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Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'
Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest To Track Down The Last Remaining Lesbian Bars In America by Krista Burton
8 reviews
fedoratheexplora's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
egheinze's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
cheriepie's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.5
This is the second time this year that I've read a book purportedly informative about wlw culture that ends up being a mediocre memoir written in a horrifically Buzzfeed-y cadence. I went into this expecting some history or interviews with lesbian bar patrons and owners and instead got the author's blog. If this were advertised as a memoir-travelogue I wouldn't have picked it up. I eventually stopped reading the sections that were not explicitly about the bars. The ultimate questions (why are there less lesbian bars and why are they disappearing) do not get answered in any definitive way.
The author is also weirdly judgy about the people she meets in the bars. She goes on a tangent about "pin gays" (queer people who collect enamel pins and put them on their bags), categorizes everyone as "babyqueer" or "elder queer" as if this means anything, and ends the epilogue with "I'll be the girl in the dress in a sea of flannel," which (and perhaps I'm a tad sensitive) reads as very judgmental of other, less femme lesbians.
I appreciate what it tried to do, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
Also how are you going to talk about Hen's and not bring up how gentrified it got. Come on now.
The author is also weirdly judgy about the people she meets in the bars. She goes on a tangent about "pin gays" (queer people who collect enamel pins and put them on their bags), categorizes everyone as "babyqueer" or "elder queer" as if this means anything, and ends the epilogue with "I'll be the girl in the dress in a sea of flannel," which (and perhaps I'm a tad sensitive) reads as very judgmental of other, less femme lesbians.
I appreciate what it tried to do, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
Also how are you going to talk about Hen's and not bring up how gentrified it got. Come on now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
grace_b_3's review against another edition
medium-paced
1.0
I went into this expecting a book about lesbian bars, instead this a memoir/travelogue. I wish that the book description was clear that the bars aren’t the focus here, but there probably wasn’t an audience for her memoir. The writing style is reminiscent of a blog and the content is just as thin. Honestly, I would skip this because the bars sometimes just seem like set dressing, instead of being the focus.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Alcohol
cveeders's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! I struggle with the author's perceived femme struggles, since they kept cropping up and I kinda wished she would just accept that femme presenting gay people have both challenges and opportunities different than others, but it didn't ruin the book. I love a good travelogue too!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Death of parent
peachprince's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.5
I closed this book happy to have read it but the more I think about it I struggle to give it more than 3 stars. I'm giving it 3.5 because I did enjoy it and think it is fine enough as a bloggy list of bars to visit. There were moments that made me laugh, and i believe the author has a sincere love for these bars. It reads like something I would have loved as a teenager (or "babyqueer", as the author repeatedly calls them, to the point that it starts to feel like a pejorative). But ultimately I don't think she was best suited to write this book. Really I think it comes down to her being the only one willing to do it who could afford to make all those trips.
The lack of research others have mentioned is a huge hindrance to the book. A frequent occurrence is Burton showing up to a bar when it is closed or just missing what would have been a cool event to write about. Is she not even calling these bars? Emailing them? Asking on facebook and twitter about when she should go? Or doing anything to arrange interviews with patron ahead of time, even!
I can't help but contrast this book with an episode of the podcast True Tea with Kat Blaque from 2021, "[Call In] New York Lesbians Discuss Whether Trans Women are Shutting Down Lesbian Bars". The episode has been edited down to 38 minutes from multiple hours of calls, and paint a much more vivid and nuanced picture of New York's lesbian bars than Moby Dyke manages to. Of course Kat Blaque has the advantage here of taking calls from people who know her work and presumably feel comfortable talking to her about their feelings on the matter, but it's still disappointing that Burton failed to glean even the top-level insights Blaque gets from her interviews, such as that young cis lesbians don't want to go to a bar that is "for them" if it excludes trans people and bisexual women, so attempting to make a "lesbians only space" that has to turn a profit is a recipe for failure.
