Book Review: Meet Me in the Future - Stories

Image: The cover of the book has a background of thin lines stretching out from the center which each end in a white dot and have different lengths, resembling an illustration of travel through space. Behind the lines is a light blue background. In the upper center of the book, a large section is covered by a yellow shape with unequal sides spanning the width of the book. Across the center is a large red beetle shown from the head and front legs forward, facing to the right. Across their head it says "MEET ME IN THE" in small capital black letters. Between the large pinchers of the beetle, it says "future" in large black capital letters. Under that is a red circle with the word "stories" in yellow. Across the bottom of the book is the author's name in large black letters with "Kameron" slightly smaller than "Hurley." Below that is a review quote in very small red letters that is too small to read.

Kameron Hurley has quickly become on of my favorite fiction authors. I have been immersing myself in her collection of works and adding more to my shelf to read next. I was excited to get the chance to read her forthcoming short story collection, Meet Me in the Future, for the aforementioned reasons but also because I had not read any of her short stories yet.

Short story collections are this odd measure of diversity in talent in which a favored author can perform unexpectedly badly or a mediocre author can rock your world. They can often be a collection of amazing stories mixed with ones that are so bad it is difficult to understand how they were allowed to be published at all. In Hurley's case, an excellent author of novels performs excellently in the short story realm as well, despite her claims in the introduction that she is not a short fiction writer. I started bookmarking my favorite stories to list in this review. But, by the end of the book, I had bookmarked most of the stories which basically made the practice unnecessary. It is rare not only that someone performs superbly across mediums but also that a collection of shorts is excellent the whole way through. It is obvious that these stories were written and chosen with care and intent to produce something great.

I want to focus a bit on the introduction, because it was enlightening to me why it is that Hurley draws me in so well even when she is covering themes that don't often attract me. I often think I am not really into themes of war, grotesque and gory body horror, or which lean more fantasy than science fiction at times. Yet, I feel completely immersed in Hurley's works that often completely center these things. I have come to realize that it is how someone presents them to me that matters. The reality is that not enough authors' writing involving these themes has the insight Hurley's has. She discusses in the introduction that she lives with serious chronic illness and disability and had grandparents who lived through the Nazi occupation, one of whom was captured on suspicion of being part of the French resistance movements. I also knew that she is a feminist who is formally educated in South African resistance movements (available in the author biography at the end of the book.) These all inform her writing in ways that captures a reality of struggle and suffering that is not just written for the sake of shock or disturbance.

The ways disability and illness inform several stories is in intimate and real portrayals of disabled life. There is one character with leg braces who describes formerly being told she is "lucky' by doctors who only focus on her ability to eventually walk again and not her permanent catheter, her (implied) ostomy bag, her sex life, or that trauma is never "lucky." This is an experience countless sick and disabled people have dealt with with doctors, self included. This character is not portrayed as a victim nor is she portrayed as inspirational, which are often the only fates for those with disabilities. She's a disabled person being human with advantages and struggles. Other stories often also include excretory functions and other fun stuff we often ignore in injury and violence because we are too squeamish or afraid. Yet, disruption of these functions is common in illness, injury, and/or disability and often requires outside help and support from both technologies and human beings. Basically, Hurley has a realistic take on what it likes to be sick and/or disabled that is likely formed by her own experiences.

Another theme in many stories is that of gender nonconformity, transgender experiences, and straight up cross-gender body swapping. Again, Hurley goes at these themes in a way that separates her from others who either make the story all about the person's gender or who tokenize trans and GNC characters for points with no understanding of gender dynamics. Hurley's portrayal of these characters and societies is unique and fantastical while still holding on to the here and now enough that we can recognize them. LGBTQ and polyamorous women of many kinds are a common theme in Hurley's books and stories. This was present across most of the stories in the book. But, the creative ways Hurley explored multiple genders via futuristic or parallel words and multiple stories about body swapping was more present in this book.

There are a couple of stories that may excite those who have read and enjoyed "The Stars are Legion" and "The Light Brigade." (Possibly others, but I have not read all of her books yet.) They include inspiration for the books or events that predated the narratives in the novels. There are familiar themes of technology combining with flesh in ways that are different from the usually human or android representations. There are themes of colonization and oppression that capture the horrific realities via the medium of fiction. There are repeated occurrences of nonhuman animals used as a vehicle for oppression via the description of their commonplace mistreatment as an excuse for mistreatment of marginalized humans. Hurley manages all of these things in ways I have not experienced in other science fiction and/or fantasy that I have read. There are times when Hurley's messages are heavy handed, which can bother me, but for some reason does not when she does it. There are many other times where the themes and messages are woven intricately in complicated ways throughout the stories, creating the experience of the story as reality, even if it's in space, a parallel  world, or a million years in the future.

If you like Hurley's work, you will likely enjoy this book. If you are unfamiliar with her work, I think this book could be good to dip your toes into it. Overall, it is a good representation of her styles and talent. "Meet Me in the Future: Stories" is due out in August of 2019 and is definitely a recommended read.

This review was also posted to my goodreads.

Book Review: The Light Brigade

   

Image: The cover of the book shows a full-body profile of a slim and armored soldier.  There is a bright white light behind them taking up the center of the background which then fades to blues and greens and black at the edges. There is a sea foam green light blurring the figure's legs and fading as it reaches her waist. The top half of the foreground of the cover says the author's name in large, white, capitalized letters. Below that, the title of the book is in the same letters only green. Between the words "light" and "brigade" a quote from Jeff Vandermeer in small white letters reads, "A brave, unflinching, original writer" and below that is a line of text too small for me to make out.

I recently became enamored with Kameron Hurley after reading her bizarre and original "The Stars Are Legion." I had never read anything like it and immediately sought out other books by her. I discovered the recently published "The Light Brigade" and I am very glad that I did.

The Light Brigade is a science fiction story that is quite heavy handed in its leftist sociopolitical messaging. This is something that could be bothersome when not paired with excellent writing and story line, but Hurley executes both quite well. The story centers a queer woman whose military participation in a mega-corporation's war involves some interesting outcomes via her light-speed travel. Hurley gets around the science suggesting the impossibility of light-speed travel by introducing a creative methodology in which soldiers are broken down into light itself. For some soldiers including the protagonist, this does not go as expected, outside of the already extreme danger the process puts them all in. The main character's heroine's journey is excitingly conveyed via fantastic story telling peppered with interrogation recordings/transcripts.

Hurley uses the story to send a message of anti-capitalism, anti-authoritarianism, and anti-militarism in ways that are abundantly clear. I assume it was intentional to create the book as the author's far-left political manifesto told through the vehicle of a cyberpunk tale in space. The story is fast-paced enough to satisfy those into thrillers and has a glimmer of hard scifi sprinkled throughout for those who are into the science part of science fiction. Though it is fantastical enough to probably still be put in the space opera category.

In order to avoid major spoilers, I am not going to discuss the story further. But, I will say that it is exciting throughout with a satisfying ending. It probably helps that I can completely get behind the messaging in this manifesto. Would a far right wing reader enjoy the book as much as I did? Frankly, I don't care.

This review was also posted to goodreads.

Book Review: Turn This World Inside Out - The Emergence of Nurturance Culture

Image: The cover of the book depicts the outline of two people hand in hand viewed from the shoulder down to the wrist and into the centers of their bodies. They are depicted using a light skinned tone. Behind them and weaving through their arms is a watercolor style depiction of blue-green ivy over a background of light earth tones. The top half of the book has "Turn This World Inside Out" in orange, painted cursive letters. Below that in a slightly darker red orange is "The emergence of nurturance culture." Across the bottom in orange is the author's name in painted, capitalized letters.

