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A review by balletbookworm
Pretty: A Memoir by KB Brookins
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I moved this up the TBR from my May list because of the #transrightsreadathon, polished it off at the beginning of April.
An incredibly sharp, incisive memoir about being a Black, non-binary, transmasc person in a world where the only acceptable way to be - if AFAB - is hyperfeminine, cishet female and the "right" kind of Black girl. And how that norm is enforced for KB even before they're old enough to understand or articulate their internal sense of self. A really standout chapter is where KB, now in college and identifying as a Butch Lesbian around then, discusses how internalized toxic masculinity colored the way they treated their girlfriend at the time. And I had never thought of it that way, but it makes so much sense. KB is so emotionally honest in this chapter, recognizing the ways that "masculinity" has harmed them but how they perpetuated that harm in an unexpected way and are working to undo within them.
<blockquote>"Pretty as in the softest form of me possible, a personality that is as silky as the shirts I now search for in thrift stores."</blockquote>
An incredibly sharp, incisive memoir about being a Black, non-binary, transmasc person in a world where the only acceptable way to be - if AFAB - is hyperfeminine, cishet female and the "right" kind of Black girl. And how that norm is enforced for KB even before they're old enough to understand or articulate their internal sense of self. A really standout chapter is where KB, now in college and identifying as a Butch Lesbian around then, discusses how internalized toxic masculinity colored the way they treated their girlfriend at the time. And I had never thought of it that way, but it makes so much sense. KB is so emotionally honest in this chapter, recognizing the ways that "masculinity" has harmed them but how they perpetuated that harm in an unexpected way and are working to undo within them.
<blockquote>"Pretty as in the softest form of me possible, a personality that is as silky as the shirts I now search for in thrift stores."</blockquote>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault
This is a memoir of KB learning about themselves, about who they are as a Black, non-binary, transmasc person in a world where that is Not Allowed, particularly in the Black church, and there are a number of instances of homophobia and queerphobia on the page.
KB alludes to being sexually assaulted by older boys as a child. This is not overtly described nor does it take place on page, but (obviously) it impacts a lot of their life.