Greetings Bookworms, In the past, I’ve never much liked when people refer to characters who ‘happen to be queer’ in books or movies or television shows. I understand the desire to have queer characters who are more than their sexuality, but in our society, being a queer character in a book or movie or tv…
Whenever people are just starting to delve into the world of gender theory and ask me for recommendations of books, my first go-to rec is pretty much anything by Kate Bornstein. Kate (who goes by ze, hir, hirs pronouns) is an author, playwright and performance artist who, in my option has written some of the…
I was shocked the last time I went into a bookstore for my usual ‘take pictures of books I want to read in the hopes that I can find them at the library’ time. In my usual search for queer looking young adult fiction, I came across a book called None of the Above by…
Hi Friends, When you’re my age, you suddenly realize that your Facebook feed has gone from crazy photos of ruckus parties to pictures of weddings, expanding bellies and happy announcements about the birth or adoption of a brand new kiddo. I’m not interested in having kids myself, but I take my duties as friend/family of…
Hi Friends, A couple months ago, I received an exclusive advance version of a book about theatre kids written for middle grades. I’m usually a fast reader, but I devoured this particular book, finishing it in an evening. I laughed, I cried, I even recognized some of the character names…not all that surprising considering I’m…
Hi Friends! It’s wonderful to be back at the helm of Queering Your Bookshelf after a little summer hiatus while I put up my show The Birds and the Bees: Unabridged. I’m thrilled to have a bit more free time, and already, plenty of that time is going towards some super queer reading. This month…
Hi friends! My first year of undergrad at Oberlin College was a bit of a shock as my first Gender and Women’s Studies class introduced me to the wonderfully wide world of ‘theory.’ Coming from Detroit Public Schools where I could dissect Maya Angelou like a pro, I wasn’t quite prepared for what Judith Butler had…
Hi Friends! My first college girlfriend was horrified to discover that in all my 18 years, I’d never actually read a comic books or graphic novel. She was even more horrified when I admitted that in all those 18 years, I really had no desire to read comic books or graphic novels. Determined to rectify…
Hi Friends! Conquering the acronym “LGBTQIA” is no small feat. Even those of us most ‘in the know’ can get turned around. What order are the letters supposed to go in again? Did some new letters get added I don’t know about? What do they stand for anyway? The truth is, people use different acronyms…
Hello Friends, I’ve always been a fan of young adult fiction. The formation of identity – how we define ourselves, why we become who we become and how that’s always changing has always been a focal point of my work. These issues are never so resonant or important or obvious as they are in young adult…