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2.99k reviews for:
Stone Butch Blues: 20th Anniversary Author Edition
Leslie Feinberg, Leslie Feinberg
4.67 AVERAGE
2.99k reviews for:
Stone Butch Blues: 20th Anniversary Author Edition
Leslie Feinberg, Leslie Feinberg
4.67 AVERAGE
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this book was a kiss and an embrace to my little queer heart. it scooped me up and told me that everything would be alright. if i had to sum up this book in one word, it would be 'tenderness' -- it shows the most beautiful, loving yet so real lesbian relationships, the challenges and complexities within them not smoothed over. I wanted to cry with ruth and jess' relationship at the end, and how they find community. it was so interesting to see the differences between the queer community then and now. back then, it felt so much more uncomplicated, so much more practical and accepting. the protest at the end was sheer beauty, and this book is a love letter to community and organising. however, the violent brutality of being a queer person in the latter half of the c20th is not something I wish to experience. I'm so glad the queerphobia I've ever encountered stopped with homophobic re teachers and religious dogma. the only thing that troubled me was the fact that there is a sexual encounter in the novel in which it's unclear whether or not it's fully consensual, dependent on if being stealth as a trans person is okay or not during sex as both parties are not fully aware of the situation -- I'm not sure of the answer to this so would bear this in mind if this is likely to affect you while reading!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism
Needles
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A book to reread over and over. This book speaks for itself. Just make sure you get to reading this one 💕
being a lesbian is the best thing that ever happened to me
Highly recommend for anyone interested in the butch lesbian or trans experience or queer American history.
My god. On the one hand, this was a tough read. The portrayal of the violence Jess and the others experienced was harrowing, when it lined up with my experiences and when it didn't.
On the other hand, this book is filled with hope and the extent to which I could relate to Jess and, importantly, Ruth, meant a lot to me. There is a lot of joy to be found in reading about other transgender people and feeling how they are both like me and not like me. The portrayal of Ruth and Jess's relationship made me cry happy tears, because I haven't seen a relationship like mine and my girlfriend's in media and there was so much tenderness.
Quotes I picked out while reading it:
"Who was I now - Woman or man? That question could never be answered as long as those were the only choices; it could never be answered if it had to be asked."
"At first, everything was fun. The world stopped feeling like a gauntlet I had to run through. But very quickly I discovered that passing didn’t just mean slipping below the surface, it meant being buried alive. I was still me on the inside, trapped in there with all my wounds and fears. But I was no longer me on the outside."
On the other hand, this book is filled with hope and the extent to which I could relate to Jess and, importantly, Ruth, meant a lot to me. There is a lot of joy to be found in reading about other transgender people and feeling how they are both like me and not like me. The portrayal of Ruth and Jess's relationship made me cry happy tears, because I haven't seen a relationship like mine and my girlfriend's in media and there was so much tenderness.
Quotes I picked out while reading it:
"Who was I now - Woman or man? That question could never be answered as long as those were the only choices; it could never be answered if it had to be asked."
"At first, everything was fun. The world stopped feeling like a gauntlet I had to run through. But very quickly I discovered that passing didn’t just mean slipping below the surface, it meant being buried alive. I was still me on the inside, trapped in there with all my wounds and fears. But I was no longer me on the outside."