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punchofwishes's review against another edition
4.0
A collection of essays centered around bi+ identities and experiences. Some essays really touched me (All the Things She Said and A Man, A Cane, An Awkward Title), most I found generally interesting, and a few bothered me, either more or less. As a bi+ person myself, I related to some essays more than others. I do want to point out the things that bothered me specifically in case it is useful:
-Jack Harkness from Doctor Who and Torchwood is falsely described as bisexual when he uses the term omnisexual
-one writer seemed to find every LGBTQ+ portrayal (and various other identities) in media problematic which in my view is identity policing. Of course critically viewing media representation is a good thing, but the line between that and prescribing the ‘right way’ to be queer/a woman etc. is slim.
-one writer distilled sexuality solely on sex and viewed it as based in action and not identity which made me a little uncomfortable
-one writer said that they couldn’t imagine how ‘a man in a woman’s body would even work’ which intentionally or not sounds a little transphobic
This is just my experience with this collection though, naturally influenced by my own intersecting identities. Still, I enjoyed engaging and interacting with this book a lot.
-Jack Harkness from Doctor Who and Torchwood is falsely described as bisexual when he uses the term omnisexual
-one writer seemed to find every LGBTQ+ portrayal (and various other identities) in media problematic which in my view is identity policing. Of course critically viewing media representation is a good thing, but the line between that and prescribing the ‘right way’ to be queer/a woman etc. is slim.
-one writer distilled sexuality solely on sex and viewed it as based in action and not identity which made me a little uncomfortable
-one writer said that they couldn’t imagine how ‘a man in a woman’s body would even work’ which intentionally or not sounds a little transphobic
This is just my experience with this collection though, naturally influenced by my own intersecting identities. Still, I enjoyed engaging and interacting with this book a lot.
lauraisreading's review
4.0
Glad to see the improvement compared to the first edition. More coherent (and frankly, interesting) stories by better writers - good job!
sidlebolid's review
3.0
As a cis pansexual woman who first came out as bisexual (back when i was young and wasnt aware you could be anything else than a man or a woman) some of the testimonials in here really resonated with me. Some of them really didnt. Some of them were very eye opening and educational. Some of them were not all that interesting.
But all in all i did appreciate what this book brought me and i deeply respect all of the authors featured for sharing their experiences and their thoughts.
But all in all i did appreciate what this book brought me and i deeply respect all of the authors featured for sharing their experiences and their thoughts.
koob's review against another edition
5.0
This was great! Reallyreallyreally speaks to the importance of honest representation. Over the whole of time! I felt close to the woman writing about her bi identity, whilst married, with no experience to call upon to use as 'proof'. I haven't explored it much because I'm mostly neutral and flexi across the board but I probably fit that kind of bill too. TBC.
I want to be ambidextrous! I did daily sudoku with my left hand for a year with brain plasticity in mind, but slow personal workings sounds dreamy.
From here I'll consider reading Little Women and quickly let that go, same with Janelle Monae, before I settle on St Vincent, back in the cardigan days, for the afternoon.
I want to be ambidextrous! I did daily sudoku with my left hand for a year with brain plasticity in mind, but slow personal workings sounds dreamy.
From here I'll consider reading Little Women and quickly let that go, same with Janelle Monae, before I settle on St Vincent, back in the cardigan days, for the afternoon.
emilythejoyfulnomad's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
An excellent look at the wide spectrum of bi-sexuality.
nikolas_fox's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Great intersectional and diverse collection of stories and essays on the Bi experience. So glad I received this from Queer Book Box!