Tag: nonbinary

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

- Stephanie Leave a comment

When I don’t know what to read, I check award lists. My latest read, Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe, was the 2020 ALA Alex Award Winner and the 2020 Stonewall – Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award Honor Book. Maia is a gender queer author and illustrator who uses e/em/eir pronouns, an important decision e talks about in eir book. E also worked in libraries for ten years before becoming a freelance writer!

Gender Queer is not the first book e had ever written. In 2014, Maia wrote a comic of reading statistics that eir friends and colleagues loved, but felt that that would be the only autobiographical comic e would ever write. All e wanted people to know about them was those reading statistics and nothing else. Partly because e was still figuring out eir own self-identity.

This is e’s journey to self-identity, something e is clearly still working on at the end of the book. Maia discusses in sometimes graphic detail eir journey with graphic identity and sexuality, a journey that’s incredibly cathartic. E talks about everything from adolescent crushes to puberty to traditional gender rules. Maia wrote this book to help others who are struggling with gender identity to feel less alone, something that e struggled with growing up. This graphic memoir is heartfelt and painful to read at times, but a necessary read to understand what gender queer people work through on a daily basis.

This title is also available in the following format:

A Memoir Deluxe Edition was published in 2022 and you can find it through the library in the following formats:

Music Selector’s Choice: Indie Pop Old and New

- Callen Leave a comment

Many people of taste disdain mainstream, Top 40 pop music in favor of equally talented but less famous independent musicians. If that describes you, you may already know about the artists I’ll share here. But if you are like me, you may be delighted to discover them and their music – and hopefully it will open our horizons to seeking out other lesser-known artists. There’s no shame in enjoying top 40 hits, of course, but smaller creators deserve love too, especially (as you’ll read below) when their work plumbs a deep well of meaning.

Back in 2016, most everyone heard the song “HandClap” by Fitz and the Tantrums, and it may have been the first and last time they thought about the indie pop / neo soul band. It wasn’t the band’s first release, coming on their self-titled album after three previous albums (Songs for a Breakup vol. 1, Pickin’ Up the Pieces, and More Than Just A Dream). It was, however, their most notable hit. Me personally, I remember that song and “The Walker”, as well as “I Just Wanna Shine” from their next album All The Feels (this last because it was also on the soundtrack for delightful Netflix movie Yes Day). I confess I haven’t thought of them much, but I can now, because their latest release, Let Yourself Free, is out now. By all accounts it showcases what the band does best: upbeat tracks with strong hooks. If this is your thing (it definitely is mine) you’ll probably enjoy it, even though the content is strictly surface-level sentiments.

Obviously, the field of indie pop today is pretty wide and filled with talented performers, especially lately as TikTok helps with publicity. Through social media I’ve discovered talents like Gayle, Wet Leg, Against Me!, Brockhampton, and many more. One such talent is NoSo, whose debut release, Stay Proud of Me, is now on library shelves for your perusal. Interesting performer name, right? Well, apparently “NoSo is shorthand for North/South: A nod to their Korean heritage, and the inane origin question (“Which Korea are you from?”) that so many Korean Americans inevitably face at some point in their lives.” The same source also names the artist as LA-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Baek Hwong (pronouns he/they). “Their music grapples with the search for a sense of identity, overcoming imposter syndrome, and repressed memory” reports their record label – and NPR agrees, summing up the debut record as a “care package for someone in need –  their younger self.” Try this record if you want to support more queer artists, relate to the search for identity and acceptance, or enjoy “virtuosic, memorable guitar playing… cinematic synths and lush pop sounds…packaging heavy subject matter as a catchy hook or chorus without cheapening its sentiment” (NPR).

Share YOUR favorite indie musicians below!

Redoing Gender by Helana Darwin – Now on Overdrive

- Callen Leave a comment

Remember my previous posts on transgender and non-binary reads (Either Both Neither and Invisible In-betweens)? Well, buckle up, because I’ve got a new read to help you build compassion for non-binary folks, by reading their experiences in their own voices. The book is Redoing Gender: How Nonbinary Gender Contributes Toward Social Change, by Helena Darwin, and it’s an ebook available through Overdrive or the Libby app. Check out this description from the e-resource:

Redoing Gender demonstrates how difficult it is to be anything other than a man or a woman in a society that selectively acknowledges those two genders. Gender nonbinary people (who identify as other genders besides simply man or woman) have begun to disrupt this binary system, but the limited progress they have made has required significant everyday labor. Through interviews with 47 nonbinary people, this book offers rich description of these forms of labor, including rethinking sex and gender, resignifying gender, redoing relationships, and resisting erasure. The final chapter interrogates the lasting impact of this labor through follow-up interviews with participants four years later. Although nonbinary people are finally managing to achieve some recognition, it is clear that this change has not happened without a fight that continues to this day. The diverse experiences of nonbinary people in this book will help cisgender people relate to gender minorities with more compassion, and may also appeal to those questioning their own gender. 

It’s easy to understand diversity as a concept, to imagine that there are a wealth of experiences in the world, but it’s a different thing to hear directly about some of those different experiences. This book helps to bridge that gap between intellectual understanding and real insight, combining sociological practices and academic rigor with a deep care for inclusivity and respecting LGBTQIA experiences. Moreover, it begins to fill a glaring gap in research literature, which is mostly focused on divisions between “men” and “women” without any imagination of other genders.