Turn This World Inside Out by Nora Samaran is a quick read that expands upon Samaran's widely read essay: The Opposite of Rape Culture is Nurturance Culture. The book's expansion on the topic is carried largely by Samaran's interviews with others. I am guessing, though I did not count the pages, that more of this book is interviews that Samaran did with various people than it is her own personal writing. I believe this was a smart move by Samaran. It is always a smart move to consult a wide range of people for a topic, but with this book in particular, I found Samaran's personal writings to be limited quite heavily by her personal experience. I assume she is a white, cisgender, heterosexual woman. If I am incorrect in assuming that identity, it is because her personal writings center this kind of experience.

That is not to say that there is nothing to be gained from the chapters written only by Samaran. There is great information about attachment theory, the importance in addressing conflict in nuanced ways, the seriousness of gaslighting as an abusive behavior, how to make a good apology and accept responsibility, and others. Samaran is also very good at holding onto others' humanity in her analyses. She expresses information in a gentle and accessible way often lacking in discussions of topics within this book. The book is well written, efficiently organized, and contains a ton of important information in a very small space.

Where Samaran falls short is in including a more intersectional approach in terms of her writing. The way she discusses attachment styles is as if all (cis) men without a secure attachment are avoidant and all (cis) women without one are anxious. This is not true as studies show that expressions of attachment styles are similar across genders (though they affect genders differently.) All interactions and relationships seem to center a heterosexual framework as well. She does throw in a "masculine people" in place of the word "men" and "women and femmes" in place of "women" here and there in what I assume is an attempt to be more inclusive. However, she lacks understanding of how masculinities function outside cis heterosexual white men and seems to misunderstand the definitions of and the problems with the phrase "women and femmes." It shows in some of her writing.

The inclusion of interviews by trans women and/or women of color such as Serena Bhandar, Ruby Smith Diaz, Aravinda Anada, and others do well to combat this lack of insight. This is what separates Samaran's book from other white hetero cis women's literature that is lacking in these areas. Those books also often have something important to offer in terms of the author's personal experiences and so on. The problem with this book lies in the fact that the interviews seem to have been done after the rest of the book was written and thus, the learning gained from the interviews is not implemented in her own essays. The ordering of things is often, essay-interview-essay-interview, but when we get to the essays, the information within reverts back to the same singular perspective.

Another issue I had with Samaran's personal essays was how she tackled the topic of gaslighting using her own experiences. The beginning of the chapter, which discusses how severe the effects of gaslighting can be, is a great start. The end of the chapter, which exemplifies the harmful and extreme ways gaslighting exists in community and abuse dynamics is an excellent end. But, in the center, Samaran waters down the definition of gaslighting, basically using it to mean, "this person disagreed with me and said it in a mean way." This is specifically evident in her second example in which a male friend disagreed with her about seeing rent signs in her neighborhood and she labeled this gaslighting because he said it "like she was an idiot." It is misuses like these of the term that make its existence taken less seriously and hides the fact that we all experience the world in different ways. There is a reason that eye-witness testimonies are extremely flawed. Later in the book, Samaran details some of the abuse her family endured with her father and I am not sure why she didn't draw on that for her examples of gaslighting. Every misunderstanding, expression of false information- especially out of ignorance- or irritated response is not abuse. It can be problematic behavior or a stressful conflict that absolutely needs to be addressed without being treated as abuse.

Because of these limitations, analyses that should have been included such as conflicts within same gender romantic and other relationships, white woman tears that are used to silence people of color, the complex nature of trans peoples experiences with gender vs how they are read in the world, the complexities of different masculinities when they co-occur with other marginalized identities, the existence of masculine women and feminine men, the experiences of sick and/or disabled people with, and so on. Luckily, the interviews do address many of these things beautifully which is why I still consider this to be a worthwhile read. In conclusion, my recommendation is to approach this book as a great collection of interviews interspersed with the author talking about her own experiences.

This was also posted to my goodreads.

Book Review: Care Work - Dreaming Disability Justice

Image: The cover of the book is a white background. Across the top in blue-violent, capital letters is the author's name Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha. Below that in large mustard green capital letters is "care work" one word on top of the other. Between the two words, in the same letters as the authors name, it says "dreaming disability justice." Behind the title is an illustration taking up the lower half of the cover. It appears to be a brown-skinned woman with her left arm and left leg around a mass of white branches and perhaps mushrooms. I am sorry that I cannot tell exactly what she is hugging. Only her arm and her leg are visible behind the bramble of plants.

I wanted to put my only negative critique at the beginning of my review for people who skim because it involves one small section of the book that contains dangerous advice. There is a section in which the author shares her tips for touring, many of which are safe and helpful. While she does remark that these things will not work for every body, she does not explain further in ways that are critical for disabled and/or sick people reading. 

One thing she recommends is, for chronic pain, to take 800mg of ibuprofen every 4 hours. She doesn't say for how long or when to stop. One day of doing this puts an adult well over the maximum safer prescription dose. I say 'safer" not safe because long term NSAID use can still be dangerous at "safe" levels. Overdosing ibuprofen (and other NSAIDs) can commonly cause deadly and debilitating illnesses such as stomach bleeding and kidney disease. I learned the hard way by developing both likely from too many NSAIDs in my youth because of chronic pain. My stomach has since mostly healed but I have to be regularly monitored by my nephrologist forever. Now, if that's your chosen risk level, that's totally ok for you. But, if you are going to recommend the practice to others, they need to also be informed of the risk. 

Another thing she recommends is activated charcoal. It is true that activated charcoal can help with digestive issues and other things. It is also true that they give activated charcoal for overdoses and poisonings because it absorbs drugs and poison. If you are on meds, activated charcoal will absorb your meds, reducing or eliminating their concentration in your system and thus their effectiveness. As a person on 20 medications, I looked into activated charcoal at one point and luckily was reminded of being given it in the hospital in the past. This part is not explained in the recommendation, so if a person on medication- particularly the kind of medication you die without- follows this advice without more research, they could be injured or die. 

So, please be careful with and research things before trying them. If you are not able to do the research, perhaps ask someone you trust to do it or your doctors if you have a good relationship with them. 

Now that that is out of the way, let me move on to saying what a beautiful and important book Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha's "Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice" is. I am not a big poetry person. I might say I don't often feel like I "get" poetry. Maybe I lack creativity or education. That said, I knew about Piepzna-Samarasinha from "The Revolution Starts at Home" and her general disability justice work. Every time a poem of hers came across my feed, I found myself enchanted. I promised myself that one day I would read a book of her poetry- a promise I have yet to fulfill. But, when I saw "Care Work" come out, it seemed like an excellent place to start. I went ahead and picked up her memoir "Dirty River: A Queer Femme of Color Dreaming Her Way Home" as well which I hope to read soon.

This book challenged me in ways I expected and those I did not. I don't want to make this review all about me, but I struggle to express the immense affect this book had on me without getting personal. I have had multiple chronic illnesses and disabilities since I was very young, but only recently began identifying with disability when they progressed badly enough that I had to stop working, most activism, and lose most of my social life through losing the ability to do many things I loved. I initially felt sad and lonely reading this book. I felt sad about all of the times I failed to implement or educate myself about disability justice in my activist days. I felt and feel sad that the kind of care networks Piepzna-Samarasinha discusses in this book seem so out of reach. I felt sad that I am not quite there yet as far as feeling worthy and empowered around my health and disability. I really want to be there.

