His Right Hand A Conversation on Gender and Religion

His Right Hand A Conversation on Gender and Religion His Right Hand by Mette Ivie Harrison is a mystery novel set in a Mormon community. It’s the second in a series, following her debut novel The Bishops Wife. The book follows Linda Wallheim, a progressive Mormon married to the bishop of her ward. After Carl, a prominent and opinionated ward member is killed, it’s discovered that, unbeknownst to everyone, he was a trans man. Book Riot Contributors Jessica Woodbury and Constance Augusta Zaber read His Right Hand and decided to sit down and have a little conversation about it. A few moderate spoilers follow. Jessica:  To start, weve both read this book twice now? Ive read it twice. Once a few months ago and then again in preparation for this post to get it fresh in my head. Constance: I read it maybe a month and a half ago and have been reviewing it. We can call mine 1.5 reads Jessica:  We both read it for very different reasons. His Right Hand is the 2nd book in a series by Mette Ivie Harrison. I read the first book, The Bishops Wife, because Im a former Mormon who keeps tabs on Mormonism, and because I love mystery novels. Constance: Im trying to keep tabs on new books with prominent trans characters which is why I first took notice of HRH but I also love mysteries and the early feedback bumped it up higher on my to-read list Jessica:  I know were getting more and more trans characters, but it seems like we still have a very, very small sample. Constance: Its such a small sample. Its also interesting to me that most of the books with trans characters Im seeing feature trans women (which is a whole separate conversation about false-representation and visibility) so the fact that the trans character in this book was a trans man was different for me. Jessica:    I know its unfair to demand that any one character represent a whole group. But I do think its fair to look for trans characters that are thoughtfully created. I think were allowed to have a trans villain and/or a trans victim as long as theyre well-drawn human beings. Constance: Completely! There are conversations that Im watching right now about what it means to have trans women at the center of the spotlight right now and whether or not this visibility is a privilege. Ive been hearing lately variations on what good does this visibility mean if trans women (particularly Black and Latina trans women) are still facing social and physical violence. Jessica:  I kind of hate that its a hot topic but as a cis person I do want to see more trans people out there. Constance: I love seeing trans representation when its not freakshow style visbility which is part of why I care so much about trans-created representation. Jessica:  I admit, I was really intrigued by the setup of this novel: a trans man passing as cis in a Mormon ward. Gender issues in Mormonism are full of stuff to talk about already. Constance: Yeah! Particularly because so much of this book is about gender roles and patriarchy, her use of a trans male character is interesting. (Although my search of the text on Adobe Digital Editions isnt turning up the word patriarchy.) Jessica:  This is probably where we should acknowledge that one of the reasons were having this conversation because we arent too happy with how that played out. Carl, the trans character in the book, is just all-in for the patriarchy and that is something I really struggled with. Constance: Right, I read it with the sort of glee that comes from watching trashy reality television to be completely honest. Jessica:    I just had mounting dread chapter after chapter. Constance: I feel like we also had different relationships with the book. This might have been a bit closer to home for you than it was for me. Jessica:  I am REALLY into religion and writing about religion right now, as Im doing a lot of writing about it myself. And, you know, I grew up Mormon and was in the church until I was 25. There arent a lot of books out there that portray Mormonism in a way that feels honest to me. So I have a lot invested. Constance: While Im coming in really just connected to that one character. Ill say that as an outsider/observer, I found the way she explained Mormon topics and culture to be very uncomfortable, which is something that Id be interested to hear your take on. Jessica:  It was painful, Ill be honest. It felt like explaining rather than storytelling. I would recognize things that were familiar to me, people who were familiar to me, etc. But I didnt really feel like I came away with it seeing the actual Mormon experience and what it feels like. It felt other-ing. When you have to stop in the middle of the story to give me a few paragraphs of history, its like youre a reader on tour in an exotic land instead of just getting immersed in it. Constance: That was my read of it, too. Jessica:    One example I highlighted (I highlighted A LOT on my 2nd read) was when Linda, the main character, is having a conversation with a black cop and has to stop and explain to us the churchs history with black people so we can then understand why the conversation might be awkward. Constance: I dont know if youve read any trans memoirs from the 2000s but I found a similar tone of Let me explain this to you but prioritize the readers comfort over anything else. Jessica: Thats really it! Its not normalizing at all. I felt like her discussions of the trans character were the same way. Wed stop every now and then and get a little lecture about what Linda has read/researched about trans people. Constance: This is one area that I actually liked about it! Jessica:    Thats so interesting to me! Constance: Her very black-and-white, confusing, simplified, tangled lectures on trans people felt authentic to me for a cis lady who just googled Tell me about the transgendered people? (I assume shes the type to form her Google searches as questions.) But I dont think that was intentional characterization and just seemed to speak more to the authors experience. Jessica:  It was like your hip aunt telling you about an article she read. And the author says in the notes that she wrote this because of a family friends experience with a trans child. I completely understand what she wanted to do, but sometimes that made it feel more like an agenda than a story. Constance: It definitely felt like the desire to write a trans book came before any other plot details. Jessica:    And having a trans character whos dead for most of the book and never gets to speak for himself troubled me. Constance: I was waiting for her to find his diary or a video he recorded for his kids or something to be honest. Jessica:    As hokey as it wouldve been, I wouldve appreciated that. Constance: It would have been completely hokey but at least it would have fit with the overall hokey-ness of the book. If she got the idea to write a trans book because of knowing someone whose trans its weird that she has the book entirely about cis people. Jessica:    And yet sadly typical. Constance: Right, this seems to be a permutation of the dead transsexual/cross-dresser from cop shows. Its easier to talk about us if we dont talk and just lay there on the morgue table for them to talk over Jessica:  And the way they talked about him! I dont remember what I told you about this book before you read it, but I was worried that it would be painful for you to read all the terrible things the Mormon characters say about this man. It was painful for me. Constance: I mean this is the issue with lack of representation of Mormon stories, the concern that people may take this book as the Definitive Word on what Mormons think about trans people. Jessica:    And you know what? This may be what many of them think. I cant really say. Its not really a topic Mormons talk about. Which leads to another point: the author tries to make the distinction between gender issues and sexuality issues a few times. And then inserts a couple of gay subplots. Which only muddies the waters. (I know much more about what Mormons think about gay people than trans people.) But Mormons do define gender as essential, so theres that. That’s from the Proclamation on the Family, which came out in the 90s. Its like almost-scripture. And it is basically all laying the foundation for the gay marriage fight, though I didnt realize that then. Constance: Its interesting to me that she has the trans character quoting from this because I feel like I know (or know of) more trans guys who try to do what we call going stealth (i.e. hiding the fact that youre trans and that youve transitioned) and end up becoming more assimilationist with traditional gender roles as a way of compensating for being trans. Its like the closest thing to authentic that Carls character got for me. Jessica:    That was really something I tried hard to wrap my head around. I had trouble understanding how someone who struggled with their own gender would then be so strict to hold to gender norms. I wish thered been more to that, that it had been more fleshed out. And, you know, the fact that he basically remained celibate rather than reveal his trans-ness. Constance: Did you feel at all that their celibate relationship allowed the reader to avoid thinking about trans people having sex? Theres also the thing where Emma just doesnt seem to know what sex is at all which I found super foreign. Jessica:    I was mad that it seemed to invalidate him as a sexual being! As for Emma, I do know a small number of Mormon women who have ridiculous ideas about sex. Its very abnormal, but it happens. Not surprisingly in a culture that revolves heavily around abstinence. Constance: I guess if youre a trans guy who wants to be in a marriage but wants to be stealth I suppose thats the ideal relationship. But it just felt like an