The narrator of Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars, a fictionalized memoir, explains her frustration with typical “trans stories” to the reader. She has been watching a famous trans woman receive a prestigious award on television. The narrator notes that this trans woman exemplifies a particular trope in trans lives and experiences: that of the pretty white girl who assimilates into “normal” society by getting married and becoming wealthy. The only other common narratives for trans people, according to the narrator, are ones where they die. The narrator explains that she wishes someone would share the stories of trans girls and women of color who do not conform to these safe and palatable narratives. While watching the famous trans woman on television, the narrator becomes so angry that she considers kicking the television screen. She decides against it, since all trans women are “sisters” in the end. Instead, the narrator blows a kiss at the screen and it shatters.

The narrator begins to share her story, revealing that she was assigned male at birth and that her parents are immigrants from China. They settled in a seaside city called Gloom, which, as its name suggests, is nearly always gray and overcast.