS
My favorite first line out of all the stories, "When God died, we first thought it was from lack of faith." Living on a Cathedral in space that's as big as a city, an individual goes through a transformation after following their friend to a religious ceremony.

CHIRONOPLASTY
A centaur seeks alien help to feel like their authentic self.

#MOTHERMAYHEM
I could easily read a novel based on this story. Takes place in a universe where it's normal for one of your hands to just be a skeleton.

THE LIVES OF SCAVENGERS
A widow takes in a grave-child with an insatiable hunger.

THE SIMULACRUM
Essentially a retelling of Frankenstein, which is even acknowledged in the story.

CW: Transphobia

THE ROOTS THEY PULL
Separated by a hedge between their properties, two women meet at sunset where the wisteria grows.

CW: Homophobia & sexual assualt

STENCH
Uhhhh, a pregnant woman cheats on her husband with her priest, and crazy shit ensues. Not sure how else to summarize this one !

THE PEARL DIVER
A dying deer asks the buzzard who is about to eat him to tell him a story.

CW: Animal death

TINY MAGIC
A child uses cleaning chemicals to take care of those that have wronged them, or others.

CW: Domestic abuse, sexual abuse, child abuse, & cannibalism

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This got much better in the second half. I especially loved the last story Tiny Magic by G.E. Woods. There were a few others I liked also. So this was saved from getting 2 stars and ended up getting 3.

This book was put together (a while back) as a fund raiser for trans kids in Texas, so I’m glad I bought it. I’m also glad I stuck with it because it really did get a lot better in the second half.

[Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in the tragic wake of Brave Boy World (my review), and thank God I did because Your Body is Not Your Body whipped ass. Not all of the stories were all that great, but the book delivered on its promise of featuring weird fiction exclusively by trans, non-binary, and intersex writers. Not every story was about transness or featured trans characters, but the anthology isn't necessarily striving to highlight stories that centre transness in their execution, but instead offer solidarity with trans readers who seek solace in horror (hi that's me).

Are all of the stories in this particularly good? No, not really, but none of them are bad, offensive, or disrespectful to the intended trans audience (I'm looking at you, "Spoiling Veena"; seriously, why did Takeda let that make its way into Brave Boy World?). Issues I had were with incomprehensibility due to pompous writing styles, or general lack of clarity in what's actually happening in the story, but that's about it honestly! A lot of the stories are maybe a bit middling or average, but yeah, I'll take that, they were enjoyable to read nonetheless. My main advice to potential readers would be to check the trigger warnings at the back because these writers hold NOTHING back.

tl;dr: read Your Body is Not Your Body if you like horror/weird fiction written by trans folks, have a strong stomach, and can handle triggering content

Here's my own list of favourite stories from this anthology

"tonsilstonesplatterpunk666!" by Rain Corbyn: I LOVED THIS ONE SO MUCH, really humorously written, oozed with satire, loved the MC a lot (non-binary and autistic! fuck yes), and the trans vengeance was cathartic as fuck. Body horror was also the most grotesque I've ever read!

"High Maintenance" by S.A. Chant: sad. ow. really heart-wrenching exploration of new love and grief

"The Infinite Being" by F.T. Catulla: cool story, T4T, cosmic horror, unique writing style

"Brother Maternitas" by Viktor Athelstan: this was so fucked up and yummy (no I'm not biased towards religious themes what are you talking about)

"The Same Thing That Happened To Sam" by M. Lopes da Silva: funny. queer spite

"Ballad of the Pest" by Meagan Hotz: this was a bit too relatable

"Hybrid" by Rose Sable: man-made horrors beyond our comprehension, creature edition

"Why We Keep Exploding" by Hailey Piper: about patriarchal silencing of women, and how a trans girl turns the tide against Tall-Boy

"We've Been Trying To Reach You" by Charles Maria Tor: unflinching, heart-wrenching, and horrific story about schizophrenia. I'm not schizophrenic myself so I can't quite judge if this is considered good representation due to the inherent pessimism of the story and how it ends, but nothing jumped out as being ignorant or malicious in Tor's depiction of the MC. Definitely proceed with caution for this story if you have psychosis, paranoia, or hallucinations because this story could be a heavy, heavy trigger

"Fencing Chestplate" by Avi Burton: probably one of my favourite stories from this anthology. Body horror and teenage trans rage/revenge; explorations of a disconnect between body dysphoria and social expectations, internalization of how cis people perceive our gender, and how we react and respond to transphobia.