easy out for her to not talk about his sexuality. Jessica:  And when he does finally have a sexual relationship with an old flame, it feels like it just gets glossed over so quickly. I loved that the guy still cared about him and saw him as a person and didnt invalidate his new gender. But he mostly tried to hide it so we never really got to explore that. Also Linda was a total creepy psycho whenever she went to that guys house. Constance: So much of her investigating struck me as really invasive. Jessica:    It was. I mean, even though Mormons tend to be overly involved in one anothers business in a ward, and even though being the bishops wife gives you that even more, it was not cool. Constance: I was unsatisfied with her description of the ward. It seemed we kept hearing about people being involved in their neighbors lives but other than Emma, Verity, and her walking friend there didnt seem to be that much community. Jessica:    Linda seems to dislike everyone and not really be friends with anyone and yet knows a lot about people. I think people actually confide in you LESS when youre the bishops wife because they dont want it getting out to the bishop. Constance: A major point in this book is her divorce and I was curious what you thought about how she wrote about it. Jessica:    That was one of the best parts, I thought. The young marriage and quick divorce is definitely a problem among Mormons. Theres so much pressure, doctrinally and culturally, to get married. Plus, you know, the physical pressure of having to be abstinent until marriage. You hear a lot of stories, a lot of rumors, and sexual dysfunction definitely happens just the way she described. Constance: And we have the two very different reactions to that in the main character and Carls wife Emma. Jessica:    I think Lindas frustration at a husband who doesnt desire a sexual relationship is definitely more the norm.  Also I found it CRAZY how she just casually mentioned that she learned how to masturbate like it wasnt anything. I learned that was a no go, but maybe things are different now? Constance: I know that you cant speak for all members of the church but Im curious if you have thoughts on if things like masturbation are talked about in the context Dont Do This or just Not Talked About At All. Jessica:   So. I never heard about it. Because I am a woman and women dont masturbate. But I was told that the boys did hear about it as teenagers. A lot. I literally learned that women could masturbate from the movie Pleasantville. I think that was the whole plan, that women wouldnt even know it was a thing so why suggest that they not do it? Constance: Which is interesting because that doesnt feel dissimilar to national conversations about masturbation? Like its even a joke in sitcoms about how much boys masturbate but its rare to hear about girls masturbating Jessica:  Yeah, girls were treated as the guardians of virginity, without having sexual desire. Which can be a real surprise when you actual feel sexual desire! Constance: I have my own complicated history with those early feelings of sexual desire but I cant imagine experiencing it in a community that has girls has utterly virginal. I imagine it would be even more complicated for girls -experiencing same-sex desire. Jessica: My sexuality and queerness came into being in a really unusual way, due in large part to that. Celibacy being a thing though may have been more palatable to Carl, the trans character, since gay people are expected to be celibate in the Mormon church. Which means that Lindas son who comes out as gay is facing a tough future. Constance: Thats something that I would have loved to see Linda dwell more on. After all that happens with Ben, her gay ex-husband, and Carl and his lover she seems fairly optimistic about her son. Jessica: Shes so concerned about her husband accepting his son, she doesnt really seem to fathom what his life is going to be like. Constance: I wonder if it has to do with another part that I struggled with- the way that the author seemed to be so focused on saying, Oh sure there are ?_those_? hard-ass Mormons but Im going to put a positive spin on everything! Jessica:  She definitely has a you-can-be-progressive-and-still-be-Mormon tap dance going on. And I really understand that she wants to make that statement, but like a lot of other things about this book, it feels too heavy handed. Constance: She reminded me of the white gay men who are eager to distance themselves from the weird gays to show that Were just like you! Jessica:  Though I think thats less and less the case. Constance: Really? Jessica:    Yeah. Between my 1st and 2nd read of the book, the church put out a new policy on LGBTQ families which wont allow the children of cohabitating or married same-sex couples to be baptized or serve missions or join the priesthood until theyre 18, and only then if they disavow same-sex