The challenges came in realizing how much internalized ableism I have. They came in realizing how many times I failed to provide proper access and care, how many times I don't realize I failed, and how many times I have felt embarrassed, ashamed, and unworthy of accessing care. It challenged me to think about my masculinity (which I try hard to manifest as a caring and sensitive kind) with how my masculinity and that of others has manifested in failing to provide care and access. I initially tightened up a little with discussions around masculinity as the way I move through the world and especially medical settings has been a struggle (to keep it short, I've been asked to undress far too often in front of people and I was once getting a painful EMG of a nerve in my neck while two doctors stood over me calling me he and she competitively in front of a room full of med students- a common occurrence.) I have also often found myself a caretaker in my partnerships. Piepzna-Samarasinha did nothing to inflame this. In fact, she went out of her way to say she knows about many masculine people providing care and caring. She discussed ways in which feminine abled people have messed up. They were 100% my feelings to work through.

I am grateful for the look into myself and into my life. Real talk, it was my dad who abruptly and carelessly changed the subject without asking if I was ok when I told him I had cancer, it is my male roommate who I have to passively ask 10x over a period of weeks to carry something heavy upstairs for me, it was a male doctor who once told me in the hospital, "You need to suffer," it was a male psychiatrist who yelled at and insulted me as a teenager in an assessment "to see how long it would take me to break," it was multiple male doctors who told my mom I was malingering before I ended up hospitalized for multiple days with a 105+ degree fever followed by a botched spinal tap and missing months of school, it has been masculine people including trans ones and myself who have not been there, it was my single mom who sat with me in hospital beds as a child and youth, it was she and my femme and feminine friends who opened me up to accepting help when I was the sickest in adulthood, it was trans guys who identified as fem/feminine/not masculine who provided support, and so on and so on. The discussions around gender and masculinity in this are real and on point. So, if you're like me, sit with that discomfort and you will learn many things. The discussions of masculinity, femme-phobia, and care work in this are wonderfully nuanced and informative. If your knee jerks, that's on you.

I had no resistance to her discussions of race and whiteness in the book. One of the first things I noticed when I began delving into disability literature was how overwhelmingly white it all was. I am not saying this for ally cookies or whatever so please don't offer. I am trying to say that it was apparent even as a white person how limited the discourse and activism ends up being when you only have a minority of the world population having the most highlighted contributions. It was excellent reading Piepzna-Samarasinha's words and point of view as well as racking up new sources to check out via her impeccably well done citations and resources. I adore what many white disabled people contribute as well (hello, Eli Clare, you changed my life.) They are just one small piece of a very large puzzle.

Another thing that Piepzna-Samarasinha does well is catalogue Queer and/or POC disabled history in really informative ways. She discusses the lack of "elders" in movements who can tell these and other stories. Often the exclusion is due to lack of disability accessibility. All of us who do not die abruptly will become disabled eventually. She discusses the importance of having movements larger than a rotating door of 20-something middle class abled people. I wish this was something I had educated myself on better when I was younger and more able. Perhaps I would have created different networks and would have more to draw on now.

As you can see, this book made me think about myself and my life a lot. I don't know if approaching this review this way was me taking up too much space. But, I will say that though this book brought up a lot of feelings, it was not all bad. Piepzna-Samarasinha gave me hope that there is more out there. She describes beautifully care networks, friendships, other relationships, event set ups, activism, etc that can include sick and disabled people of all kinds. She describes them as real, possible, and already happening. She describes things I have longed for and things I never even thought of.

This book brings something huge to the table in terms of disability justice and discourse around disability in general. Reading this book opened up a whole other dimension for me. I can't recommend it enough to both newbies to the struggle and veterans. I think everyone can gain something from this book.

Book Review: A Terrible Thing to Waste

Image: The cover of the book is bright yellow with black and grey letters. The right side of the book has a silhouette of a person's profile in black with a cutout of a smokestack and biohazard symbol excreting smoke into the shape of a gray brain. The top half of the cover is "a terrible thing to waste" in capitalized stenciled letters, below that under 4 dashes is "environmental racism and its assault on the american mind." Below that is the author's name- Harriet E. Washington as well as "author of medical apartheid."

Harriet Washington is known by many as the author of the harrowing and important "Medical Apartheid" in which she details a long history of medical and scientific abuse of Black individuals and communities. I consider this mandatory reading for any US American. "A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and its Assault on the American Mind," brings a whole new dimension of horror of what it is like to be Black, Brown, and/or poor in the USA. She tackles everything from exposure to dangerous pollutants to lack of access to healthy options and astutely describes how they all fit together in the realm of environmental racism.

The book starts off fairly quickly in discussing IQ disparities among poor people and/or people of color and this remains a theme throughout the book. I did find this part to contradict itself a bit, though. Washington makes excellent arguments about and gives a detailed history of how flawed IQ testing is. Yet, she still uses IQ points as a measure of environmental racism. Her book actually stands well on it's own without inclusion of this metric, or at least without centering it as much as she did. She also repeatedly uses the r-word and seems to lack the necessary analysis of disability justice that would be appropriate for this work. I have a review copy, so this could be something that has been or will change in the future printing. But, someone should have picked up on or sought out the fact that "Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities," is the correct way to discuss what she was speaking about. There was also a slight air of "disabled people are a drain on their families and society" which contributes to the ableist notion that people with intellectual disability do not offer anything to society or have a purpose. I am not saying people should seek out or want their children to be born with I&DD, nor should they lack upset for the higher rate of preventable illness and/or disability in their communities. I just think Washington could have been a bit more careful with her words here and that she or an editor should have picked up on the reality that using r*****ed- a term known as a common insult that many I&DD and Deaf people connect with extreme trauma- was not appropriate. Her description of the flaws, pseudoscience, and racial bias involved with IQ testing was excellent and it becomes clouded by the flaws in delivery.

Washington's book is organized in such a way that someone can skip around if they need to. This does mean that sometimes there is repetition, but it also is valuable for people unfamiliar with the topic to be reminded or for people only interested in reading one section out of order. Topics covered in different sections include lead and other pollutant poisoning, the extreme differences between fetal, childhood, and adult reactions to exposure, food deserts with copious access to only convenience and liquor stores' attachment to environmental racism, lack of access to appropriate medical care, and what is possibly the most horrifying as far as the squick factor goes- "Bugs in the System."

The details of lead poisoning from the unethical and abusive lead exposure experiments on Black and/or poor children and families in Baltimore to the water crisis in Flint are written in an incredibly engaging way. Toxic exposure is not simply that the exposure exists, but also all of the corruption and predatory practices of governments, scientists, and corporations that not only allow things to continue, but often actively support the atrocities. Early lead exposure is also linked to future criminal behavior- behaviors that, in white supremacist society, are always blamed on a Black person's character rather than their circumstances.

The elements of misogyny/misogynoir and it's link to environmental racism are clear in the sections discussing fetal exposure. Poor women, mostly of color, have been penalized via everything from fines to forced sterilization and/or imprisonment by the criminal injustice system for "feticide" or "abuse" due to exposures during pregnancy- including ones that occurred before they knew they were pregnant. At times, it is used by anti-choice lobbies to further their fight against reproductive autonomy for women and others who can get pregnant. At others, it is a way for governments or corporations to cover their tracks.

