‘Gender Queer’ by Maia Kobabe

I was interested in reading Gender Queer primarily because it sounded interesting. As a character in eir memoir, the author seemed like someone I could relate to.

Briefly, according to a description by the publisher, Kobabe started eir graphic novel as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be asexual and nonbinary, while I generally describe myself to be gender-nonconforming. Other terms that I like to apply to myself are “gender creative” and “gender expansive.” I cultivate traits in myself that seem authentic to me, without regard for whether society considers them “male” or “female.”

This graphic novel has also been frequently targeted through book challenges and as someone who envisions herself as a youth librarian, I wanted to acquaint myself with the book and its contents.

Gender Queer is a recipient of the Alex Award, which specifically honors books originally for adults but that have appeal to young people. So it seems reasonable that this graphic novel would include more mature themes and images than a book originally marketed to teens.

Just as with adults, teen readers are not a monolithic group. So this book will have readers among teens (and adults) who can handle it and other readers who need more seasoning. (Common Sense Media sets the book’s readership at age 16 and older.)

The representation this book provides for gender identity and sexual orientation, among other themes, is an important one.

I do hope, however, if libraries choose to shelve this book in the teen section, potential adult readers will still be able to access it.

Adults after all were this graphic novel’s original intended readership and, believe it or not, people can arrive at questions about orientation and identity at any point in their lives — particularly if they previously lacked a recognized vocabulary to articulate how they feel.

Gender Queer satisfies Task #17 on Book Riot’s 2022 Read Harder Challenge: Read a memoir written by someone who is trans or nonbinary; as well as Task #11: Read a book with an asexual and/or aromantic main character. Details at https://bookriot.com/read-harder-2022/.