THE LITTLE BOY IN THE LITTLE RED DRESS

In Riddle’s memoir, a young gay man comes of age in 1970s and 1980s Texas.

One day while visiting family in rural Jacksonville, Texas, the author wandered away from his uncle’s house and found a deserted cabin in the woods. Inside, the child found all the trappings of a family’s life, including a girl’s red dress. Riddle put it on and stood outside in the sun, twirling around and experiencing pure joy (“I felt great. I felt free. I felt empowered”). This was in many ways his introduction to life as a young gay man, but the joy would not last long. The author endured vicious bullying by the kids at school and attempts by his family and their church to “cure” his homosexuality. Once he reached adulthood, he frequented Houston’s gay nightclubs right as the AIDS epidemic began to spread through the gay community like wildfire. Although he avoided the disease himself, he lost several friends and a former lover. In the mid-80s, he moved to Los Angeles and was disappointed when the city did not live up to his fantasies. There is plenty of material for an in-depth memoir here, but the narrative is only barely sketched out in 40 pages. The writing style is conversational and straightforward, upfront about everything from homophobic attacks to sexual encounters. The tone keeps some of the more difficult material from seeming too maudlin. Still, this feels more like an outline of a memoir than complete story. Several gaps could be filled in, such as descriptions of when Riddle knew he was gay or how his relationship with his family fared when he fully embraced life as an out gay man. There is interesting material here, evidence of a writer with a strong voice that needs to be further developed. The message seems especially timely and needed in today’s climate.

A brief taste of an important story that should have been a whole meal.