Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl's Confabulous Memoir

The main cast of characters in Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars is made up of trans women. What forms of anti-trans bias does the text highlight? How do the women of the Street resist this oppression?

The narrator of the text is a self-described liar. How does her position as an unreliable narrator affect the reader’s understanding of the text? How does it influence the character development of the narrator?

The women of the Street engage in a protracted debate about the relative virtues of violent and non-violent forms of protest. What kind of conclusions is the text making about these different responses to oppression?

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars utilizes a variety of genres and styles in its narrative structure. Name two of these genres and explore how they impact the telling of the narrator’s story.

One of the central characters of the novel, the narrator’s sister Charity, is depicted almost exclusively through letters written by the narrator. How does viewing Charity from this perspective impact the reader’s understanding of her? How does Charity influence the narrator’s own journey and character development?

There are many elements of magical realism and the fantastic incorporated into the narrative of Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars. What purpose do the stylistic elements serve? How does the use of magical realism contribute to the narrator’s story?

The act of storytelling, and creative production in general, is important to many of the characters in the text. In what way are stories and creativity connected to identity?

The narrator decides to bake a cake, which she refers to as a “forgiveness cake,” as a way of healing herself. How does this cake also heal her wider community? What might this cake symbolize on a broader level, and why is it important that the narrator baked it on her own?