If I wasn't already vegan, the "Bugs in the System" chapter might have turned me. The chapter details countless bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections that are dangerous for everyone, but end up especially concentrated in Black, poor, and/or other marginalized populations. The reason I mention veganism is that I learned how many parasites are in animal flesh and how easily one can contract them. I was already pretty terrified of parasites. Now, I'm ever more aware and disgusted.

Finally, Washington offers a large section with a wide variety of solutions and actions that people can take to fight against environmental racism's effects on their lives. The advice includes healthcare, food consumption, housing access, familial care, legal options, and organizing/activist advice. There are very good suggestions in this section. I'm white but have poverty line income, so I am a person who shops at Dollar Tree tree and cheap stores. I threw out a couple of dishes and won't be buying some foods again, after reading her section on how many dollar stores use imported food and pottery that may contain lead. We in Pittsburgh are already dealing with our own lead water crisis, I don't need even more in my system. 

I also really appreciate how carefully Washington approached this section. She made sure not to give in to pseudoscience hype like that of anti-vaxxers, anti-any-fluoride, anti-all preservative movements. Yet, she still leaves room for new research and for people to make the decisions about these things that work for them. She acknowledges and validates the reasons why Black people especially may distrust the medical system. She is also firm that vaccines do not cause autism and that mercury that is linked to disease is no longer in most vaccines. She is clear that fluoride's benefit for dental health- especially for those without dental care access- may outweigh any costs or risks involved. She offers a long list of preservatives generally recognized as safe (GRAS) and stresses that these preservatives are healthier than it would be to contract diseases they prevent, but acknowledges that some preservatives are unhealthy and thus avoiding processed foods is always a good idea. Her tips for organizing and activism offer a brief catalogue of the lack of Black and other people of color representation in environmental organizations, despite them being the biggest human targets of many of the problems tackled. This has changed somewhat, but not enough.

Overall, A Terrible Thing to Waste is a well written, well researched, and very necessary look at environmental racism. Despite its flaws in disability analysis and representation, it still offers an great amount of important information in a relatively small package (300 pages for all of this info is not very much.) The book hits shelves in July 2019 and is definitely worth picking up. 

This review is also posted on my goodreads 

Book Review: A Song for a New Day

ImageL The cover of the book is mottled light blue fading into a yellowish green. It has the feel of a concert flyer with it's monochromatic image of a woman holding a guitar and belting out a song. The top half of her faceis covered by the title that fills the first half of the book- A Song for a New Day- in capital letters. Along the side of the singer is the author's name- Sarah Pinsker- in a font that resembles words scratched into the side of a bathroom stall.

A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker is a near future dystopian cyberpunk speculative fiction novel (is that a redundant group of labels?) that centers women musicians and technology experts existing within an unjust society. This review will contain some information about the plot and characters, but I will attempt to keep it relatively spoiler free.

The story is told from the perspectives of two queer women: Luce, who is a musician and composer of what seems to be some amalgamation of rock music genres, and Rosemary, who is a computer expert stuck working for mega-corporations- Superwally and SHL- in order to survive. Live music gatherings, among other things, are illegal and Luce is doing everything in her power to keep the real-life music interaction alive. Rosemary becomes entangled in all of this when she begins working for a music corporation- StageHolo Live (SHL)- which organizes virtual concerts which can be experienced via "hoodies"- a sort of virtual reality technology that is worn by the user, allowing them to become integrated into the simulation.

I enjoyed this book and found it captured my attention and interest well. I do have to say that one thing that was difficult to follow while reading was the timeline. It seems to be set in the future. But, then there are mentions of the 30-something characters having seen Neil Young and other older artists in concert. I kept thinking, wait, are we in an alternative reality to today? Or is this a very very near future in which someone my age could have witnessed these bands and also exist in this repressive anti-music regime? It was also not clear to me exactly why music gatherings were illegal. There are some dangerous occurrences such as bomb threats and disease outbreaks at the start of the novel that I assumed would be further explained later, but the story just sort of passes over them on to the story surrounding seeking out live music in a world where it is illegal. When I started the book, knowing this premise from the blurb, I assumed that the illegality of live music was some sort of repression of free expression by an authoritarian government. However, it is explained that music itself is not illegal, only gathering for live music (as well as protests.) So, I now wonder if it is promoted to "protect" from bomb threats or plague outbreaks. This is never really made clear to me aside from the fact that the illegality is real and oppressive.

This is an acceptable way to create a dystopian environment, don't get me wrong. I don't necessarily need everything to be spelled out for me. But, when it is not, I prefer the world building to be a little more immersive than it was in this book. That said, I still felt drawn into the story. The environments that were created around live shows and everything surrounding them as well as Rosemary's lived experiences were very immersive.

Something I really enjoyed about this book was the centering of queer women as main characters. Often a story that dares to put a queer women near the center will be too afraid to center more than one woman and will supplement with less marginalized characters. This author was brave enough to build the story around the lives of two queer women. It is not entirely clear if queerness itself is also illegal along with live music, but the weaving of queer and occasional trans characters into a story with oppressive governments and corrupt megacorportations obviously says something about both backgrounds. There was a bit of the assumption of universal whiteness- characters of color were introduced by their race while other characters are assumed to be white by default. So, the handling of race could have been better. But, overall, I enjoyed the character make up in this book a lot.

In order to make this review as spoiler-free as possible, I won't say too many specifics about the plot. I will say there are some interesting twists and turns fitting in nicely with the classic cyberpunk genre (which I love.) The characters are well written, imperfect, relatable, and believable. The book is interesting with a premise I have not read about before. There are so many books in the world that I cannot say for sure whether the whole music take on the dystopia has been done before. But, it was original as far as my own experience goes.

A Song for a New Day comes out in September of 2019 and is definitely worth a read. It will likely appeal to many audiences, but it is extra special for those of us who are LGBTQ to see ourselves represented in a story in such immersive ways. The story is not about being LGBTQ as much as the characters just happen to be. Thus, it is appropriate for anyone into dystopian stories, stories surrounding musicians, and/or cyberpunk fans.

Book Review: Meanwhile Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy from Transgender Writers

Image: The cover of the book is divided in half with the lower half being a mint green and the upper half composed of a yellow background with a dark brown/black triangle filling the entire space of its shape. On the right side of the triangle in black letters it states, "THIS BOOK CHANGED THE WAY I DREAM," and the person quoted is in small letters too difficult for me to read. Centered on the green section in black letters are- line one: "FITZPATRICK & PLETT'S original all-new," line two and three in larger letters "MEANWHILE, ELSEWHERE," line four and five in smaller letters:"SCIENCE FICTION and FANTASY from TRANSGENDER WRITERS."

I have to admit that Meanwhile Elsewhere and I got off to a rough start. I was very excited about reading this book as it's been on my to-read list since it came out. Perhaps my expectations were a bit high. One of the stories really let me down, but I am glad I didn't give up on it, because some of the stories are excellent.

