Crystal Odelle’s Trans Studies (Gold Line Press, 2025) is a collection of self-fragments; a collage of dreams and desire buried within “a perpetually churned field.” 

Meet Crystal. She has cute bangs and wears bright lipstick. She tells us everything and takes us everywhere. There is no TMI in Trans Studies. We’re gathering important information, (because we’re scholars.) So, we go on dates. We go to therapy. We take mushrooms. In between, we attend vigils. We read theory. We write suicide notes, delete them; drink tequila, drink wine.

Odelle writes, “Humans are dreams that believe in themselves, like a lot.” In the reflections that follow, she deconstructs structures of humanity and belief, planting new notions of identity, intimacy, the body, womanhood, and faith. Diverging from the traditional world of scholarship, Trans Studies is not authoritative or absolute in the knowledge it shares. Instead, what Crystal offers is a chance for us, the reader, to experience our own churning.

In one section, Crystal asks us to fill in the blanks (literally). She is asking us to remember, and to understand, and to make new. I was most drawn to these moments of questioning and self-reflection. Crystal asks: 

• “What says the form? Is it me?”
• “Feathered snake? To fly or slither away?”
• “Is the body modification art or technology, old or new?”  
• “Is anything like a life on the other side?”

I’ll let you sit with that. I’ll let it move inside you. Because as Crystal tells us, “Movement is life.” Trans Studies encapsulates this movement, carrying us through the interior and exterior of trans femme life. It brings us movement on the page – effortlessly shifting between dialogue and bulleted lists and prayer. A life of “committed change” is made tangible throughout this memoir, as it churns our own notions of genre, gender, love, and community.

Check out the pinterest board we made for Trans Studies, read more of Crystal’s work at crystalodelle.com, and find her on Instagram @Crystal_Ography.