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riveraanahiz's review against another edition
4.0
I’d give this book a 3.5 but I rounded it up to a 4. It was filled with humor, sometimes cringey, but mostly well done. And it was also filled with queerness, history, and truth. It was a collection of open and vulnerable essays, some of which I didn’t necessarily understand why they were included at first or had somewhat awkward structures, but all very valid and full of social commentary that really opens up your mind and makes you reflect. A pretty damn good book if you ask me. I definitely recommend giving this book a read.
shawneevonmond's review against another edition
funny
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
bugsie's review against another edition
4.0
you can really tell this book was written by a millennial but i still loved it. taylor swift could have been mentioned a little less tho
sophg82's review against another edition
3.0
This book started so strong but really petered out for me :/ Some early highlights were the A Supercut of Lesbian Yearning and Kill The Creator of Entourage chapters—thought they were so well written and thought provoking and resonated with me. All of my highlighted moments that I'll revisit later came from that first half. I’m a huge pop culture girlie, and was a fan of this concept overall—personal essays intertwined with gay pop culture analysis really speak my language. I also thought Jill's writing was super engaging. HOWEVER. The further on I went the less I enjoyed myself. I KNOW that relatability isn’t the best way to judge the quality of a book, but it started to resonate with me less and less, and I also felt like some of the later chapters just…didn’t need to exist? Like, I wasn’t really sure what they were offering? Some slightly negative thoughts:
1. Her whole “intent matters” thesis that permeates throughout the book…I think I just fundamentally disagree with it? I'm an impact>intent gal. This really came to light in those few pages that are devoted to Gaylor lmao. I thought Jill’s reflection on whether she’s doing harm or good in her constant discussion of Gaylor online and wondering whether she’s “become the villain” in a Perez Hiton fashion was REALLY interesting and then she just…decides that it’s fine actually because her intent isn’t malicious? I disagree w that…constantly speculating on someone’s sexuality has an impact and I don’t think it matters if the intent of the speculation is “I hope she’s gay like us” as opposed to a “Let’s humiliate her publicly.” I’m not gonna act like I’m perfect—I care about Swiftgron I’m only human but I am not a known internet figure with almost 100k followers on Twitter so obviously my impact is completely different and that totally matters.
2. This isn’t the fault of Jill at all and really has nothing to do with the book but MAN did this book remind me how profoundly different the white and nonwhite queer experiences are. Obviously Jill should only write about what she knows—I’m not saying that anything should have been done differently. But reading a book focused on pop culture and celebrity representation of lesbians and the intertwining of personal identity and the media we consume feels SO hollow from this perspective lmao. And her perspective and experience is kind of framed as The lesbian perspective rather than the pretty white girl lesbian perspective…2 very different things! Discussion of 2000s era celesbian culture like Cara Delevigne or Lindsay Lohan from a “wow, I didn’t know this was possible! I'm seeing myself for the first time!” perspective is so boring and hollow and expected and unrelatable. Also I think that representation politics is kind of boring and there’s a lot more to be talked about lol. Overall, this book reminded me that there is so much more actually interesting stuff to be said about how we form our own identities and the media and pop culture we’re surrounded by when nonwhite perspectives are brought in, and I obviously need to make more of a conscious effort to seek those out instead of just seeking out queer stories…because I am sick of the white queer experience being seen as The queer experience and the white queer identity being seen as The queer identity! That is just a side point that the book made me think of but what else is Goodreads for! Onto the next.
1. Her whole “intent matters” thesis that permeates throughout the book…I think I just fundamentally disagree with it? I'm an impact>intent gal. This really came to light in those few pages that are devoted to Gaylor lmao. I thought Jill’s reflection on whether she’s doing harm or good in her constant discussion of Gaylor online and wondering whether she’s “become the villain” in a Perez Hiton fashion was REALLY interesting and then she just…decides that it’s fine actually because her intent isn’t malicious? I disagree w that…constantly speculating on someone’s sexuality has an impact and I don’t think it matters if the intent of the speculation is “I hope she’s gay like us” as opposed to a “Let’s humiliate her publicly.” I’m not gonna act like I’m perfect—I care about Swiftgron I’m only human but I am not a known internet figure with almost 100k followers on Twitter so obviously my impact is completely different and that totally matters.
2. This isn’t the fault of Jill at all and really has nothing to do with the book but MAN did this book remind me how profoundly different the white and nonwhite queer experiences are. Obviously Jill should only write about what she knows—I’m not saying that anything should have been done differently. But reading a book focused on pop culture and celebrity representation of lesbians and the intertwining of personal identity and the media we consume feels SO hollow from this perspective lmao. And her perspective and experience is kind of framed as The lesbian perspective rather than the pretty white girl lesbian perspective…2 very different things! Discussion of 2000s era celesbian culture like Cara Delevigne or Lindsay Lohan from a “wow, I didn’t know this was possible! I'm seeing myself for the first time!” perspective is so boring and hollow and expected and unrelatable. Also I think that representation politics is kind of boring and there’s a lot more to be talked about lol. Overall, this book reminded me that there is so much more actually interesting stuff to be said about how we form our own identities and the media and pop culture we’re surrounded by when nonwhite perspectives are brought in, and I obviously need to make more of a conscious effort to seek those out instead of just seeking out queer stories…because I am sick of the white queer experience being seen as The queer experience and the white queer identity being seen as The queer identity! That is just a side point that the book made me think of but what else is Goodreads for! Onto the next.
veeples's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
I could and would do with, like, 80% less of Taylor Swift. And 100% less of Kaylor conspiracy. That’s a straight woman, Jill. Maybe revolve your music identity around an actual queer artist.
jillselwyn's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
skyturtles's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse
jambone's review against another edition
A lot of pop culture references, too many for me to follow and enjoy. I felt it took over the author’s voice. If that’s what you like