Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Zami: A New Spelling of My Name: A Biomythography by Audre Lorde

27 reviews

dominic_t's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

"Every woman I have ever loved has left her print upon me..."

This is an amazing book that transcends the memoir genre. Lorde calls it a biomythography, and that really fits. She centers her analysis of her life on her relationships with women and explores how each woman shaped her. Her writing is so vivid and provides a window into what life was like for gay-girls (her term) in the northeast US in the 40s and 50s. 

She wrote so beautifully about each relationship and really captured the experiences of infatuation, love, and heartbreak. I viscerally felt the highs and laws.

I also loved reading about the community of gay women she belonged to. It was a fascinating window into the past. She went into a lot of detail about her experience as a Black woman in a majority white community and explored the complexity of her friendships and relationships with white women. She also talked about her struggles to fit into the community as a woman who wasn't either butch or femme. I've read the perspectives of butches and femmes from communities like hers, and it was cool to get the perspective of someone who didn't fit in either role.

The progressive communities of that time were really homophobic and saw queerness as "bourgeoisie." In response to that, she wrote, "I didn’t know how I was going to bring my personal and political visions together, but I knew it had to be possible because I felt them both too strongly, and knew how much I needed them both to survive...Any world which did not have a place for me loving women was not a world in which I wanted to live, nor one which I could fight for." That quote deeply resonates with me. I can feel both her pain and her hope.

This is not an easy read. She covers abuse, bigotry, and suicide in detail. Even though the book was filled with tragedy, I ended the book feeling hopeful. Throughout everything, she had a vision of a better world, and I was able to see it too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Animal death, Alcohol, Racism, and Rape

Moderate: Cancer

Minor: Racial slurs

dreamweaver's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, and Cancer

Minor: Rape

michaelion's review against another edition

emotional informative tense medium-paced

4.25

she, and i cannot stress this enough, just like me. fr. minus the dating white women. but the circumstances surrounding that and explanations? wow! she just like me! fr!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Suicide, Xenophobia, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Ableism, Racial slurs, Child death, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Drug use, Abortion, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Self harm

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pedophilia, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Fatphobia, Outing, Infidelity, and Animal death

amelody's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Animal death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, and Suicide

reading_mermaid's review

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Abortion, Child abuse, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racism and Sexual content

Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Alcoholism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Incest

planetsaturns's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Abortion, and Homophobia

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Animal death and Sexual assault

waytoomanybooks's review

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

I’m so grateful that I was assigned this book in my Contemporary Queer Literature class. I have been meaning to read the works of Audre Lorde for a while, and I’m so glad I finally read Zami. It contains some of the most beautiful, thoughtful, challenging, descriptive prose I’ve ever read. It’s both deeply personal and deeply relatable in many aspects. Lorde leaves no stone unturned as she looks back at her life in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. We learn lessons right alongside her, and she is an excellent teacher and storyteller. This is an absolute must-read for anyone who wants to know more about queer history, Black history, feminism, and so much more. Her deep-dives into intersectionality are invaluable. You won’t be able to put this book down.

Please heed all the many, many content warnings I and others have tagged. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Body shaming, Lesbophobia, Abortion, Death, Fatphobia, Bullying, Classism, Infidelity, Grief, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Animal death, Child death, Homophobia, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Self harm, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, and Suicide attempt

lynnloveshobi's review

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Abandonment, Classism, Grief, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Death, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Self harm, Homophobia, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Animal death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Abortion, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Addiction

ellivallow's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

the most beautiful book about lgbtq life. the story follows audre and the story of her name, and her discovering sexuality as a young child. it's incredible.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Homophobia

ashleysbookthoughts's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

This was my first introduction to Audre Lorde, and it was a good choice. I know of her and her work, but it was satisfying to get to know her through this “biomythography” (yes, she made up her own genre) before diving into her poems and essays. I think I’ll be reading Sister Outsider soon. 

Lorde’s writing is plain and matter-of-fact, but not simple. In telling stories about her life, she examines not only her experiences, but how society and it’s norms, mores, and expectations directly shaped her and those around her. Her voice is conversational, making the book feel like she’s telling you stories over coffee. At times it’s funny and at others, heartbreaking. 

Most notable for me, was the unfortunate realization that America is not much different right now than it was when Lorde was coming of age in the 50s and 60s. Her stories are still incredibly relevant and you could spend a lot of time reflecting on certain parts and their modern implications. 

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Audre Lorde, who hasn’t read her work but wants an introduction, or who is interested in social justice issues. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Homophobia, Racism, and Sexual content