"Gender Envy" by Gabriel Valentine: so true tbh

"The Divine Carcass" by Bitter Karella: this kind of fell into the camp of a work that was confusing to read, but I think that was intentional. More religion (trans people are God, actually)

"#MOTHERMAYHEM" by Jei D. Marcade: really interesting, even though I don't quite get it, but that's because I just haven't. figured it out yet lol

"The Simulacrum" by Max Turner: THIS WHIPPED ASS SO HARD HOLY FUCK. science-driven experimental life, trans revenge

"The Pearl Diver" by Bri Crozier: short meditation on death (I do mean that broadly because it is pretty broad)

"Tiny Magic" by G.E. Woods: phenomenal ending to a thrilling series of little horrors. story about youth enacting justice with murder

[Leo Otherland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm sitting here writing this review several days to a week after finishing Your Body Is Not Your Body with the book lying here on my desk beside my keyboard. I pulled it out of my draw to look at it and smell it and get reacquainted with it while I wrote this. They way any good reader might with a favored book. Your Body Is Not Your Body is something I watched all through its creative process. When Tenebrous Press put out the submission call I wanted to write for it but knew I lacked the time, so I contented myself with watching in anticipation of having this book in my hands when it came out.

I was not disappointed.

Your Body Is Not Your Body was well worth the wait and I devoured the whole book in what I think was about three days of fevered reading between customers at my day job. As a whole, Your Body Is Not Your Body is a wild mix of tantalizing body horror and bittersweet longing and bad ass avengery (yes I know I'm making up words). Every story, every poem, ever well crafted piece of art blends into a twisting, turning corridor of new weird delight. I can foresee myself coming back to reread this book in the future both in whole and in little bits and pieces of my favorite parts.

Like any anthology your likely to read there were pieces of Your Body Is Not Your Body that stuck out for me. And yes, these bits are biasedly based on my own option but I can't resist sharing the names of a few pieces that I can't get out of my head. So, in order of appearance in the book, I give you "Those bits I can't stop thinking about."

Tonsilstonespunksplatter666! What a ride this one was. I think another reviewer compared it to some form of neurodivergent experience and I have to say they are correct. This is what being stuck in my own neurodivergent head feels like some of the time and seeing that blended with the other elements of this story... well it's a ride. You'll love it.

High Maintenance. A friend and I were reading Your Body Is Not Your Body together and he said this one made him cry. I saw why the moment I read it. Pure, terrifying melancholy.

The Infinite Being. I. Don't. Read. Poetry. And yet I connected to this piece instantly. I loved the flow and the twisting of the storyline.

Brother Maternitas. A view on how two different people see their bodies turned into something else before their eyes. I keep pondering it no matter how immersed in other stories I become.

The Same Thing That Happened To Sam. I felt this in my soul. The anger, the frustration, the singular oppression followed by resistance. This piece is short but once you read it you won't forget it.

Why We Keep Exploding. Let me clarify, I'm a trans man pre-transition. Despite the fact I do not identify as a woman I've had to live my life seen as one and this story... Reading this felt like the truest thing I had experienced in a long time. When I was through I had to put the book down and stare at nothing for awhile. And then weird author that I am, I picked up my phone and messaged my publisher that she needed to read this one. That I thought it reminded me of one of her own stories and they she NEEDED to read it. Yeah. This one is that good.

Fencing Chestplate. I really don't know how to put into words what I feel about this one. It spoke to me as a trans man and my own feelings about my body. This is how it feels. At least for me.

The Divine Carcass. A strange, undulating tale full of kaleidoscope colors and significant body horror.

#MOTHERMYHEM. Another short one that got lodged in my head. Horror that makes you think.

The Lives of Scavengers. Body horror? Yes. Something bordering on dark fantasy? Also yes. Of all the stories in here I wished this one was longer. I would have read a book, or several for that matter, set in this world.

The Simulacrum. This has to be one of my favorite pieces of my favorite pieces. Evil government scientists and experiments that get their revenge and their freedom. You can't go wrong.

Stench. This one also got stuck in my head when I initially didn't think it would. The imagery made me consider in ways I liked and now this one is a facet of my brain.

Tiny Magic. I've had the pleasure of getting to "know" the author of this one on Twitter and their work definitely deserves a mention. I loved being in their character's head further loved the nuance of magic being just about anywhere we find it. We make our magic.

So if you haven't read it. I recommend reading it. Your Body Is Not Your Body is well worth it.

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, what a complete acid trip of a book - and I'm saying that as someone who's mind doesn't usually stretch that far. I loved every story in this goopy, gory, tear and blood soaked anthology. Every story hits hard, and differently. Hard to pick any faves but the ones that stand out most are WHY WE KEEP EXPLODING by Hailey Piper (this should be required reading in middle school on up), FENCING CHEST PLATE by Avi Burton, THE DIVINE CARCASS by Bitter Karella, and THE PEARL DIVER by Bri Crozier. Beautifully curated group of highly talented authors.

