Scan barcode
lizzycatslibrary's review
4.0
Minnie Bruce Pratt writes an intriguing memoir in which the question of gender and what it means to be male/female, feminine/masculine is addressed. As a book it really works to show the way in which our society is run so harshly by certain identities and expectations that are encompassed within those identities. I think it is an important read that works to pull apart the binaries that often run our lives and lead to many of the problems within our society.
deerfangs's review
Not quite what I was looking for in a memoir; it's less a straightforward chronicle of the author's life and more a series of very short (1-2 page) smutty one-shots expounding her perspective on butch/femme love, sex, life, and questions around the nature of sexuality and gender expression. A lot of it is very personal to Minnie Bruce Pratt and Leslie Feinberg's relationship (you can see the crossover quite clearly if you've read Feinberg's autofiction), which is very sweet — too sweet for my taste.
There was also something slightly discomfiting as a trans person about reading Pratt's non-trans lens on being with Feinberg — again, nothing wrong there, it's clear how much they loved and respected each other, just wasn't into reading it.
There was also something slightly discomfiting as a trans person about reading Pratt's non-trans lens on being with Feinberg — again, nothing wrong there, it's clear how much they loved and respected each other, just wasn't into reading it.
11corvus11's review
5.0
A poetically written, lovely and delectable book full if good politics and butch/femme realness.
tututitsleoute's review against another edition
4.0
envie de faire un câlin à ce livre, how lucky we are que Minnie Bruce Pratt et Mirza-Helène Deneuve aient voulu que le monde ait tous ces mots et toutes ces histoires
ragingfemme's review
5.0
as a femme lesbian, this book felt like I was actually learning about the ones before me and how much love our community can bring, how similar our relationships to gender are, our warm loving butches can be, thank you minnie bruce pratt, we miss you dearly.
femalewysteria's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
the infinite compassion and desire of a femme for a butch, for all the people found in solidarity with… a love letter to resistance, lust and eroticism as power. a story that makes me proud to be a femme almost 30 years after it’s publication. i hope the butches + femmes that read this are reminded of the core of this struggle and remember the book’s ending sentiment: “We are the obscure stones at whose shift the walls will crack from bottom to top, dirt to wind, so that all can be built again for all. If the lowest stones move, those who scrape and sell even the sky will crash down in a scatter of glittering rock.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
amaldae's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Beautifully written - almost too beautifully, a true poet's memoir. Also clearly formative for many and courageously, defiantly personal and joyous without compromising on realism.