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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I really enjoyed the information in this book and will likely reread it one day.
informative
slow-paced
This was a great deep dive on the topic of bisexuality, covering a broad range of areas. There's establishing the long history of bisexual behavior and more recent history of bisexual identity, why people identify as straight even when "behaving" bisexually, where bisexual behavior shows up in the animal kingdom, and how bisexual erasure can have genuinely deadly consequences for people seeking asylum. It's well researched and includes both reasons for despair and reasons for hope, the combination of which will hopefully spur readers to fighting for a more just world.
I especially appreciated how Shaw calls out exactly why differentiating bisexuality from the rest of the queer umbrella is important. Bi erasure is not just a matter of representation for people to discover their own identities and see them reflected back. It leads to greater mental health issues, discrimination, harassment, and lack of access to resources than is experienced on average by folks who are straight or gay. Shaw makes a strong argument for needing specifically bisexual representation, spaces, and resources.
A few aspects that could have been improved:
-It's interesting that the Kinsey scale and Klein grid were discussed without really talking about how gender binary they are, followed immediately by a section saying people are wrong who think bisexuality reinforces the gender binary. I think there could have been more acknowledgement of the fact that the definition of bisexuality as being attracted to both your own gender and genders different from yours isn't historically how the term has always been used.
-"Pansexuality" is described only as another word for bisexuality by people who mistakenly think bisexuality is transphobic. There isn't any mention of how some people differentiate the two terms by whether the person's gender plays a role in the attraction or not.
-Despite the shout-out early on to ace folks, it's unfortunate that biromantic asexuals aren't included in the identities she lists as being under the bi umbrella, especially since she will often use the phrase "sexuality or romantically attracted."
-The book overall needs way better copyediting. It's not as bad as some published books I've read, but there are spots throughout where sentence fragments, incorrect punctuation, and run-on sentences should have been caught. It made the book feel less polished than it would have otherwise felt.
I think this is a great book to pick up for any nonfiction lover, whether you're personally bi or not!
I especially appreciated how Shaw calls out exactly why differentiating bisexuality from the rest of the queer umbrella is important. Bi erasure is not just a matter of representation for people to discover their own identities and see them reflected back. It leads to greater mental health issues, discrimination, harassment, and lack of access to resources than is experienced on average by folks who are straight or gay. Shaw makes a strong argument for needing specifically bisexual representation, spaces, and resources.
A few aspects that could have been improved:
-It's interesting that the Kinsey scale and Klein grid were discussed without really talking about how gender binary they are, followed immediately by a section saying people are wrong who think bisexuality reinforces the gender binary. I think there could have been more acknowledgement of the fact that the definition of bisexuality as being attracted to both your own gender and genders different from yours isn't historically how the term has always been used.
-"Pansexuality" is described only as another word for bisexuality by people who mistakenly think bisexuality is transphobic. There isn't any mention of how some people differentiate the two terms by whether the person's gender plays a role in the attraction or not.
-Despite the shout-out early on to ace folks, it's unfortunate that biromantic asexuals aren't included in the identities she lists as being under the bi umbrella, especially since she will often use the phrase "sexuality or romantically attracted."
-The book overall needs way better copyediting. It's not as bad as some published books I've read, but there are spots throughout where sentence fragments, incorrect punctuation, and run-on sentences should have been caught. It made the book feel less polished than it would have otherwise felt.
I think this is a great book to pick up for any nonfiction lover, whether you're personally bi or not!
informative
fast-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5 rounded down
Really interesting book, so happy to see positive bivisibility.
Really interesting book, so happy to see positive bivisibility.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
medium-paced