The XX Marking in Manhunt: A Symbol of Gender Policing and Belonging

The XX as a Mark of the TERF Hierarchy

In Gretchen Felker-Martin's Manhunt, the XX marking—a tattoo, a laminated card, a painted symbol—functions as the visual shorthand for the Daughters of the Witches You Couldn’t Burn, the trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF) faction that dominates the post-apocalyptic landscape. The symbol is rooted in a crude biological essentialism: the XX chromosome pair is used to claim that only cisgender women are “real” women, and that trans women are interlopers. The marking appears on bodies, documents, and vehicles, always serving to police who belongs and who is cast out. Its recurrence across the novel traces the shifting power dynamics of the TERF regime and the psychological toll it takes on characters like Fran, who yearns for the legitimacy the symbol promises but can never fully claim.

Recurrence and Context

The most prominent instance of the XX marking is the tattoo on Teach’s forehead, introduced in the opening chapter. When Fran and Beth first spot the TERF leader, Fran notes the “stark tattoo: XX” and immediately reads it as a badge of authority—a “pussy certified all-natural” stamp that marks Teach as the enforcer of a brutal gender hierarchy. The tattoo is not merely decorative; it is a public declaration of biological purity, a credential that grants Teach the power to judge others.

The symbol also appears on laminated cards, as seen in chapter 21, when Fran reflects on “that laminated card with its little XX” while sitting by a fire. The card functions as a token of legitimacy within the TERF system, a physical object that supposedly certifies the holder as a real woman. For Fran, a trans woman, the card is a painful reminder of the exclusion she faces—she holds it, but it does not grant her the safety or recognition it promises.

Beyond bodies and documents, the XX is painted on the trucks of the TERF convoy, as noted in the outline for chapter 1: “Fran spots white Xs painted on the trucks—the TERFs are heading north.” This use of the symbol on military vehicles extends its meaning from individual identity to institutional power, marking the TERF forces as a mobile, armed apparatus of gender policing.

Finally, in chapter 28, during the climactic battle, Teach sees “a blessed XX daubed across a suit of riot gear” and feels a moment of hope—only to realize it is on a corpse. This instance underscores the hollowing out of the symbol: the XX no longer signifies protection or belonging, but death and the failure of the TERF ideology.

Shifting Meanings: From Enemy to Token to Hollow Sign

The XX marking’s meaning evolves as the novel progresses. Initially, it is a marker of the enemy. When Fran and Beth encounter Teach, the tattoo instantly identifies her as a threat, and Beth’s immediate impulse is to shoot her. The symbol is a warning, a sign of the violent persecution that trans women face.

For Fran, however, the symbol also carries a seductive allure. In chapter 21, her reaction to the laminated card is complex: she is haunted by it, replaying the feeling it gave her. The card represents a promise of belonging—a way to be recognized as a woman in a world that denies her that recognition. Yet the promise is false, because the system that issues the card is the same one that would kill her if her trans identity were discovered. The card becomes a token of a legitimacy that is always out of reach, a reminder of the gap between how she sees herself and how the TERF regime defines womanhood.

By the end of the novel, the symbol is drained of meaning. Teach’s desperate hope upon seeing the XX on a corpse reveals that the marking has become a hollow sign—it no longer guarantees safety or sisterhood, but instead marks the dead and the defeated. The TERF hierarchy, which once seemed all-powerful, is crumbling, and the XX is reduced to a meaningless scrawl on a dead body.

Character and Theme Connections

The XX marking is deeply tied to the novel’s exploration of gender essentialism and transphobic persecution. Teach, as the primary bearer of the tattoo, embodies the ideology that reduces womanhood to chromosomes. Her speech in chapter 16, where she tells trans men they are “raised as men” and that their bodies are “weapons of war,” reinforces the same logic that the XX symbol encodes. The marking is a physical manifestation of this belief system, a way of making biological essentialism visible and enforceable.

For Fran, the symbol connects to the theme of the body as a contested site of identity. Her desire for the laminated card reflects her longing to have her identity validated by an external authority, even one that would reject her. The card is a stand-in for the recognition she craves, but it also highlights the impossibility of that recognition within the TERF framework. Fran’s internal conflict—her simultaneous attraction to and revulsion from the symbol—mirrors the broader struggle of trans characters in the novel to assert their humanity in a world that denies it.

The marking also intersects with themes of violence, moral compromise, and psychological survival. Beth’s immediate violent response to Teach’s tattoo shows how the symbol provokes fear and aggression. Later, Teach’s own reliance on the XX as a source of hope in battle reveals the psychological fragility of those who cling to it. The symbol becomes a crutch, and when it fails, the characters who depended on it are left shattered.

Finally, the XX is tied to reproductive control and bodily autonomy. The TERF regime’s obsession with biological sex is inseparable from its control over reproduction—the same ideology that marks women with XX also seeks to dictate who can bear children and who cannot. The symbol is a tool of that control, a way of sorting bodies into those that are allowed to reproduce and those that are not.

Study Questions

1. How does the XX marking function differently for Teach and for Fran?

Answer: For Teach, the XX tattoo is a badge of authority and purity, granting her the power to police others. For Fran, the laminated card is a token of a legitimacy she can never fully possess—it represents the recognition she desires but also the exclusion she faces. Teach’s marking is a source of strength; Fran’s is a source of pain.

1. What does the appearance of white Xs on the TERF trucks suggest about the symbol’s role in the novel?

Answer: The white Xs on the trucks extend the symbol from individual identity to institutional power. They mark the TERF forces as a mobile, armed apparatus of gender policing, suggesting that the XX is not just a personal marker but a tool of state violence. The trucks’ movement northward also signals the expansion of the TERF regime’s reach.

1. How does the meaning of the XX change in the final battle scene?

Answer: In chapter 28, Teach sees an XX on a corpse’s riot gear and feels a moment of hope, but the hope is immediately dashed when she realizes the wearer is dead. The symbol, once a guarantee of belonging and safety, becomes a marker of death and failure. This shift underscores the collapse of the TERF ideology and the emptiness of its promises.

1. In what ways does the XX marking relate to the theme of bodily autonomy?

Answer: The XX marking is a tool of bodily control—it sorts bodies into those deemed legitimate and those deemed threats. By marking certain bodies as “real” women, the TERF regime asserts the right to decide who can reproduce, who can access hormones, and who deserves protection. The symbol is thus a physical manifestation of the regime’s attempt to regulate bodies and deny autonomy to those who do not fit its narrow definition of womanhood.