Having been published a decade ago in 2014, this book is understandably dated in many ways. Gender studies is a field that is constantly moving forwarHaving been published a decade ago in 2014, this book is understandably dated in many ways. Gender studies is a field that is constantly moving forward, which is great in many ways, but that means it's hard to pin down in a book. Importantly, this book could use a really robust revision to be more inclusive.
I did enjoy the easy-going, fun tone of the book and the quotes from various persons of the queer rainbow offering their perspectives throughout. It is a warm and uplifting book, with the main message being that whoever you are and however you identify, you are totally okay, deserve to give and receive love how you see fit, and should be able to claim a happy life freely as the person you are.
Here's some of what I found to be less than good:
The dated cultural references alone might alienate a younger reader, but the terminology and some blatant generalizations about identities are where the author should add more nuance. There is definitely a longer and more nuanced discussion about religion than this book allows for. The book also focuses mostly on the United Kingdom, as that is where the author resides.
For a book about queerness that even discusses how the binary is a construct, there is a clear tendency toward binary thinking. Gay men seem to be the primary audience, with the secondary audience being gay women. That's not super inclusive. Transness and trans identities need to be revisited and given more care and attention; there is even a fair amount of what at best would be considered trans erasure. Nonbinary identities are also excluded beyond a brief mention of "genderqueer." "He or she" instead of gender-neutral "they" is used more than once, for example, which is pretty cringe-inducing.
Though asexuality is introduced as a potential identity, aromanticism is not discussed and ace identities (the spectrum of which is not discussed) are promptly ignored by the rest of the book. Sex is a huge focus—I'd say the main focus—of the book. Of course sex education is important, and queer sex education in schools is basically nonexistent. But that's not all there is. Near the end, for example, the book offers this: "All people—gay or otherwise—must recognize that there is one universal truth of the universe: We all want to have sex with loads of people." Yeah, that's just not true. Language matters. Representation matters. Nuance matters.
I am not rating this because, as you can see, it's pretty complicated. No book can be a monolith, and it's always going to be a product of its time and subject to the author's own biases. With an understanding that this book is flawed in many ways, I think this book could be a fine introduction to queerness for tweens/early teens—as long as it is only one small part of that education. At the very least, it offers space to begin conversations about what's good and bad in here, how things have changed in the last decade, what other queer educators say, and how the reader might feel and experience things differently.
In the end, for me, it's about having and continuing these crucial conversations because that's what makes the world a more inclusive place for everyone....more
Audra (ouija.reads)
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