Mad Honey

One of the most important revelations narratively and thematically is that Lily is trans. As much as Olivia’s experience of being abused shapes her narration and perspective, Lily’s experience because of her gender identity and expression shape hers. Lily’s experiences with her with her family, her friends, and her lover—and her reflections throughout the book—offer perspective on gender identity and expression. Much later in the story, during the trial over her death, what it means to be transgender, specifically, is the topic on which Dr. Monica Powers expounds while addressing the jury. Using the analogy of handedness, Dr. Powers explains how being cisgender or transgender isn’t a preference but an inherent tendency—a way of being rather than a choice. This is reflected in how, even by Ava’s assessment, despite being Assigned Male at Birth (AMAB), Lily has always been a girl. Lily’s gender identity is obvious to the people around her because of her gender expression. Even as a child, she enjoyed wearing feminine clothing and trying on her mother’s makeup. This triggered her father’s rage, and he attempted to curb Lily’s expression by forcing her to go to a school that enforced gendered uniforms. When Lily rebelled and was beaten up for it at school, her father joined in, forcibly cutting her hair short.

Ava, conversely, is consistently supportive and accepting of who Lily is and how she chooses to express herself. She helps Lily get onto puberty blockers and hormone therapy and even obtains legal permission for Lily to have surgery without her father’s signoff. All of these actions help Lily become more comfortable in her body; however, these changes mean that she is, to the world, a trans girl. As a result, Lily doesn’t choose to reveal her history when given the option; she doesn’t want to be seen as a “trans” girl because she has always felt like just a girl. Her alignment and comfort with this gender identity is evident in how comfortable she feels at Maya’s menstruation party, surrounded by other women. Despite never having menstruated herself, Lily feels safe and understood in this space; this points to how gender isn’t about biology or sex but about how one feels inside. Lily’s reflections on the phenomenon of “passing” (as straight) raises other questions surrounding gender identity and expression—not just with respect to gender but generally about how one is treated better based on how closely one resembles a dominant social group. Society consistently seems to focus on what is visible rather than what’s inside a person. This prompts questions such as whether Lily’s father would’ve behaved as aggressively toward her had Lily restricted her gender expression to entirely private spaces.

Ultimately, the book conveys the reality that trans people are at risk just for being who they are. When Lily was known as “Liam,” she was beaten up for expressing herself in feminine ways; when she began to live her life as Lily, she was assaulted for her past as “Liam.” The idea of someone being transgender is still too complex for many people to comprehend, and the unfortunate reality remains that what overwhelms people often incites fear, anger, and violence. Thus, gender identity and expression, especially for transgender people, continue to be complex and layered experiences.