A Mother and Daughter's Revenge Autobiography Written Outside the 'Normal Family'

Huang Hsiu-chien's "My Butch Mother" offers a deeply personal and multifaceted look at the author's family, expanding upon her acclaimed documentary "Small Talk." The book introduces a mother who defies convention: she smokes, plays mahjong, collects erotic art, and loves women. This unconventional life, however, is rooted in a difficult past.

The narrative reveals the mother's escape from persistent domestic violence and economic exploitation by her husband at the age of 32, taking her two young daughters with her. Despite leading a traditional Taiwanese folk performance troupe, the family faces severe financial hardship, forcing the daughters to abandon their education to perform.

The author, who identifies as a "Gayby" (a child raised by LGBTQ+ parents), uses the term to foster a sense of creativity, tenderness, and humor within queer families. Yet, the book's content is far from solely lighthearted. It chronicles the mother's upbringing in a rural Taiwanese village where discrimination against non-traditional girls was commonplace, and her early work in a textile factory.

"My Butch Mother" is framed as a "revenge autobiography," a collaborative work pieced together from the memories and testimonies of the author, her mother, and the women who were part of her mother's life. This collective narrative challenges the singular, often patriarchal, perspective of traditional autobiographies, offering instead a complex tapestry of experiences that includes the author's own survival of domestic and sexual violence, her mother's resilience, and the contributions of various maternal figures.