An important and eye-opening contribution to conversations about global identity politics.
An American African woman’s essays about her spirituality, sexuality, traumas, and journey to healing herself.
Redux is a first-generation American whose Muslim parents emigrated from West Africa and who has thus had to navigate multiple worlds growing up. She shares stories of herself as a child who experienced a celebration of Black women’s beauty through the plentiful artwork in her house—thanks to her father’s being an antique art dealer—while later experiencing racism and colorism in a world insistent on telling her she was inferior. She uses her personal experiences and those of others close to her to highlight how these attitudes impacted her perspectives on spirituality, sexuality, womanhood, and Blackness. She has sought to find the ways in which her multiple worlds overlapped and complemented each other for her own necessary healing from various traumas. She shares her revelations here to benefit all who may be interested in engaging. The sure-to-be controversial title—the inspiration for which is described in the first essay—may be what initially draws readers in. But Redux’s use of frank, sometimes-biting, but consistently thoughtful language, coupled with her openness about her own life stories and lessons learned, shows that she is anything but stupid. McCarthy’s illustrations—her visual responses to Redux’s words—add another layer for consideration to this thought-provoking work.
An important and eye-opening contribution to conversations about global identity politics. (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 30, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-951491-00-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Street Noise Books
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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