Scan barcode
anna_23's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
cherryactually's review
4.0
this was such an incredible collection! from poems to short stories to thought/opnion pieces, i was beyond enamored by the vast experiences and writing styles that this book showcases. i learned and related to so many of these stunning, insanely talented women.
(shoutout to ma'am g who was my art appreciation professor in university, and who, to this day, remains one of my creative and life inspirations.)
also vvv happy whenever i see authors are from davao!! i enjoy all the references. it's my favorite place in the world. it's always been home to me.
(shoutout to ma'am g who was my art appreciation professor in university, and who, to this day, remains one of my creative and life inspirations.)
also vvv happy whenever i see authors are from davao!! i enjoy all the references. it's my favorite place in the world. it's always been home to me.
absolutelyangy's review
4.0
Seeing Tingle come to fruition is a hope fulfilled for many queer Filipino writers and readers. You find yourself whispering the title as if it were a knowing secret only some of us will recognize. And in a sense, most of the forty-nine works are. It’s unfamiliarly familiar, too sacred but too beautiful to be kept hidden, and I only wish I bought it at an earlier date.
In response to its prompt, “What makes you tingle?” – We are being offered a wide array of beautifully curated works about women loving women that are set to disrupt the untrustworthy lesbian narratives imposed on us by popular media in the Philippines (aka gender passing, pseudo-lesbian representation, gender role biases, etc). The anthology is supposedly about one’s recognition of identity, but it is essentially about the personal and communal sapphic experiences – the joys, struggles, challenges, and truths of being one. Most of the pieces are recollections of their childhood, odes to their selves before/after they felt the ‘tingle,' political undertones that capture the marginalization of the community, and of course, the beauty of loving women in ways they know how.
That said, Kate Pedroso’s Footnotes to a Mixtape brings back the hysteria of that time when we are learning the footholds of adolescence. The thrill, the confusion, the angst; I appreciated its vulnerability, mirroring my own emotions when I was trying my hand out in something and someone new. Andyleen Feje’s Stereotypes 101: How to Write a Pseudo-Lesbian Story cleverly laid in words a tragicomic about how the Philippine media continuously produces stereotypes in mainstream and independent films. At this point, Feje’s guide can be regarded as the backbone of contents (I even remember thinking Lumibao’s ‘Must Be… Love’ had the same recipe). Lastly, Libay Cantor’s Be(d)side also listed itself on my top 3, giving us a love letter so intimate and defiant that, for a second, I thought I was reading something that wasn't meant to be seen by others. And in her words, I feel that this is the right passage to sum up my experience in reading this novel.
And it was indeed a pleasure, more than enough for me, to see queer feminist literature such as this one to take up space and converse with us beyond the binary. And of course, the brilliance of Jhoanna Lynn Cruz does not go underappreciated, not only in filling the gaps in Philippine literature but also for her lifelong commitment to reaching out to us as a lesbian writer.
In response to its prompt, “What makes you tingle?” – We are being offered a wide array of beautifully curated works about women loving women that are set to disrupt the untrustworthy lesbian narratives imposed on us by popular media in the Philippines (aka gender passing, pseudo-lesbian representation, gender role biases, etc). The anthology is supposedly about one’s recognition of identity, but it is essentially about the personal and communal sapphic experiences – the joys, struggles, challenges, and truths of being one. Most of the pieces are recollections of their childhood, odes to their selves before/after they felt the ‘tingle,' political undertones that capture the marginalization of the community, and of course, the beauty of loving women in ways they know how.
That said, Kate Pedroso’s Footnotes to a Mixtape brings back the hysteria of that time when we are learning the footholds of adolescence. The thrill, the confusion, the angst; I appreciated its vulnerability, mirroring my own emotions when I was trying my hand out in something and someone new. Andyleen Feje’s Stereotypes 101: How to Write a Pseudo-Lesbian Story cleverly laid in words a tragicomic about how the Philippine media continuously produces stereotypes in mainstream and independent films. At this point, Feje’s guide can be regarded as the backbone of contents (I even remember thinking Lumibao’s ‘Must Be… Love’ had the same recipe). Lastly, Libay Cantor’s Be(d)side also listed itself on my top 3, giving us a love letter so intimate and defiant that, for a second, I thought I was reading something that wasn't meant to be seen by others. And in her words, I feel that this is the right passage to sum up my experience in reading this novel.
“I was so careful about these things that it caught me by surprise when you asked me, during our first time, to tell you how I want to be pleasured, by you. And my soul – and clit – just tingled. Just accepting our womanhood is pleasure enough for me.”
And it was indeed a pleasure, more than enough for me, to see queer feminist literature such as this one to take up space and converse with us beyond the binary. And of course, the brilliance of Jhoanna Lynn Cruz does not go underappreciated, not only in filling the gaps in Philippine literature but also for her lifelong commitment to reaching out to us as a lesbian writer.
More...