The first story is erotica, which is not my bag, but the second story- Delicate Bodies by Bridget Liang- made me put the book down and ask if I wanted to read a collection edited by people that would include a story like this. It is a zombie story and a rape fantasy in which the protagonist- a trans woman who is obviously the author's zombie self- rapes and tortures cis men who have said mean things about her or refused to have sex with her because she is trans. I am not sure how much worse the mens offenses were because I quit after the second rape. Not only is rape and torture the punishment, the men are portrayed as deserving it and eventually liking the rapes. It is the epitome of rape culture, which we as trans people are not immune from promoting. This story makes that very clear. Did we really need a story portraying a trans woman as a sexual predator? The story itself doesn't even fit with the theme the editors claim they chose for the book and it is a horror story, not SF/F. I then saw a review or two in which some people claimed this was one of their favorite stories. I was disgusted by this as well. The author obviously being the rapist in the story is extra worrisome and fucked up. So, here I am, devoting a large chunk of my review to this one disgusting story that almost made me put the book down and wonder if it was included solely because the author had some sort of connection.

I eventually gave myself some space, calmed down, and decided to continue this highly anticipated read. The book does get infinitely better as it goes on. There are definitely not anymore rape fantasy horror stories. It's a mixed bag like any anthology, but many are well written and entertaining. Some of the stories seem all about being trans which was a little disappointing to me. I was hoping that a book like this would showcase more that we have talents outside of talking about transition. That said, in the afterword, the editors claim this was a conscious decision- to not choose stories that just happen to have trans characters, but to choose ones that center being trans. In other ways, stories that centered this imagined futures where transition related issues are thought of and orchestrated in different ways. This was definitely interesting. There is some real variation in topics across the stories. Like any collection, it's hit or miss, but the stories that I did like, I really liked, hence the higher rating.

The best stories in the book, according to my personal tastes, are:
(In order of appearance in the text)
"What Cheer" by RJ Edwards
"Rent, Don't Sell" by Calvin Gimpelevich
"Control Shift Down" by Paige Bryony
"After the Big One" by Cooper Lee Bombardier
"Cybervania" by Cybil Lamb
"Imago" by Tristan Alice Nieto

This does not mean all other stories were bad. These ones in particular, though, were the ones that led me to seek out the authors online and find out if they have written any books I could add to my list.

Overall, this is an important collection in that it showcases many talented trans writers who may otherwise go unnoticed. It contains one highly objectionable rapey trash story that I believe folks would do well to skip or at least go in heeding my warning. It contains a whole lot of stories that not only have good consent politics woven in, but good style and plot. I grabbed a copy of "I've Got a Time Bomb" by Sybil Lamb right after reading her story, I adored it so much. So, this is definitely worth a read as far as SF/F collections go. It's one of the better ones, and not just because it has trans people in it.

This review was also posted to my goodreads.

Book Review: Semi Queer

 

Image: The cover of the book is navy blue with light blue lettering. The op half of the book is an aerial view of 4.5 shipping trucks parked in spaces outlined in light blue. The trucks are all white except for the one in the center that is rainbow colored. Below that in large serif letters is "Semi Queer" and below that in capital, sans serif letters is "Inside the world of gay, trans, and black truck drivers." Below that is the author's name- Anne Balay- and "author of steel closets"

I have always been interested in and fascinated by truck driving. The idea of being alone in a big rig and traveling all over the country appeals to my introvert self. I knew, however, just like any job that there were likely many struggles I wouldn't understand until I was in the job. I did not anticipate, however, just how many struggles there are for truckers. This book put a great many things in perspective.

Anne Balay's "Semi Queer: Inside the World of Gay, Trans, and Black Truck Drivers" has a limiting title despite its length. The book goes further than these three categories and also includes the voices and perspectives of Brown, Indigenous, Intersex, and Disabled drivers. The text is academic in that it is a study, but it is written accessibly. Balay- a lesbian former truck driver herself- quickly dispels the myth of an almost glamorous lone wolf driver making decent money and traveling all over while enjoying the scenery. Semi Queer is a fascinating and dark catalogue of an intensely difficult and dangerous profession. It includes a large range of voices as well as illustrations and images of some of the drivers featured. Being of marginalized identities definitely compounds the struggles of the job for many, but some also shared that it gave them freedom as well.

A common theme in the book is that truck driving for many people- especially trans people and people with felony charges- is a job choice of opportunity. Those who struggled to find employment due to their gender or race found a home in truck driving. Some narrators described trucking as "addictive" or as something that comes to be your calling- however difficult or dangerous- once one spends so many years there. Some claimed they would never recommend truck driving to anyone- especially women- and only took the job because it was the only one they could get. While voices varied greatly- they all still came back to the reality of the profession as an extremely taxing, over-regulated, often hellish, and very very dangerous thing to do.

One thing that surprised me was just how many oppressive regulations drivers have to deal with. Pretty much all drivers including the author agreed that generally, many regulations made the job more dangerous, for both truck drivers and cars on the road. The impossible sets of standards drivers must meet often contradict each other, making for a damned-if-you-do situation all around. In attempting to meet the impossible regulations, the drivers are also at risk for other dangers such as assaults at truck stops and untreated health problems.

I don't think many people realize- self included- just how little time off truck drivers can take in order to barely make a living wage. Many drivers reported having a few days at home out of an entire year. Many described losing relationships, family, or a stable residence. Many described continuing to work even when the injuries caused by the job were so significant that it consumed their life and thinking.

There were definitely differences in experiences of people based on their identity. Unfortunately, a large number of white LGBT people interviewed held racist views, choosing to blame hardships of the job and lack of opportunity on people of color and immigrants rather than on the mega corporations with all of the power. LGBT peoples experiences with identity-based oppression unsurprisingly depended on how able they were to go stealth. White, always passing, trans men reported being far more worried about trans women than themselves. Black and other people of color reported racist attacks from both employers and fellow drivers. Women across the board- cis and trans- shared experiences of assault, rape, sexual harassment, and discrimination from both employers and other truckers. Almost all of the contributors shook these things off as part of the job and things they did not feel safe reporting, claiming that a take-no-shit attitude is the way you survive. 

I was also surprised, though I shouldn't have been, by the amount of driving-related trauma drivers described as well. Many shared witnessing horrific accidents and moving through impossible and terrifying weather conditions. Again, drivers claimed these are all normal things that are part of the job rather than freak occurrences. Time and time again, they told stories of times they had to push through deadly and dangerous conditions so that they met their goals and kept their jobs. 

Along with PTSD from trauma, physical disabilities are inevitable for anyone sticking with trucking for many years. There is lack of access to proper healthcare (and no time for it.) Healthcare results are also often shared with employers leading to regulations that affect people's ability to work. As a result many drivers continue at full speed with injuries that become extremely disabling that might otherwise have been treatable with time off. To be a truck driver is to become injured and disabled younger and faster than people in many other professions.

The things I have listed in this review are only part of the story. My review would be even longer if I catalogued everything I learned from this book. I cannot recommend it enough. It is well written, well organized, extremely well researched, and very informative. I have a new appreciation for truck drivers- without whom we would have nothing. Marginalized truckers have it even harder. I already considered them while out on the road, but I now think about them in more complex ways. This book is fascinating and is one I believe everyone should read.

This review was also posted to my goodreads.

Book Review: Last Days at Hot Slit

Image: The cover of the book is a faded red. In the center is the title with "Last Days at" in white, italic letters and "Hot Slit" in yellow, larger, non-italic letters. Underneath in small white letters is "The Radical Feminism of Andrea Dworkin" an below that, "Edited by Johanna Fateman and Amy Scholder."

Content Note: This review contains mention of many kinds of abuse of women that I won't specifically list for worry of leaving something out as well as suicide.