relationships. It really draws a hard line. That was definitely in my head in the second read, I dont think her son would be allowed to serve a mission if hes openly gay. Or at least, not much longer. Constance: Well damn. (This would be a good-time to plug your really excellent Toast piece btw.) Jessica:    And thanks for that softball, I do have an essay about how many progressives and feminists are leaving the church because of the policy. Constance: I was reading your piece thinking that I needed Linda to read it. Jessica:  I would LOVE to know how Lindas life will change now. Because I think Mette Ivie Harrisons plans to have this progressive Mormon character are going to be shaped by a lot of things out of her control in how the church is going these days. Constance: We talked about how it seemed like the author really wanted to write a trans book and it seems like we both agree that she also came in with a good progressive Mormon agenda too. If youre going to write a book with an agenda I think it needs to be realllly well crafted. Jessica:  I think we also both agree that this book didnt really succeed with either agenda. That it felt too crafted and not organic enough. Constance: Completely. Jessica:  And I know that neither of us feels we can recommend it as an enjoyable reading experience or an accurate view of Mormon or trans people. Constance: I would recommend it to other people who enjoy reading things they dont like. Jessica:  You totally hate-read it. Constance: I did and I have no regrets. Jessica:  You are a serious hate-reader. Constance: I was on a date the other night and told the person that hate-reading is why my skin is so nice. You know were going to get comments from people saying things like, Well, I guess I just shouldnt write about Mormons/Trans people! Jessica:    And I sooooo dont want that to happen. I want MORE. I just want this book to be a learning experience of how not to do it. Constance: Right! Jessica:    So maybe we can recommend some good examples if you want? Constance: I would love to hear your recommendations on books about Mormon characters! Jessica:  So this is where I run into trouble. Because I used to have two Id recommend and one was Mette Ivie Harrisons first book. Which I cant recommend now because the series takes such a sad turn with book 2. But I can recommend Elders by Ryan McIlvain, though I feel like a broken record because its the one I always recommend. Its SO good, though. Constance: Can you recommend it with the caveat that they should treat it Harrisons first book as a stand-alone? Jessica:    I think so? I dont know. Im really torn. It feels accurate in many ways. And the first book is kind of about having a more radical fundamentalist-type Mormon in the ward, so its different. Constance:  Ive read a few well-written trans books by cis authors where my only complaint was how their trans character was done. It can be harder to find trans books by trans authors because theyre usually smaller publishers. Jessica:    Yes! I think a lot of us are looking for good ones. I think many readers want to explore other peoples experiences through books. Constance: But I ?loved? the upcoming If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo. Lilith Latinis poetry book Improvise, Girl, Improvise  is amazing. And there are some great stories in The Collection which is an anthology of trans writers, edited by Tom Leger and Riley MacLeod. Oh, and Nevada by Imogen Binnie which is the book that I came out after reading. Jessica:  The power of BOOKS. Im getting all weepy. Stories matter. Stories told well mean something to people. And you and I were both very disappointed with the opportunity missed here. Constance: Very disappointed. Jessica:  I dont like talking about books I dont like, but I had trouble letting this one go. And the risk of it being on the list of Trans Books to Recommend really clinched it for me and confirmed that we needed to have this chat. Constance: I feel like this book was also a good bonding thing for us? So theres that. Jessica:  It was. So hey, still power of books! Constance: Yeah, part of why I want to be public about not liking this book is because I think it could end up on trans book lists. Jessica:    I want booksellers and librarians to know that this probably isnt a good choice for a display about religion or LGBTQ/trans fiction. Wed rather they go another way. Constance: Jess, this was a really good conversation thank you Jessica:  Thank YOU. I enjoyed this a lot. We should hate-read again some time. Constance: We need another trans/Mormon book to come out to hate-read together. Or a podcast, someone should give us a podcast Jessica:  Oh yes, that exciting and growing genre of trans/Mormon media. Well get right on that. Sign up to Unusual Suspects to receive news and recommendations for mystery/thriller readers. Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.