Flocks

And today's pick is Flocks by L. Nichols. Originally published in 2012, I believe I read the 2018 edition published by Secret Acres.

A trans graphic memoir, I also HAD to pick it up because I accidently read the follow up title I Am Only A Foreigner Because You Do Not Understand earlier this year. Link in the cards!

Content notes for c section, homophobic, Christianity, slurs, fatphobia, skeletons, drinking/smoking, disordered eating, and cutting.

Keywords that came to mind were coming of age, queer, community, arrows, escape, leaving home behind, and family conflict.

The summary is "L. Nichols, a trans man, artist, engineer and father of two, was born in rural Louisiana, assigned female and raised by conservative Christians. Flocks is his memoir of that childhood, and of his family, friends and community, the flocks of Flocks, that shaped and re-shaped him. L.'s irresistibly charming drawings demonstrate what makes Flocks so special: L.'s boundless empathy."

If you want to learn more about Nichols I'll point you again to my review of I Am Only a Foreigner Because You Do Not Understand. Although I will also note that since the publication of Flocks L's gender journey has continued on it's way and Nichol's no longer ID's as a binary trans man and instead sees themselves as somewhere in the centre of all this gender chaos (as I like to describe it).

Looking at the writing and art of Flocks, they continued to mesh super well and Nichols uses visuals to communicate a lot of emotion very effectively and without making things overly complicated.

The color scheme and page layouts were pleasing to the eye and Nichol's choice to represent themselves as a doll was imaginative and successfully communicates how Nichols felt.

Community was a real central theme in Flocks. Particularly the way that evengelical christian community can hold you close one moment and spit you out the next depending on if you conform or not. Although L is able to eventually find many other communities, including a new faith community, to be part of as they find themselves. There's also a fair amount of comparing and contrasting between L's parents after they divorced. Both of whom use L against the other. Fun!

Gender exploration is also obviously front and centre. Hair plays a big part in this first volume for L. There's the push and pull between learning how to express oneself even as L's mom tries to corner them in a femme box. There's the all too common arc of moving from the country to the city to find the space to express yourself (highly relatable, although certainly not universal). I thought it was interesting how Nichols highlighted the link between being able to more freely express themselves and their mental health improving.

There's also a fair amount of exploration of sexuality as well. L even seems to have a net positive experience getting involved with a pre-existing couple. Which you almost never hear about - la shock.

Class and place felt highlighted and lightly explored. L is able to pull themselves out of a small southern town through education and losing their accent.

There is some racial diversity but being such an introspective memoir it isn't explored.

Wrapping things up. It was a bit hard to reach a fairly positive ending already knowing that there is more struggle to come because I accidently read this duology out of order. But it was a brave, interesting and important story. A story of moving forward and ultimately sometimes realizing what you thought was the end goal was actually a false peak on a longer journey.