THE PRETERNATURAL ROLE OF MAN’S BEST FRIEND: AN EXPLANATORY STUDY ON BOYLAN’S GOOD BOY

Abstract

Jennifer Finney Boylan is an American trans woman, activist, television personality, author of several books and also a professor. She came out as trans in her 40’s when she felt being estranged in the wrong body. The identity of trans people is always a crucial one. They constantly face many obstacles and they are pushed outside the margins, prejudiced not just in their family, society, but everywhere they go. Boylan transitioned after getting married and becoming father of two children. She managed to be both dad and mother to her children. She says, “When you come out with the truth, no matter how humiliating its revelation might be, you couldn’t be punished for it”. Boylan’s Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs is a memoir about seven different dogs she loved during the seven phases of her life. Being a trans has been a burden and a gift in her life. Even when she wanted to transition to live in her true self, she was forced to think thrice because she didn’t want her family and close ones to suffer because of her. The canines she owned were a mixed bunch both in appearance and personality, and Jennifer tells about their dispositions, behavior, and thoughts. This present paper deals with how Boylan’s love for her dogs she owned, helped shape her life and allowed her to accept herself. It also explains how these dogs became part of her during her crucial moments of growth and transformation from young boy Jimmy Boylan to a middle-aged woman Jennifer Finney Boylan.