I couldn't write a review without an analysis of Andrea Dworkin and everything that has developed since her contributions to the world. Dworkin is one of the most passionate, honest, and brave writers I have ever read. I had to take my time reading this book even though Dworkin's writing sucks me in. The book is extremely intense with lots of very heavy, difficult subject matter- which is common for Dworkin, but took a lot out of me nonetheless. There were some excerpts from books I had already read and it was interesting to reread them with where I am in life now. This is not a feel-good book but it is a necessary one. So, read this book and review with care.

The first time I read Andrea Dworkin years ago, it was with great hesitation. I was a member of the third wave "sex positive" feminist world. Some people I knew seemed to think that all radical feminists were either TERFs or joyless, sex-hating, oppressive prudes. However, I did enjoy the work of Carol Adams, Audre Lorde, and others. I was on a mission to understand everyone better- especially a woman who seemed to arouse such big emotional responses from all kinds of people. I read "Woman Hating," and I recall thinking, "Almost everything I heard about Andrea Dworkin is wrong." Dworkin is not only an excellent writer, but she is someone who truly loves women- including trans people- and who has survived hell on Earth only to use it as a vehicle to change the world and help other women. According to the editors' introduction, Dworkin was the first to widely and publicly use her own rape and trauma as a vehicle to discuss feminism and womens liberation. Dworkin has since then become an exercise in balance for me. While I do not agree with everything she says, it keeps me from going to the extremes of some third wave advocates that I really dislike. I teaches me feminist history and keeps me honest. I have read some but not all other works by Dworkin. When I saw that a collection was put out, it seemed like a great place to start reading the rest.

"Last Days at Hot Slit" is a collection of nonfiction essays, speeches, book excerpts including one autobiographical fiction excerpt, letters to her parents, and finally, a heartbreaking writing titled "My Suicide" that was found on Dworkin's hard drive after her death and was previously unpublished. I will say more on that at the end of this review.

I have a pretty hard line disagreement with Dworkin on some issues found in this book, but I still gave the book I high rating. Why I did will hopefully become clear in this review. When I started the book, very early on I was put off because Dworkin seems to cosign Yoko Ono saying, "woman is the n----- of the world." This obviously problematic phrase is often highlighted as a prime example of how white feminists erase Black women from feminism or claim and tokenize oppression that is not theirs. I began to wonder, however, if I misunderstood what she was saying. The rest of the section was devoted to a discussion about how white middle class women were centered far too much and how this was harmful, about what we now call intersectionality, and about the struggles of Black, poor, lesbian, and other marginalized women. So, she cosigned this horrendous phrase but it doesn't seem to match her politics and actions otherwise. This was also an excerpt from her first book and I'd like to think she has learned from it since then. I am not sure if the editors thought about this before choosing to include it or not.

I also have big critiques of how Dworkin and others of the second wave characterize femininity. I do believe that there is always room for critique regarding how we present ourselves. What do we do because we enjoy and what do we do because it helps us exist and/or get ahead more in the world? How do the choices we make in how we present ourselves affect our lives and the world at large? Am I being honest with myself? These are good things to think about regarding gender expression. But, the anti high-femininity often takes over in some second wave feminist texts, including Dworkin's, to the point that it gets more attention than toxic masculinity- which is actually a problem. The quest for androgyny in the second wave came from a desire to abolish forced gender roles and expression. But- and I wonder if Dworkin would have come around on this had she lived longer- there is nothing wrong with gender expression including binary and commonplace kinds like cis women femininity. Having known femmes who were around when this kind of thought ruled feminism, one who was even kicked out of a feminist book store for wearing lipstick and nail polish, I can't really cosign anything that critiques stereotypical feminine expression as negative. That said, I do think there is room to interrogate why we choose to express ourselves as we do.

The rest of the book made up for my disagreements on some things. There is also something to be said of the time these were written. Older writings will often be dated, but there is still a reason these schools of thought came to be and led to where we are today. And, at worst, we can look at these arguments as a feminist time capsule. As a person with a long history of all kinds of exposure to misogyny, I have always been disillusioned by how some third wave, "sex-positive" feminists characterize certain aspects of "sexual freedom." Some people will speak loudly about an unfavorable representation of a woman in a mainstream movie, but in another breath state that any critique whatsoever of the mainstream pornography industry and how it portrays women is "anti-sex worker." Some people talk about how empowering sex work is and silence those of us who have not found it empowering whatsoever. Andrea Dworkin is not anti-sex, nor were second wave feminists overall. She is vocally pro-sex and pro-fucking (yes, she says many positive things about "fucking" in this book) while anti-rape and exploitation of women. 

Dworkin's opinions in her essays on pornography are clear- it is all abusive exploitation of women and must stop. I think the truth is somewhere in between the third and second wave characterizations, which is why reading both Dworkin and third wave, pro-sex work writings is critical. In fact, reading Dworkin's writings along with Pat Califia's on similar subjects, I found myself- to my surprise as someone who is a kinky, trans and queer weirdo that supports queer porn- to agree far more with Dworkin. The essays on rape, sex, pornography, and intercourse in this book are a great selection of such words. The misrepresentations and simplifications of her work as "anti-sex" or "sex-negative" couldn't be more wrong. The myth that Dworkin said something to the tune of "all insertive sex is rape" is patently false. The excerpts from "Intercourse" included in this book are from the later edition where she sets the record straight. Dworkin's ideas and reality came from extensive research, personal experience, and endless conversations with women. Dworkin challenges us to always be interrogating our desires and to not fall into the "anything I like and everything that turns me on is liberation" trap of some third wave feminists or especially rich white male pornographers who were some of Dworkin's largest attackers. Even if you disagree with the second wave's takes on pornography and sex work, there is still something to be gained by reading Dworkin's words.

Dworkin also tackles topics such as intra and inter-racial abuse, general prejudice and supremacist thinking, being a non-Zionist, pro-Palestinian Jew who grew up being taught a different philosophy,  public cases of women in the media, and others. Her writing on Nicole Brown Simpson and Lorena Bobbitt is quite an interesting time capsule as there are now multiple documentaries and reenactments of these cases. These series send the messages Dworkin was trying to send decades ago. Having recently binge-watched Jordan Peele's 'Lorena,' it was both refreshing and frustrating to see the truth finally being played out rather than constant jokes about a woman who was horrifically raped and abused and who violently defended herself as a result. What would have happened had we listened to Dworkin and other feminists in regards to Nicole Brown Simpson and Lorena Bobbitt?

Throughout the collection, across multiple books, Dworkin discusses her own experiences with rape and intimate partner violence. She does not mince words or dance around issues. She does not question or hesitate. The power behind her words can be felt through the page as she describes being horrifically abused and stalked by her ex husband, multiple rapes, and other traumas. She talks about being harrassed and hated. She talks about chronic illness. She talks about being alone. Where this is the most intense is in the final, formerly unpublished essay- My Suicide. 

