Reviews with content warning for Dysphoria - Gender Queer: A Memoir

Kobabe mentions a few times in the book that e was historically reluctant to share details of eir life and sadly, I think it shows. This would have felt more meaningful as a memoir if there was focus on the deeper meaning of a few important scenarios rather than just a general overview of eir entire life from birth to publishing.

The more I reflect on this book, the less I like it. While I don’t agree with book bans of any kind, as a queer person I don’t think it provides a particularly helpful or useful lens through which to examine sexuality and gender or the way they operate in society. I wouldn’t give it to a teen to read not because I think it’s inappropriate but because I don’t think it has anything substantial to say about queer identity.

Content Warnings

saracat's review

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

I greatly appreciated Kobabe sharing so much of eir story. And I think the graphic novel format really supports the telling of eir journey. I did struggle with the jumping around from topic to topic. Sometimes I could see the connection line from one thing to the next. But I couldn’t always. And found myself struggling to understand where different things fit within a timeline as a result. However, I do expect I’ll read this book again. And I feel sure I’ll follow and understand better now that I have a general idea of Kobabe’s story.

Content Warnings

gcrkl's review

Go to review page

emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

4.5

Content Warnings

nokreadingnook's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

Content Warnings

joscelynhe's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

savvylit's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

Gender Queer is a beautifully illustrated and elucidating memoir about one person's journey. From Kobabe, I feel like I learned so much about dysphoria, self-discovery, preferred pronouns, asexuality, and gender. Though this memoir focuses solely on Kobabe's specific journey, eir story is very captivating and illustrative (literally and figuratively).

Recently, Liz @thiefofmemory posted an incredible review of this memoir that does it much better justice than I could. Please check out her review here (https://www.instagram.com/p/C22mpOGrQXf) to get an even better idea of why Gender Queer is a powerful and worthwhile read.

Content Warnings

More...