Mady GAnmeldelser

Yo, how you adopt the only queer snail? 😂

Gender identity is prided for being complex because it attributes the LGBT community for boundary-pushing definitions.

"Because Sexual Orientation/Attraction Is Different From Gender Identity" and then all these straight-ass snails are screaming, "YEAH!" In the background. Like, bruh, I wish 💀

Yo, these sproutlings be doing the nasty while this snail tripping 8I

I imagine this author went through fake enlightenment. Like get really into Buddhism for a week, then forget all about it, but kept all the chakra shit.

Apparently, biological sex is being questioned because there's too many variables in defining male/female. "Genitalia, hormonal activity, chromosomes, and internal anatomy can vary in so many ways." I think that having a variation from the expected version of these leads to disabilities and disorders. Even then, I would still refer to them by their sex (if they're cisgender) because it's respectable not to think less of others (for example, I'd still view a woman as a woman if she have a damaged uterus).

Yo, sproutlings are kinda hot in bed low-key :>

I love how, like, "Hard Femme, Soft Butch, and Soft Masc" are all things we have to ask ourselves before we pick our wardrobe.

Crows are HAUNTING after them flashy snails! Bees Gees - Stayin' Alive (0 _0;)

I just imagined my hairy uncle experimenting with gender identity at a Halloween party by wearing a slutty Leprechaun outfit, then liking it, and now wears slutty, green outfits like an Anti She-Hulk. I know it's a misconstrued sentiment, but jeez, I can understand why millennial humor did really poorly with queer representation/jokes.

OMG I ACTUALLY USED XBOX360 AVATAR CREATOR TO EXPERIMENT WITH GENDER IDENTITY 😂

Yo, Peppermint Patty is a tomboy icon!

I have social dysphoria while bottoming. I sometimes want them to call me a girl... y'know, just because it'd be exciting? . _.

Oh! I had non-binary dysphoria at my cousin's wedding! They rented an apartment. The top floor was girls while the basement floor was guys. I felt so out of place in both floors (mainly because my dad was there an he's an abusive alcoholic) so I just sat in my room the entire time.

Omg, saying having an affinity with cartoon characters because they're "less gendered" is such a based line.

Do you know how fucking crazy it is to get an Endometrial ablation just to prove an identity? Like wow, holy fuck, talk about confident.

Do flat-chested girls put bundled-up socks in their bra to combat body dysphoria? I remember hearing something like that on, "Dazed & Confused."

I'm so proud of trans people. Don't tell them I said this, but I think trans people are hot :3

I do wonder if trans people go through like a morning rep to enforce who they are. Like, "Huff... huff... you can do this Paul, you got this! When you step out this door, people are gonna see the real you. Huff... Huff... you're gonna a step out a real woman Paul. Huff... Huff... yeah yeah yeah you got this, you got this! Watch out world! HERE I COME!"

- Quit on Page 59 Starting Asexuality -½

This book was review for me, but I wish it was written to be more accessible for younger people. Conceptually I think it's fine, but linguistically it's written at a fairly high reading level, and I think using more accessible language would make this resource more available for younger readers. (Yes, I'm thinking of my 7-year-old here.)½

There is lots of great information in this book. It’s put in a graphic novel format that is easy for most people to read and understand. However, I do not find it as successful as its companion, books. The reason being is that this information is being given to the reader by a snail. And there are little stories in between each chapter that are about some type of “being” wanting to be different. I understand the purpose of the mini stories between the chapters but it’s the snail. Sometimes the snail does let human characters take over talking about certain subjects, but for the most part, it’s a snail. Maybe this is done to reach a younger audience. Who knows it’s just such a weird way to present this book as compared to its companion books. Overall while the information is good, the way it’s presented makes this a book I will not be putting in our collection.

It's hard to write a review of 101 stuff when you're not the audience. This is a hodgepodge of the authors' strong opinions on pet topics loosely related to gender and sexuality, presented as universal truths... but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad intro, esp for the younger audiences it's (apparently?) oriented towards.

If you are bored of "X is valid!"-type identity platitudes, this book is not for you.

My full review is featured on my blog at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2019/03/04/harrowing/

Included in a blog post and resource list at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2019/06/10/non-fiction-about-gender-and-trans-e...

Informative, quick read, great positivity and clear messages about acceptance of self and others. Liked the graphic novel aspect of it, although I found the intervening green sections to be a bit confusing -- I understand that they were meant as a sort of example narrative, but I found them a bit jarring. Still, lovely little book, very clear, appropriate for all ages.

What a cute way to introduce gender identities! Snails and sproutlings for the win!

In one sentence: This book should be in every library, school, and Human Resources office. If you care about creating an inclusive space for your students, employees, and/or customers but don't know where to start with understanding all of the terms and definitions used by the queer community, this is the book for you. It is exactly what it says on the cover.

As with the last title in this series, A Quick and Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns, this graphic novel is approachable, funny, and educational. I like to consider myself fairly well versed in queer terminology, but this book has given me a few easy ways to explain things to my peers. I've referred a few romance novelists to it (even though it's not out yet!) as a reference as they work to make their books more inclusive and welcoming.

While nothing can compare to actually being queer and/or having a queer community around you, this is a primer for anyone who feels confused and/or needs to explain their community to an outsider. In this way, I think it's a helpful (and fun) resource for people both in the queer community and outside of it.

