“Tootsie” Chapter Two

In which I revisit Stephen King-induced childhood trauma, ponder pegging Frasier, and wrestle with “Mrs. Doubtfire.”

There is a scene that has haunted me since I first read It when I was 12 — an entirely inappropriate age, to be sure, but I was really into horror (despite my general anxiety) and wanted to read an impressively long Stephen King novel about people my age. (It may have actually been my first King, although I remember reading The Shining and Pet Sematary …