Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H

119 reviews

abnormal_shadow's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.75

I loved this book so much. I love the way that they incorporate different aspects of their identity and how the book is not a jumbled chronological mess of their deepest insecurities. Instead, it is separated into different stories, just like the Quran is. Even with the mention of Hijab in the title I didn't expect Islam to be such a deep facete of their life because of the way the people around me interact with religion but it was refreshing to see a new perspective on religion especially one had been meaning to  reasearch on my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Classism

rainbowdumpsterfire's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia

Moderate: Homophobia

randeerebecca's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Classism

madanxiety's review against another edition

5.0

My reading got interrupted by Spotify's listening limited halfway thru, but I finally finished. There were a lot of relatable moments. What I love about memoirs is that they often verbalize life lessons in a way that you've experienced, but never verbalized yourself. Anyway, I also liked how it is structured around the stories of the Quran being applied to the author's different experiences and lessons. I love a narrative through-line. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Islamophobia, and Religious bigotry

shaun_dh's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This memoir is stunning. Lamya H’s writing is beautiful and I particularly enjoyed the juxtaposition of her stories with stories from the Quran, which I have never read nor known anything about

It’s pretty amazing that I saw so much of myself in the author—me, a cis femme Biracial Black atheist witch dyke—especially in the final chapter. It feels like that chapter could have been written for me

This book is for anyone who has felt othered, anyone who is curious about religious interpretation, anyone who is interested in differing perspectives. Anyone with an open mind. Really, I think everyone needs to read this

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

clarkg's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

Beautifully written, thematically rich, philosophically engaging, "Hijab Butch Blues" rearticulates the contours of the contemporary memoir into something incredible and fresh. Lamya H. is one of the great poets and thinkers of our time and has raised the bar for how we narrativize the stories of our lives.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Deportation

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

frankiereadstoomuch's review

challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Classism, and Deportation

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

Being queer on top of being an immigrant on top of being Asian on top of being a woman - that’s been a difficult journey. Each identity is always complex, but altogether, it’s a tightly tangled giant ball of yarn. So while I couldn’t completely identify with her, given I’m an atheist, I could understand a lot of what she talked about from my perspective, and it felt like she might understand me too, which is why I loved this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, Colonisation, Classism, and Deportation

bookobsessedmommy's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This memoir on growing up brown, queer, and Muslim took my breath away. The writing is very poetic, and I love the way Lamya wove their life experiences together with stories from the Quran. The way she processed her own struggles while studying with her friend made me rethink the scriptures I grew up with, wondering if there's more there than meets the eye. From the infuriating racism to the suffocating (well meaning) family, there is tons of overlap with their experiences and my own being black and growing up religious, but seeing how they embrace their gender and sexuality AND nurtured their faith is beautiful. We assume so much about Muslims based on the limited representation offered by the media, but they are humans just like the rest of us. Loving, scared, hopeful, and everything in between. I shouldn't have to say that, but one look at the news is confirmation that I absolutely do. Reading books about the lives of people who don't fit the boxes society has predetermined is sobering and encouraging, and promotes the sort of empathy that empowers real change. I think everyone should read this book, no exceptions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

ejessicac's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Lesbophobia