[W.T.H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection is strikingly good and really took me outside my normal experience and reading habits. These stories are wild, transgressive, abstract slices of body horror at their core and thematically so much more than I can get into here. This sat on my shelf for at least two years and I'm beyond impressed now that I finally made time for it. What a beautiful, dark manner to have your eyes pried open and set ablaze. Heavily recommended.

[Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

[4.75]
Well, I gotta stamp this with my seal of approval. Favorites were probably “Tonsilstonespunksplatter666” and “The Same Thing That Happened to Sam.”

[Joseph Dolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Banger after banger for a great cause. Happy to have supported this project.

[hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! There were a handful of typos and editing slip-ups, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the anthology. Definitely has of the most visceral body horror I’ve read in a while, housed among a beautiful variety of diverse, cathartic horror stories. Definitely one of my favorite reads this year.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5

As with all short story collections and anthologies, some are better and resonate more than others. Some stand outs for me in this collection were "Tonsilstonepunksplatter666!" by Rain Corbyn, "Why We Keep Exploding" by Hailey Piper, "Lost in Reincarnation" by Devaki Devay, "Gender Envy" by Gabriel Valentine, "#MOTHERMAYHEM" by Jei D. Marcade, "The Simulacrum" by Max Turner, and "Tiny Magic" by G.E. Woods.

[Alice Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful collection of stories and artwork from trans/GNC authors. There's a mix of styles, from poetically disturbing to straight out gory, but each one is filled with so much emotion.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. the flensing lense by lc von hessen: 3.5 stars
2. tonsilstone - spunksplatter666 by rain corbyn: 4.5 stars
3. high maintenance by s.a. chant: 4.5 stars
4. the infinite being by f.t.catulla: 3 stars
5. brother maternitas by viktor athelstan: 3 stars
6. The same thing that happened to sam by m. lopes da silva: 2.5 stars
7. ballad of the pest by meagan hotz: 3 stars
8. playing house by ziggy schutz: 4 stars
9. hybrid by rose sable: 4 stars
10. chlorestole-monoxide by w.n derring-judith: 3.5 stars
11. just a joke by hailey piper: 4.25 stars
12. we've been trying to reach you by charles maria tor: 4 stars
13. lost in reincarnation by devaki devay: 3.5 stars
14. because my mother tells me so by dayna ingram: 4.25 stars
15. seaflowers by ori jay: 3 stars
16. fencing chestplate by avi burton: 3 stars
17. gender envy by gabriel valentine: 2 stars
18. rest, my head by cosmin-mihai bîrsan: 3 stars
19. the divine carcass by: bitter karella: 3 stars
20. chironoplasy by joe koch: 3 stars
21. #mothermayham by jei d. marcade: 3.5
22. the lives of scavengers by rhiannon rasmussen: 2 stars
23. the simulacrum by max turner: 4 stars
24. the roots they pull by taylor j pitts: 4 stars
25. stench by vincent endwell: 4 stars
26. the pearl diver by bri crozier: 4 stars
27. tiny magic by g e woods: 3 stars

[Andreas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lately I’ve been on a quest to find books that use horror (and especially body horror) to capture trans pain, and this book is exactly what I’ve been looking for. A very strong collection with lots of different approaches to trans body horror, some stories very angry and others more melancholic and optimistic.

One of my favourite stories was The Divine Carcass, about people on a spaceship transporting a carcass of a god for disposal, and one of the people on the ship slowly starts transforming into a god that will replace the one that died.

Another favourite was Brother Maternitas, about medieval monks dealing with a demonic pregnancy, but one sees the transformation of his body as something horrifying and wrong while for the other it is beautiful and natural.

Fencing Chestplate was the story that was the most relatable to me as a transmasc person. The anger, frustration, desperation of not being seen the way you want to be seen and the lengths to which you’ll go to make it right. And the helplessness of nothing ever being enough.

[aela · Rating 4 out of 5]

it seems unfair to lower the rating for some disparity in the quality of a few of the pieces in here but its also hard to ignore. that being said theres a lot of really well written and poignant trans body horror in here. brother maternitas is a stand out for me, equal parts gruesome and thoughtful of the implications of this gore when it needs to. the infinite being and the same thing that happened to Sam are also really good in my opinion. however, there are a few stories in here that are messy and even bordering on completely incoherent at points.

[Ed C · Rating 4 out of 5]

The front of this book is a gorgeous cover and the back of this book has in bold “A new weird horror anthology to benefit trans youth in Texas”.

This book is definitely weird horror, collecting a very large amount of short to medium stories that genre bend and morph throughout.

The majority of the stories here are o k while a few are really good and couple not great. My favorite was about a man rebuilding a past lover in the body of an android. Never satisfied and always committing harm to it.

As a TW there is bullying, a lot of body dysmorphia and some metaphorical + literal self harm.

A lot of the authors sound very YA to me though and it takes a couple points away for me.

Regardless it is a very beautiful book to show off and the money goes to a great cause!