Others here have covered much of what frustrated me, but I want to address the recurrent theme of femmephobia. Burton really doesn't dig into this at all, not even the most basic historical facts like lesbian bars at one time being the only places in America a woman could safely crossdress. The lack of self-awareness is staggering: is it really the fast fashion viscose-blend dress and the eyeliner that is making people suspicious and unfriendly? Or is it that you're a stranger in what are frequently close-knit spaces who is obvious watching all the bar-goers and writing things down? So many interactions with people in this book start with someone asking her "what are you writing" and it never seems to occur to her that this is a defensive measure, trying to decide if you're some right-wing grifter looking to make a queer space the next culture war target.
My frustration with these segments also ties in with how little her trans husband's perspective comes up, despite the question of his inclusion being part of the thesis of the book. What is it like to change gender presentation in these spaces? Or to be anything other than a cis femme at all? Burton doesn't seem to consider this, she takes it for granted that masculinity is a welcomed default and doesn't touch on transness beyond asking strangers their pronouns.Her husband's experience is so absent that he may as well have been a cis man. "It's a bar for everyone" is the refrain, but never does she dig into who isn't going to these bars or whether anyone feels unwelcome.
As others have noted, while not trying to be a history book, Moby Dyke also fails to be a memoir, a travel guide, or any real synthesis of its disparate genres. Fine enough as what I read it as, a library book to read a few chapters of before bed before returning it and moving on.
The lack of research others have mentioned is a huge hindrance to the book. A frequent occurrence is Burton showing up to a bar when it is closed or just missing what would have been a cool event to write about. Is she not even calling these bars? Emailing them? Asking on facebook and twitter about when she should go? Or doing anything to arrange interviews with patron ahead of time, even!
I can't help but contrast this book with an episode of the podcast True Tea with Kat Blaque from 2021, "[Call In] New York Lesbians Discuss Whether Trans Women are Shutting Down Lesbian Bars". The episode has been edited down to 38 minutes from multiple hours of calls, and paint a much more vivid and nuanced picture of New York's lesbian bars than Moby Dyke manages to. Of course Kat Blaque has the advantage here of taking calls from people who know her work and presumably feel comfortable talking to her about their feelings on the matter, but it's still disappointing that Burton failed to glean even the top-level insights Blaque gets from her interviews, such as that young cis lesbians don't want to go to a bar that is "for them" if it excludes trans people and bisexual women, so attempting to make a "lesbians only space" that has to turn a profit is a recipe for failure.
Others here have covered much of what frustrated me, but I want to address the recurrent theme of femmephobia. Burton really doesn't dig into this at all, not even the most basic historical facts like lesbian bars at one time being the only places in America a woman could safely crossdress. The lack of self-awareness is staggering: is it really the fast fashion viscose-blend dress and the eyeliner that is making people suspicious and unfriendly? Or is it that you're a stranger in what are frequently close-knit spaces who is obvious watching all the bar-goers and writing things down? So many interactions with people in this book start with someone asking her "what are you writing" and it never seems to occur to her that this is a defensive measure, trying to decide if you're some right-wing grifter looking to make a queer space the next culture war target.
My frustration with these segments also ties in with how little her trans husband's perspective comes up, despite the question of his inclusion being part of the thesis of the book. What is it like to change gender presentation in these spaces? Or to be anything other than a cis femme at all? Burton doesn't seem to consider this, she takes it for granted that masculinity is a welcomed default and doesn't touch on transness beyond asking strangers their pronouns.Her husband's experience is so absent that he may as well have been a cis man. "It's a bar for everyone" is the refrain, but never does she dig into who isn't going to these bars or whether anyone feels unwelcome.
As others have noted, while not trying to be a history book, Moby Dyke also fails to be a memoir, a travel guide, or any real synthesis of its disparate genres. Fine enough as what I read it as, a library book to read a few chapters of before bed before returning it and moving on.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
atuin's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
relaxing
fast-paced
3.5
A very fun book at different lesbian bars across the country. The author tied in her personal life story throughout. It was interesting, although the phoenix chapter did feel like the bar’s story was sidelined in exchange. Still the joy at queer community was palpable through the entire book, and anyone who is interested in that community would find this book a good read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
bambooboy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
4.0
the author occasionally plays into the divisive mentalities that she claims to hate, but otherwise this was a sweet little jaunt across america to find community in the last few lesbian bars we have.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Alcohol
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