i was very disappointed in this... had big hopes for it

I think this book would work okay as a reference (for someone in the field study). Even if you’re interested in the subject I’m not sure I would recommend it – but there isn’t much more out there… I wouldn’t recommend this as a starting point if you’ve never read about lgbtq+ concepts/theory/etc – you need to have basis as things get complicated here. 

Positives: 
-This book pools data from many sources, both in reference and in the interviews done by the author, so it could be a good reference point for people working/studying in the area. 
-i wasn't a big fan of the interviews: it was interesting to see different perspectives but, on the other hand, very little of what i read felt representative of the messages that the bi+ community wants to communicate. I understand this might not have been the objective, but with this title, I believe most people will pick it up searching for that. 

Negatives: 
Most negatives are things that stand out in a 2021 release, that is about a subset of the queer community, by an ownvoices author... 
- worst negative: wrong definitions!! most obviously the definition of bisexuality (!) – it is attraction to more than one gender! Why would you get that wrong in a book titled bi?? (Also conflating gender identities with sexual orientations at times) 
- maybe sources are to blame, but there was a big emphasis on sex (rather than gender). the writing oftentimes felt insensitive regarding sex/gender, to the point where i wondered if the text was trans-exclusionary. however, there was a good amount of discussion of non-binary people, which was very much appreciated. 
- felt bizarre to read that only asexual people use -romantic labels. This simply isn’t true, from experience. Adds to the “listen to young people more” narrative though. 
- the text read extremely academic. 

 

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC.