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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I didn't realise how much I needed this book to exist until I found it. Fave book of 2020 by far.
A sequel to be proud of! Ellen, Lauren and their authors should be proud of what they produced! This collection is so powerful, moving, witty, and full of truth. The joy and pain of bisexual life is tangible in each chapter. The diversity of experiences and stories collected is wonderful. It's a fantastic expansion of the stories that began in their first collection. I truly hope a third volume will follow. Anyone interested in bisexuality, queerness, feminism, survival, and empowerment needs to read this!
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Overall, I loved this book, I think as with all books that are made up of multiple essays, I enjoyed some more than others. However, I didn't dislike any of the essays, I just related to some more than others. The book seems to show a full range of bi experiences and I would recommend it to anyone who identifies as Bi+, as well as the LGBTQIA+ community more broadly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Outing
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Sexual assault
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
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.
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
Glad to see the improvement compared to the first edition. More coherent (and frankly, interesting) stories by better writers - good job!
informative
reflective
slow-paced