A good read for sociology buffs and allies alike, this book is recommended for anyone who loves an ebook and likes picking apart harmful patriarchal structures.

Super Monster by Claud

- Callen Leave a comment

Support a non-binary artist and discover some catchy new music on Super Monster by Claud.  How to describe their style? Well, here’s what they say on their website: “claud mintz (they/them) makes the kind of pop that goes well with a late night snack.”

If that doesn’t clear it up for you, here’s my take: this is a pop sound similar to twin icons Tegan and Sara, and the California band Muna, but also with shades of Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish. With simple hooks and honest lyrics, Claud combines soft, musing ballads with more fast-paced, playful tracks for a mix that is overall optimistic, affectionate, vulnerable, and proudly queer. Listeners will be drawn in by bright, quirky album art and intriguing song titles including “Cuff Your Jeans” and “That’s Mr. Bitch to You”.

Incidentally, “That’s Mr. Bitch To You” is probably my favorite track for its light-hearted energy in response to hate (definitely my new personal anthem) – but most tracks are relaxing and enjoyable to listen to. I also recommend “Overnight” and “Falling with the Rain” for more romantic vibes, and “Ana” for a lost-love story.  Most tracks will leave you humming for the rest of the day, and the lack of cynicism will keep you coming back for more.

Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp

- Callen Leave a comment

Sick of horror stories where able-bodied straight people are the only ones smart and strong enough to survive? Try Even if We Break by Marieke Nijkamp. This deeply inclusive YA thriller is a love letter to RPGs, a Breakfast Club vibe (with shades of One of Us is Lying), and a typical “remote-cabin-on-haunted-mountain” campfire story.

It’s been three years of high school since disabled goth Finn (he/him), cash-strapped game master Ever (they/them), autistic former athlete Maddy (she/her), hardworking “new money” Carter (he/him), and wealthy aspiring seamstress Liva (she/her) first started playing their role-playing game in the mythical land of Gonfalon. Once, the game made them inseparable. Now, they’re barely speaking, and all hiding secrets. Carter is bitterly resentful, Maddy is lost and desperate, Finn is consumed with anger and mistrust, Liva feels disrespected, and Ever is just desperate to keep the friendship going a little longer. They’ve gathered, one last time, at Liva’s mountain cabin to play an immersive game. But soon, strange things start happening, and then in the darkness, someone vanishes, leaving a pool of blood behind…

This book is priceless because of its effort to accurately and compassionately portray the lives of queer, disabled, and trans teens, through their own voices. Touching on chronic pain, the opioid epidemic, poverty, bullying, neurodivergence, and more, this is a thoughtful portrayal of a group of friends and how their circumstances can drive wedges between them. What this book does best is show the friends’ processing of trauma and secrets in order to get back to a place of trust and honesty. While slightly less effective, the thriller plot unravels at just the right rate to keep readers on the edge of their seats wondering what will happen next and who’s behind it.

Both the frequent heart-to-heart talks and inconsistent serial-killer-stalking stretch the limits of believability to some degree and, combined, make for a somewhat anticlimactic ending, but as a pioneer of inclusion in the genre – and a nuanced portrayal of disability – this is a tour de force.  Recommended for fans of Stephanie Perkins’ horror work and Karen McManus’ multi-perspective whodunits.

This title is also available on Overdrive.

Love and Other Disasters by Anita Kelly

- Callen Leave a comment

An inclusive romance for fans of reality cooking shows, Love and Other Disasters follows recent divorcée Dahlia and non-binary London as they compete on a show called Chef’s Special, and find themselves falling in love along the way. Delicious, steamy, thoughtful, and trailblazing, it’s vital reading for romance lovers.

London Parker is nervous enough about being out as non-binary on national TV, and about which competitors refuse to respect their pronouns, without their unexpected attraction to the messy woman at the station in front of them. Dahlia Woodson, meanwhile, is struggling to figure out who she is after getting divorced from her high school sweetheart and quitting her unfulfilling job. She was hoping to win the prize money and maybe make a few friends, but is caught completely by surprise when her very cute competitor becomes something more. Now it’s down to both of them to figure out what they can be to each other, especially when the competition brings glaring scrutiny to their budding relationship.

I cherished this book for its accurate and heartwarming portrayal of living life as a non-binary person, as well as the nods to famous cooking competitions like the Great British Baking Show. All the characters are distinct and unique, as are their respective journeys. This is a book that knows there are no easy happily-ever-afters, especially because everyone has a different path to walk. The emphasis of the story is on the importance of doing the work of introspection and communication to create the life you want for yourself. I think many people will relate to Dahlia’s predicament of feeling like a disappointment or that she’s not where she ought to be in life, while also enjoying watching the romantic comedy unfold.

There’s also thoughtful message of how unpleasant or unfair it can be to be in the spotlight and have very personal issues be treated as entertainment. In an important narrative choice, the book itself never explicitly misgenders London or gives voice to the ignorant or hateful comments they receive on social media, while acknowledging that those things do happen; in this way it stays both accurate and respectful, and offers an example of how to use language to avoid doing harm. And of course, there’s lots of descriptions of delicious food, which both soothes the soul and whets the appetite!

If you’re looking for a book about love, cooking, fame, and the joys and frustrations of being different, this is the perfect cozy read for you.