Chapters include:

What is Queer?
Gender Identity
Gender Expression
What Does Dysphoria Mean?
So, What is Asexuality?
Here are Some Relationship Basics (This chapter seems aimed at teen readers and covers things like self-esteem, recognizing abuse, and more)
What Does it Mean to Come Out?
The last couple of chapters of the book are aimed at the queer or questioning reader, but they're helpful for anyone to read. If you have a child, friend, or coworker who hasn't yet come out or is in the process, it can be invaluable to read a bit about how intimidating the process can be.

As with any educational text, the contents of this book will likely be out of date within a decade, but the book acknowledges that everything is fluid and changing. It also stresses the point that each person is an individual, so we shouldn't set expectations or make judgments of a person's queer identity and/or performance thereof.
Overall, the tone is optimistic, hopeful, and encouraging. It's a lighthearted book but contains the depth and nuance we need.

And it's full of adorable "sproutlings" and queer snails! The art is super cute and makes the density of information much more palatable.

Suzanne received a review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

I applaud this book for trying to create an easy guide to explain gender, orientation, and trans identities in an accessible way for teens and young adults, but this book just misses the mark. The language is clunky at times and too jargonistic. The art work is sweet and appealing but skews young. The authors did their best trying to tackle such a complex conversation. Kudos.

compact explainer, perfect for any reader!

This review is posted on both my personal account and the account for Crossroads Public Library.

There are a lot of resources available to learn about queer and trans identities, but a) the sheer amount of them can be overwhelming and b) they tend to focus on a specific aspect (sexuality, gender theory, etc.). If you're just starting out in educating yourself, this is an excellent resource. Incredibly informative for such a little book.

Quirky and cute guide filled with good definitions and information interspersed with little comics applying some of these ideas to fantasy critters. Not quite my preferred style of narrative, but good for those looking for something beyond the traditional booklet.

This book is great for people who are curious about the subject. It could be a lot to take in at times, so, even though it is a short book, it is packed with information. I wish there were books like this when I was younger, but I'm glad we have them now.

Cuuuute

This is the kind of book all teens and young adults should read. Its informative and the art is adorable. If you've ever been confused by the broad spectrum that is gender and sexuality, pick this book up and give it a read.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Isn’t that cover amazing and beautiful? Yes, it is!

This graphic novel, as the title says, is all about explaining queer identity. It sort of focuses on transgender and nonbinary people, but it has more general sections on gender identity vs romantic/sexual orientation, a section on coming out, discussions of self-love, and even a section on red flags in relationships.

I didn’t expect to learn anything new from this booklet, and yet it made me realise that social dysphoria exists (up until now, I only knew about physical dysphoria) and that I definitely have been experiencing it.

You see so much gatekeeping nowadays that I am wary about most guides like this, but I found this one refreshingly inclusive, with recognising that not every trans person experiences dysphoria, talking about how nonbinary people might experience transness differently from binary trans people, and an entire section on asexuality. Also, both the intro and the outtro talk about the importance of inclusivity, and “making our quilt bigger” if someone doesn’t fit under it.

Other perks of this book include accessible language, fun illustrations with snails, a section at the end where you can write a letter to your past or future self, and more.

That being said, I do have two concerns.

1) The definition of bisexuality used here is “attraction to the same gender and other genders”. This is definitely better than insisting bi people can only be attracted to binary genders or only two genders, but not every bisexual person is attracted to the same gender (e.g. a woman only being attracted to women and nonbinary people can be bi), and the concept of “same gender” might not mean much to a lot of nonbinary people anyway.

2) While there is an entire section asexuality, aromanticism is only mentioned in one sentence in the asexual section, and it’s even phrased in a way that implies that only asexual people can be aromantic. This is not true, and there is a bad tendency of only mentioning aromanticism as a “subset” of asexuality when they are different things and not necessarily go together. Since my copy was an ARC, I do hope that the publisher will consider and maybe change this.
Other than those two things, I was pleasantly surprised and content with this guide.

I found this very worthwhile and educational. It was good to reinforce the things I already know, and I found out about other things of which I was ignorant and still need to wrap my mind around, particularly the spectrum of asexuality and the role of libido. ("Plenty of asexual people still masturbate or even have sex with their partners.)

The cartoonish art, snail narrator (snails are hermaphrodites), and color scheme were off-putting at first, but I grew to appreciate the lightness they brought to what could be some pretty heavy material. I never warmed up to the Sproutlings though with their sickly sweet Fraggle Rock/Smurfs vibe.

This is one of those books that, almost by definition, is going to attract both praise and reasonable criticism. On the whole I think this book serves a purpose, namely, to help people, however they or others want to identify them, better understand the dynamic and ever-changing world. People are largely what we have always been, but we are starting to be more open and coming to understand ourselves, and hopefully others, better. The ever-changing has to do with terminology and definitions. I started in queer theory in the late 80s and many of the terms I used, and some I still prefer, are outdated. Some for good reason and some because part of taking control of ourselves when society isn't always helpful is to tweak terminology and then, occasionally, stand aghast that people not in the know couldn't magically guess what word of the week is preferred now. It is empowering, I agree, but also slows down actual progress. And I acknowledge I stand in the minority within my own community about this.

Having said all of that, I think a work that makes an honest effort to engage more people who are open-minded but not sure where to look for information is a good thing. Is this the book I would have written in the same situation? Probably not. Nor would anyone else probably. Those are personal differences based largely on what our personal histories would have us emphasize or deemphasize.

This is well worth reading, take from it what you can, look for better options where you think the book fell short. But if this book helps any people to begin to try to better understand those around them then I think it is well worth it, warts and all.

Reviewed from the publisher via NetGalley.