Just One Thing with Crystal Odelle

Crystal Odelle’s essay “Gray Rainbow” gives us images that sing and resonate as we move through physical and emotional space alongside a person of trans experience. Here they share just one thing about the piece:

“My first story set in St. Louis after moving to the city during the pandemic, I’m sentimental over the title “Gray Rainbow.” However, I weighed the punchier line from the story “a few millimeters of bone.” Most people won’t catch the line from the infamous incel meme. Informed by Natalie Wynn's Incels, I’m sickly fascinated by trans*/incel surgery dialogue overlap. After rewatching the video for (im)moral support, the content of my story doesn’t warrant or honor whatever nightmare that conversation provokes. I’m telling you because, at-large, I write into my discomforts for intra-/interpersonal understanding (i.e., she’s a masochist/Aquarius/dreamer).”