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kfairchild's review
4.0
"Untangling the Knot" is a beautiful, eye-opening collection of essays from queer folks looking at the political and social stigma surrounding same-sex marriage. While same-sex marriage is now legal nationwide, many of these essays were penned before the decision came down, giving a unique set of perspectives from not only those who strongly believe in the right to marry but also those who were opposed to it for some reason or another. There's a specific emphasis on voices who fall through the cracks, and this wide variety of voices paints a larger picture of the modern LGBTQ+ community than the standard gay, often male, almost certainly white image of queerness that is so present in modern media.
As a young queer woman, a lot of the essays ring true to me, but perhaps nothing describes the modern queer struggle more than this quote by Pamela Helberg: "Coming out isn’t just a one-time event. Coming out happens over and over and over again, every day, every week, every month."
As a young queer woman, a lot of the essays ring true to me, but perhaps nothing describes the modern queer struggle more than this quote by Pamela Helberg: "Coming out isn’t just a one-time event. Coming out happens over and over and over again, every day, every week, every month."
helmagnusdottir's review
5.0
So many of these stories made me cheer and cry. A few of them showed a very different perspective than mine, and I'm just really dang glad this book exists. If you are curious about "what the queers think of marriage," or even what other queer folks than yourself might think - buy this book. The writing is superb.
hybridpubscout's review
5.0
"With marriage in the spotlight…who falls through the cracks?"
A classmate retold me a quote she had heard (and tell me who said it if you know) about the Caucasian response to Beyoncé’s Formation video this week, which I will paraphrase:
Her video is like going to someone’s birthday party. You can eat the cake, but it’s still not your party.
This paraphrased quote can be applied to Untangling the Knot in many ways. Reading books about queer identity, particularly outside the two-men/two-women binary, always reminds me of how little I actually know about the multiple forms of kinship and lifestyle that exist in our world. From the beginning of this collection of twenty-five essays, it becomes clear that the seemingly lynchpin issue of marriage equality isn’t the panacea that many of us have lulled ourselves into believing it is.
See the rest of this review here: http://emilyeinolander.com/its-complicated-a-review-of-untangling-the-knot-edited-by-carter-sickels/
A classmate retold me a quote she had heard (and tell me who said it if you know) about the Caucasian response to Beyoncé’s Formation video this week, which I will paraphrase:
Her video is like going to someone’s birthday party. You can eat the cake, but it’s still not your party.
This paraphrased quote can be applied to Untangling the Knot in many ways. Reading books about queer identity, particularly outside the two-men/two-women binary, always reminds me of how little I actually know about the multiple forms of kinship and lifestyle that exist in our world. From the beginning of this collection of twenty-five essays, it becomes clear that the seemingly lynchpin issue of marriage equality isn’t the panacea that many of us have lulled ourselves into believing it is.
See the rest of this review here: http://emilyeinolander.com/its-complicated-a-review-of-untangling-the-knot-edited-by-carter-sickels/
basiclich's review
5.0
Untangling the Knot is one of the most important things I’ve read in a long time. In our current context, when even the rights of the LGBTQ* community that have already been won may be in danger, when our slow and steady march toward progress seems to be taking a sharp turn, it is voices like these that are essential. Untangling the Knot lifts voices up and outward, voices that are underrepresented and not usually heard—indeed, sometimes actively squashed. Sometimes, this book takes on a somewhat angry tone. Some essays focus on where the LGBT community and movement for equal rights has failed, and there is a certain amount of discord within that conversation. I wonder what those authors would write now—would they stand more united in the face of a greater threat?
Carter Sickels, who edited the book, wrote: “There is still so much work to be done.” This line, more than ever, is what struck me. This is partially because of my obsession with the musical Hamilton. Hamilton, nearing the end of Act 1 and in simultaneous joy at the birth of his son and deep despair over the loss of his best friend, says simply: “I have so much work to do.” That conflict of emotions rings true here in Untangling the Knot: a strange, sometimes painful mix between what has been won and what has been lost, all equally important.
Carter Sickels, who edited the book, wrote: “There is still so much work to be done.” This line, more than ever, is what struck me. This is partially because of my obsession with the musical Hamilton. Hamilton, nearing the end of Act 1 and in simultaneous joy at the birth of his son and deep despair over the loss of his best friend, says simply: “I have so much work to do.” That conflict of emotions rings true here in Untangling the Knot: a strange, sometimes painful mix between what has been won and what has been lost, all equally important.
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