Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl's Notes from the End of the World by Kai Cheng Thom

9 reviews

melodyseestrees's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This is a collection of essays many people will find challenging. However Kai Cheng Thom is among a group of people often overlooked or lumped into a monolith and there is a value in considering the perspective we've been given. Some points may rankle the reader and it is important for each reader to sit with those sore spots and research into it on their own. There are also plenty of moments for the reader to find a sense of poignancy. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicide attempt and Colonisation

nikenacs's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

One of the quickest 5-star ratings I've given this year. This came at exactly the right time for me, and I'm so glad I picked it up from my local library on a whim. 

Kai Cheng Thom covers three overarching themes in this book: Queer leftist in-community conflict, especially in regards to punishment culture and public shaming, and transformative justice. Sexual violence, especially within queer leftist circles. And trans woman / trans feminine experiences, both her own and in larger culture. (Very broadly speaking, with overlap as well as some other topics covered). 

For me personally, the first two topics /got/ me, I think I read this at exactly the right time in my life. Although not always easy, the essays felt like a hug that said "I know. I've been where you've been. We can try to make it, together". As someone who cares deeply about queer leftist circles, but is frequently frustrated and dissatisfied with The State Of It All™, especially in regards to public shaming and black-and-white-thinking, Thom touches on so many of my questions and anxieties. I had not yet done much reading into transformative justice, and I sure as hell will now. I don't think it'll hold all the answers - this book didn't hold all the answers either - but it's going to give me fantastic food for thought. 

The third topic touched me less personally, but made me reflect on the trans women / femmes in my life, as well as those I never got to meet, may never get to meet. In some parts - politics, celebrities, pop culture - it really showed that this book was written in 2019, largely drawing on experiences of the 2010s. I would be so curious to see an update to this for the 2020s, regarding an even more supposedly trans-inclusive pop culture, and violent anti-trans laws on the rise in large parts of North America (and elsewhere). 

TLDR: This book gave me amazing food for thought and I will be buying, re-reading and recommending it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

bashsbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

Thom approaches the issues within modern leftism with an understandable frustration and an unparalleled wit; this collection of essays and poems provide much-needed nuance and insight into thorny topics such as suicide (and the related responsibility of the community and agency of the dead) and sexual assault (including breaking down the perp/victim binary that doesn't allow for any grey areas). She also covers transmisogyny, racism, and class in similar depth. Despite these serious topics, Thom ends every essay with her glimmers of hope for the future. My favorite pieces in this collection were Genie, You're Free, if you should start to think forbidden thoughts, Chronical of a Rape Foretold, Complications of Consent, How Neoliberalism is Stealing Trans Liberation, siblings, Rediscovering My Identity at My Grandfather's Funeral, and Dear, Dear Life.

I highly recommend the entire book, and all of Thom's work (but please remember, she is only one imperfect woman, not a vessel for Leftist Truth!)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Police brutality, and Stalking

Minor: Hate crime, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Murder, and Colonisation

ttorisaurus's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Sexual harassment

noahsingh's review

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

solenodon's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I want everyone to read this book tbh

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Stalking, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Dysphoria

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

simply incredible. i hope we choose love is a rare feat, jam-packed w/ brutal honesty, startling vulnerability, tentative love and hope, and reflective rumination on mental illness and rarely examined topics such as queer community and its internal issues, today's social justice landscape, and ofc trans identity and community, seen through the author's complex lens as a trans woman of color. once in a blue moon, a book comes along, parts the veil in front of my eyes, and completely changes the way i view things. this is such a book and it's a marvel.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Murder, and Classism

Minor: Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

mckenzieminter's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

bobsacoolword's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Reading the reviews for this book makes me realize I don't think anyone really knows who the target audience is and a lot of reviewers who are represented in the marginalized communities mentioned in the books have criticized the content of the books. I don't know if I feel comfortable giving a numerical review because both this book and the reviews have reminded me how much harder I need to work at educating myself on these topics. I am giving this book 4 stars because I found it informative and insightful, but also because it resonated with some of my own experiences. Ordinarily, I'd give any book that gave me as much as it did 5 stars, but I want to acknowledge that other reviewers have mentioned that some of the arguments made missed the mark for them.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

This book covers a lot of tough topics. I tried to pull from some of the most common content warning on reviews for the book, but I would definitely be prepared for things that can be tough to talk about.