"My Suicide" is one of the most devastating, relatable, painful, accurate, and honest things I have ever read. Dworkin captures what it feels like to be drugged and raped. She captures what it feels like to be suicidal. She captures what it feels like to be chronically ill. She captures shame, regret, hopelessness, depression, fear, despair, and many other things. If you wanted a happy ending, there isn't one. Dworkin died of inflammation of the heart at only 58 years old. Her illnesses were undoubtedly compounded by both extensive trauma and how horrible it was to be a feminist that took center stage against misogynists and their supporters. If she had not died from her illnesses, would she have completed suicide? Reading this last entry makes one wonder. While reading this I just kept thinking, "Yes, someone gets it. Someone really gets it." And, without revealing too much more about myself, I can say that all I wanted to do after reading this was hold her and say, "I believe you. I am here. I understand. I truly understand. You are not alone." I say that as a person who is not very touchy-feely. But, some part of me believes that no matter how much Andrea was loved- and she was widely loved by feminists all over the world- life beat her down in ways no one can survive for long. She left us with a legacy anyways. She worked so hard and never gave up. While the last entry is full of hopeless wonder of how women and girls can survive in this world, I do hope that her last dream before death was peaceful. It is all I can hope for.

In conclusion, Andrea Dworkin gave her life for the feminist movement. None of us is perfect and no wave of feminism has been 100% right. But, we can all learn from each other. If you have not read Dworkin because of something negative you've heard, I urge you to push past that and read her with an open mind anyways. There is something to be gained for everyone in this book and this collection is an excellent place to start.

This review was also posted to my goodreads.

 

Book Review: Brief Answers to the Big Questions

Image: The cover of the book is different shades of blue with the expanse of space with stars and nebulae blended in. There is a large transparent circle taking up most of the cover and two smaller, vertically aligned circles inside it, each with a golden edge similar to a crescent moon. The title is in the top circle and the author's name- Stephen Hawking- is in the smaller circle. All words are capitalized in a serif font in white.

This was my first book by Stephen Hawking. I have a layman's interest in Cosmology and other physics fields. I have read Brian Greene, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and popular science articles specifically because those things were written with people like me in mind. I assumed that Hawking's work would be too smart or too educated for me. I saw this book having a wide appeal, in part due to its posthumous publication. So, I figured I would give it a go when I saw it available as an audiobook online.

I want to first say that I believe that the publisher did very well with the audio narration. They had Eddie Redmayne (who gave a performance of Hawking in the movie "The Theory of Everything," that Hawking very much approved of) read Hawking's friend, Kip Thorne's introduction. His daughter, Lucy Hawking, read the afterword also written by her. Ben Wishaw- a British narrator (or someone speaking in a British accent)- read the bulk of the text. But, they also made sure to include Hawking's real voice by adding a short interview question answered by him between each chapter. This was a respectful, inclusive blend of people to work on the audio of a book written by someone who identifies with his voice that was produced by computer assisted speech technology and was obviously carefully thought out. I appreciated this.

The book itself is a series of essays on "big questions" that Hawking provides his answers to. I do think a reader with a very basic knowledge of cosmology, atomic structure, introductory physics, etc would pick this book up better than someone with none. But, I do believe that someone with very little background who has not read much at all could still understand this book if they took their time with it. Physics experts, I believe, could also find this book enlightening because Hawking's prose is delightful and he talks about some pretty far out there concepts. If you have a decades long career in Physics, you may have already heard of multiverses and other dimensions and so on. Yet, I still think it is especially entertaining to hear Hawking discuss them. Hawking's use of analogy is masterful and really helps to make the book more widely accessible.

The book is repetitive at times, leading to descriptions of things given multiple times. This may be bothersome to someone with a cosmological background. But, for people new to the subject, it likely helps to hear the uncertainty principle, singularities, near light speed space travel, relativity, etc explained more than once. It also allows the reader to jump around if they choose, not requiring a linear reading of the book.

 

Image: One of the ways cosmologists observe evidence of a black holes is by measuring things happening around them. A black hole in the center of this galaxy is spewing gas and particles outward. Hawking explains this in detail in the book. Source: ESO/WFI (visible); MPIfR/ESO/APEX/A.Weiss et al. (microwave); NASA/CXC/CfA/R.Kraft et al. (X-ray), found in this article, courtesy of NASA

Hawking also discusses his disability as part of his life in a matter of fact manner. This is something that has been regularly stated by him. Unfortunately, after his death, people illustrated images of him standing from a wheelchair, walking into the stars or saying he was "finally free." While Hawking discusses the undeniable struggle and suffering of living with ALS, he also represents what is possible when disabled people are given the tools to participate in the world. The reason the lifespan of people with ALS is often so short is in part because of the lack of ability to afford assistive technology. People decide to die so as not to be a burden, because they cannot afford the healthcare to live, or because they feel trapped by the disease. But, with the right access to healthcare and technology, how many people with ALS could thrive? This is not to say that all disabled people must be super-crip Olympic athletes or cosmological geniuses to be valid and worthy of care. It is to say that we are missing out on things with so many people due to a world that is not built for them to even get in the door much of the time. Hawking did not get up and walk into the heavens when he died. He became the heavens. Each of us will breathe in the same atoms that he and Einstein have at some point. That is the real afterlife.

I wouldn't say I agree with him on everything, but we certainly have many views in common. I can respect his views on other things. I do wish he would have discussed the class issues with being a billionaire when discussing his involvement with Elon Musk, for instance. He had a fairly firm grip on global crises of finance and environment. But, perhaps brevity was intended.

Either way, it is a lovely book that fits well with the end of his life when, as the Onion (yes, the satirical newspaper) beautifully stated, "the entire life of the universe flashed before (his) eyes."

This review was also posted to my goodreads. 

Book Review: Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good

Image: The cover of the book has a white background with silhouettes of many species of animals having sex in various colors including dogs, insects, birds, rhinos, lions, slugs, and rabbits. The title of the book is written in large purple and red uppercase letters and each word is split in half as it spans the page (each word taking up two lines.) The byline "The politics of feeling good" is in small blue letters across the bottom. Below that, in lavender letters is "written and gathered by adrienne marie brown."

Pleasure Activism is a collection of essays, interviews, poetry, and art composed and/or collected by adrienne maree brown. The structure and organization of the book is well thought out as it spaces each of these mediums apart so that the reader is not over-saturated. The book is very Queer and trans- inclusive and most of the entries and interviews are with women, gender non conforming, and/or* trans people of color. There is one somewhat academic essay but the rest of the entries involve people from a variety of backgrounds from art and performance to on the ground street activism. This makes the book very accessible to a wider audience.

"Pleasure activists believe that by tapping into the potential goodness in each of us we can generate justice and liberation, growing a healing abundance where we have been socialized to believe only scarcity exists" -adrienne maree brown, Introduction

I should have know from the cover- which depicts many species of animals having sex and the title- that this book would be largely about sex. However, the blurb about this book led me to believe that the book would be a more expansive discussion of "(making) social justice the most pleasurable experience." The book is not only about sex but the vast majority of it is focused on sexual pleasure and relationships. There is a small section on drugs, performance art, fashion, and parenting (which still often center sex and sexuality.)

I have spent a lot of time in Queer communities where sex was everywhere and the center of everything. So, I understand why a Queer writer would choose to focus so much on that. But, to be honest, I wanted more. I wanted larger discussions (though there are brief mentions) about how social justice activism is often so punishing and how to form better (sexual AND nonsexual) relationships with each other. I wanted sections on how to actually make activism more pleasurable, fun, and creatuve since activism is in the title. I wanted more discussion on all of the different ways we can find pleasure and how to find them. This was actually detailed wonderfully in the short outro at the end of the book. I wish the rest of the book showed the same amount of diversity in topics. Is simply having pleasure in your personal life "activism?" Where are the discussions of pleasure for people who are isolated from social activities due to disability, illness, geographical location, class, lack of accessibility of sexual partners (re: pretty privilege, etc?) How can we make life more pleasurable for those who lack access?

