Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by laurel00
Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
5.0
"Though I have struggled with being your daughter, I am so, so glad that I am your child."
I had really high expectations for this and it somehow managed to surpass those expectations tenfold!
What I loved about this is that it was a perfect balance between relating and learning. On one hand, there were so many moments in this where it felt like Kobabe had inserted eirself into my brain, plucked out specific words that had been jumbling around there for years, and realigned them on page in a way that made sense. It's always such a nice and comforting experience to feel like you are directly relating to an author who feels the exact way you do. On the other hand, this graphic novel genuinely did help me understand the way that some of my gender nonconforming or gender questioning friends feel, and I'm so appreciative of that. There are a lot of nuances in here with regards to gender and asexuality that I think a lot of cisgender and allosexual people struggle to grasp. It's clear that Kobabe doesn't have all the answers to be able to describe eir own sexuality or gender identity, but I think that confusion or vagueness in and of itself helps explain a lot of things.
It was also really beautiful to see all of these moments of community and support all throughout the book. Not to say that there wasn't any conflict or that all the issues were purely internal, but overall Kobabe takes the time to recognize and appreciate all the love that has surrounded em during eir entire queer journey, and my own reading experience made me feel loved and supported through the pages and the illustrations.
I really had an amazing time with this and I strongly recommend it to everyone: regardless of whether or not you are currently going through or have at some point gone through some kind of sexual or gender identity crisis, everyone can learn something from this beautiful story.
I had really high expectations for this and it somehow managed to surpass those expectations tenfold!
What I loved about this is that it was a perfect balance between relating and learning. On one hand, there were so many moments in this where it felt like Kobabe had inserted eirself into my brain, plucked out specific words that had been jumbling around there for years, and realigned them on page in a way that made sense. It's always such a nice and comforting experience to feel like you are directly relating to an author who feels the exact way you do. On the other hand, this graphic novel genuinely did help me understand the way that some of my gender nonconforming or gender questioning friends feel, and I'm so appreciative of that. There are a lot of nuances in here with regards to gender and asexuality that I think a lot of cisgender and allosexual people struggle to grasp. It's clear that Kobabe doesn't have all the answers to be able to describe eir own sexuality or gender identity, but I think that confusion or vagueness in and of itself helps explain a lot of things.
It was also really beautiful to see all of these moments of community and support all throughout the book. Not to say that there wasn't any conflict or that all the issues were purely internal, but overall Kobabe takes the time to recognize and appreciate all the love that has surrounded em during eir entire queer journey, and my own reading experience made me feel loved and supported through the pages and the illustrations.
I really had an amazing time with this and I strongly recommend it to everyone: regardless of whether or not you are currently going through or have at some point gone through some kind of sexual or gender identity crisis, everyone can learn something from this beautiful story.