For further reading: “Transgender History” by Susan Stryker, “Beyond the Gender Binary” by Alok Vaid-Menon, and the documentary “Disclosure” (2020) on trans representation in film.

He walked back toward the village, ready to face the skeptical doctors in Kinshasa. He would bring them the cure, but he would also bring them the truth of the Abanguba —the tall, majestic guardians of the river who refused to be forgotten. He would tell them of the night he spent with the lords of the forest, the ones who stood at the pinnacle of nature's hierarchy, bridging the divide.

Because of this, trans-specific activism within the larger LGBTQ culture has shifted focus. While gay marriage was the fight of the 2010s, the trans fight of the 2020s is about : access to shelters, banning conversion therapy, and legal gender recognition without invasive surgery.

"I have heard the stories," Kofi replied, accepting the drink. "But science requires proof, Elder."