It feels necessary to explain a little where I am coming from in order for my criticism to make sense. I went from being a very active polyamorous Queer in radical, BDSM, and/or activist communities, that were very saturated with sex and play at all times, to being a deliberately single and celibate person focusing on platonic friendships without sex. I spent far more time in the former category but I've been doing the latter for years now. I am chronically ill/disabled and this plus having a lot of harmful and traumatic relationship experiences led me to choose my current path. I also have been sober for about 14 years due to addiction and it is near impossible to find any social and pleasure-oriented spaces for Queers where the majority of people there are not intoxicated- arguably beyond the ability to properly consent. It really sucks when you make a connection with someone who doesn't remember you the next day. It sucks when you get a dirty look asking about how much someone was drinking/using drugs before agreeing to something sexual with them, even though you are doing so to make sure you don't harm them. Intoxication and hypersexuality is the norm in most Queer spaces, even if it isn't in the normative world. So, a book that is basically only encouraging sex and getting high as forms of pleasure activism is a disappointment to me.

This is covered in places, such as in Micha Cárdenas' essay, Beyond Trans Desire, in which she states, "I have in recent years been able to build a deep self-love and self-respect that I did not learn from queer communities or radical political communities, where I often felt further devalued, excluded, and objectified. I have found a refuge in people committed to healing, service, and sobriety and that gave me the tools to question my desire and my part in putting myself in situations that caused me to feel devalued." So, in brown's inclusion of others words for portions of the book, she did cover more bases.

Brown does indeed briefly discuss celibacy and other topics. Brown does mention that drug use can turn into addiction. But, for the most part, she centers her own experience in what pleasure is. She tells the reader to masterbate, have an orgasm before each chapter, she tells the reader to smoke up, etc. This did not feel very inclusive of those of us who cannot, do not, struggle with, or or do not want to do those things. Weed is generally very safe in comparison to drugs like alcohol or heroin, but it's still dangerous or some of us- especially those of us with addiction histories or problems with/risks of developing psychosis. What about those of us who want pleasure in a sober setting? The sections on drugs make it seem like sober settings dominate and oppress which is not true. The vast majority of Queer and other social situations are dominated by alcohol and other drugs which deprives those of us who don't want to be around that from social pleasure.

I do want to say though that it is likely that the focus on drugs and sex in liberatory ways come from a society and government that still punishes people for enjoying sex and which still criminalizes drugs in heinous and murderous ways. These are both things that must be combated at all costs. The harm reduction interview in the drug section was excellent and there is absolutely a place for all of brown's essays and advice on sex and sexuality. I simply wanted more accessibility and variety.
I also have mixed feelings about the use of footnotes in this book. This is nit-picky, I know. But, the level of distraction warrants comment. There were times that the footnotes were excellent and I wished more books would use them in the way she did. For instance, when doing an interview with someone and they would mention something from a book, she would cite the author and book. However, at other times, the footnotes were very distracting. The book begins with an Audre Lorde essay that brown litters with critical footnotes even though many of the criticisms are discussed in the intro already (such as the limits of dated language.) In contrast, a later article pins "women and femmes" (will this phrase die in 2019, please) against "men and masculine people" listing all of the ways apparently only feminine people suffer sexual assault, gendered oppression, exploitation and abuse in sex work, etc but butch and androgynous women and transmasculine people are apparently both responsible for the same oppression that cishet men force upon sex workers while also not being victims themselves of said oppression. I am the first person to want to discuss to rampant problems with toxic masculinity in Queer communities. But, denying the trauma, work, and lived experiences of gender non-conforming women and trans people and placing them in the same oppressive role of cishet men who exploit sex workers is not how you do it. Erasing butch and androgynous women from the category of women and acting as if transmasculine sex workers don't exist is not how you do it. (I've known many trans men sex workers who not only exist, but also are often present themselves as women for their clients out of necessity and demand and thus are treated with the similar oppression cis and trans women face.) There were no footnotes from brown on this article nor were there any on other articles that made some iffy statements. This would be fine if the book was just a collection of essays with differing opinions. But, if you're going to criticize Lorde for having some general terms and dated language on an essay from 1978, I hope you're going to treat the people who are alive and writing today the same way.

Now that I have been honest about where I am coming from and why this book did not always work for me in the ways I had hoped, I want to talk about the ways that it does work for me. And, I want to state again, that this review is largely about my own taste and is not to say that others would no get exactly what they need from the book, which is why I still gave it a high rating.

As I mentioned, this book is very Queer and inclusive of many Queer identities and genders. It centers Black and Brown women and/or trans people in very accessible ways. It offers some great lessons regarding sexual and romantic relationships and harm reduction. It contains excellent and engaging interviews with amazing people. Brown's own contributions are always beautifully and kindly written and easy to read.

One of my favorite parts about "Pleasure Activism" is brown's very wise lessons on boundaries, moderation, knowing that you are deserving, and discovering balance. I bookmarked pages over and over where brown discusses how to create, hold, convey, and feel comfortable with and deserving of boundaries. While they are often described in relation to sexual and romantic relationships, the lessons are applicable to all areas of life. Here are a few gems:

"Your no makes way for your yes. Boundaries create the contain within which your yes is authentic. Being able to say no makes yes a choice." -amb, Introduction

 "Don't compromise your core values, don't giggle at something you find ignorant or offensive. But, don't hang up because this human with a different life than you has reached different conclusions." -amb, It's About Your Game

"Set generative boundaries. Create mutual abundance. I envision generative boundaries as organic fences, made of stacked rocks or thick bushes that become home to millions of small creature families. Porous, breathing boundaries that are clear that mark the space between partners in ways that make them both feel abundant." -amb, Liberated Relationships, Expanded

For people who are interested in entering into or who are already part of what can be a wonderful world of multi-partnered Queer filth (I mean this in every great sense of the word,) brown offers a great deal of useful relationship, sex, and dating advice. She also offers a lot of information on solo sexual pleasure. I thoroughly enjoyed her discussion of why she likes being "a second," meaning a non-primary partner to someone. I have always felt this way and sought out that position frequently when I was dating and hooking up, but had not seen many other people write about it in the way that brown has.

The "Hot and Heavy Homework" assignments were helpful and fun editions to the essays. They are all creative and different from what I have often seen in relationship or self help books. They are also assignments accessible to a wide range of needs.

The collection of essays titled "Skills for Sex in the #metoo Era" was my favorite in the book. I adored and devoured each essay in the section. If you are a person who skips around in anthologies like this, be sure to check out that section.
Finally, I must say that even though I have my critiques how much of the book centered on sexual pleasure and drugs, this book did inspire me to open up a bit and ask myself questions about my future in regards to relationships. Perhaps that was part of why so much of it was so hard for me. So, please keep in mind after reading my review that my process is not the same as your process and both of our processes are ok. I can see a great many people- including my younger self- getting a great deal of what they need from this book. So, I do recommend giving it a read. There is a lot of great stuff in here from brown and other important voices.

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*I say "women and/or trans people" to denote a group of people including people who may be women, other trans people, or both women and trans. Trans women are women. We still lack a great phrase for the inclusion of marginalized and oppressed genders, but I refuse to use "women and femmes" for reasons which I describe in this article and an author describes well here.

*I am updating this review with this article which is even better than the other one. I am going to say "marginalized genders" for the most part now. 

This was also posted to my goodreads.