Rating:
5 Stars
Themes:
Memoir
Thoughts:
I’ve never read a memoir formatted quite like this before with each paragraph being titled with and in response to some form of quote said to or about Alabanza. I found it extremely enlightening as Alabanza discusses not only his gender identity but also his sexuality and race and the way in which they intersect which I hadn’t seen in the last gender identity memoir I’d read. It was interesting to see him acknowledge both the prejudice and discrimination his race caused while still acknowledging the privilege he has being lighter skinned compared to those gender non-conforming darker skinned peers he has. I liked that the book addresses both the joys of his identity and community as well as the negatives and traumas that can come alongside it which shows the recurring theme with the burger attack mentioned in the prologue. Overall, this is a seriously enlightening book that everyone should read to learn about gender non-conforming people, especially those of us in the LGBTQ+ community to support our brothers, sisters and “those lucky enough to transcend gender” siblings.
Favourite Quote:
“When you are someone that falls outside of categories in so many ways, a lot of things are said to you. You often become a place to hold other people's confusion. You become a site for their internal process to become external. Your lack of ability to fit into the boxes they are trying to place you in provokes an almost word-vomit response. In order to survive it is impossible to give time to every phrase you hear said to you.”
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