This Book is Gay

 

Several of the books discussed in this course have been challenged for “spreading an agenda,” or “pushing an idea,” on their readers. Juno Dawson’s This Book is Gay may be the only instance where this is true, and it is because no one else did it for her. Dawson prefaces the book that she wrote the novel to give LGBTQ+ (and curious straight and cisgender allies) the education that schools have failed to give them. She points out how, “Heterosexual sex is taught as THE NORM. Not just at school but in 99 percent of TV shows, films, books, magazines, and news stories” but nevertheless it is still taught poorly (172 on Apple Books, otherwise beginning of Chapter 9). She accomplishes this in two ways; with humor and real stories from members of the LGBTQ+ community.  

As we discussed in class, there is a stigma for talking about sex in the classroom, especially with young people. Many of us (myself included) had the beyond-strange experience of screaming “PENIS AND VAGINA!” multiple times in middle school health class in an attempt to prevent students from laughing about it in future discussions. Dawson takes an opposite approach with the use of comedy, both in her witty remarks and the drawings she puts throughout the novel. Rather than introducing the topic of sex as some sort of taboo that must immediately be thought about differently than students previously did, she leans into the fun aspect of the act, making it a far more approachable concept that people are more willing to actively learn about. 

Every chapter of This Book is Gay features quotes and stories from members of the LGBTQ+ community, some joyful and some tragic. This serves two purposes, the first one being that they allow queer readers to relate to stories similar to their own, which makes sense considering Dawson wrote the book because of the lack of queer education she saw in the education system. Chapter 7 helps tremendously in this regard, as it shares the stories of several people, most noticeably Irene’s story. A lot of the transphobia in media relating to transitioning points out that it is a permanent endeavor, but Irene goes through how the whole process took her a long time, and that she was working with medical professionals the entire time. She is also honest in her story, and shares the various forms of transphobia she has experienced since beginning her transition. That being said, she ends by saying, ““I wouldn’t trade any of these problems for the world. I am so, so glad to have them,” (142 on Apple Books, otherwise very last line of Chapter 7). 

These LGBTQ+ perspectives also answer the questions that straight, cisgender people might have for the community.  It is not a queer person’s job to educate those who are not on their experience, so Dawson uses examples from those willing to share to allow allies to learn in this book, that is to say, to learn by doing their own research and not chasing down the queer people in their life to ask personal questions which that person may very likely not want to share. Dawson begins the novel saying, “Whether you think you might be LGBTQ+ or you think you’re straight but have questions or you’re anywhere in between, this book is for you,” and she does exactly this by inserting quotes from LGBTQ+ individuals (16 on Apple Books, otherwise the beginning of Chapter 1). A great example of this is Chapter 4, which is all about stereotypes. For someone who has never met a queer person, their perceptions might be entirely based on stereotypes. By showing LGBTQ+ opinions on the many, often harmful, preconceptions that exist in the media, Dawson proves exactly what the title of the Chapter says: “Stereotypes are Poo.” 

Many of the texts we have discussed have been controversial because bigots claim that they are educating the youth in a certain way of thinking, which Dawson takes great pride in doing. To clarify, she is not holding up a pocket watch and whispering “you are queer,” to the reader, instead, she is making the topic of sexuality more approachable through her humor and the shared experiences of members of the LGBTQ+ community. For questioning youths, this may help them find comfort and better understand themselves, and for allies, it may allow them to further comprehend those around them. For this reason, This Book is Gay is an incredibly important text for modern readers; it encourages conversation and empathy.