Gender Queer is a memoir that explores the emotional journey and struggles surrounding being transgender. Having experienced it first-hand, the author powerfully conveys the depth of feeling and the magnitude of misunderstanding that accompanies a transgender identity. The story is interesting and enlightening to someone who is unfamiliar with the topic, and the book effectively imparts a sense of empathy to such readers. Though this book is relevant and addresses a timely subject, it is a book to read to be informed, not entertained. The narrative is not very exciting, and the art is very simplistic. Overall, it is not a book that I’d recommend except to an older reader (see age recommendation) who is looking to broaden their knowledge of the topic of transgenderism or someone who is transgender and is looking for a friendly, familiar voice. Whether this book belongs on school shelves has recently been a topic of spirited discussion; however, from a practical standpoint, this is not the kind of book that will grab students’ attention enough for them to recommend it to each other so it is unclear how much it would really be sought out.

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: 3 religious exclamations; 1 mild obscenity; 1 religious profanity; 3 scatological words; 5 anatomical terms, 1 offensive hand gesture (illustrated); 1 f-word derivatives.

Violence/Gore: Blood is depicted on a medical instrument; a few graphic and disturbing illustrations of blood related to a woman’s period, including a woman’s legs covered in blood; a room is illustrated covered with blood; a graphically illustrated image of a stabbed, naked person.

Sex/Nudity: Characters talk about their crushes a few times, and some of these are about individuals of the same gender; a boy and girl (children) share a cute kiss; a girl asks to kiss another girl; a character reads literature in which characters make out (no details given); a character uses an online dating app to find strangers to make out with; discussion of sex including scientific drawings of anatomy in a sex education class; discussion of birth control; a condom is illustrated; mention of sexually transmitted diseases; illustration contains bare buttocks of children (in a non-sexual context); a girl goes topless (at an age that is too young for anatomical differences); menstrual blood is illustrated on underwear; mention of surgery to remove breasts; discussion of transgenderism; a character reads sex scenes in a book (no details are mentioned); an male’s erection, which is obvious though covered by clothes, is depicted; discussion of periods; mention of “boobs”; discussion of genitalia in a medical setting; mention of drag queens; a character fantasizes about oral sex; a character fantasizes about men having sex with other men; a character masturbates a few times, including once while driving; report of characters having sex; report of “sexting”; a character thinks about sex and orgasms; mention of lesbian and gay pornography; a character writes a sexy story (no details given); a few illustrations of a naked woman, with front and back shown; a graphically illustrated image of a stabbed, naked person; naked men are illustrated with genitalia shown; girls talk about tasting female bodily fluids associates with sex; a few discussions of masturbation; a character wants to get rid of their breasts, and this is mentioned a few times as a recurring theme; a few discussions of asexuality; a few discussions of sex toys, including one that is lengthy (4 pages) and contains an illustration; discussion of “kinks” and sex (without many details); two men are shown naked and kissing (their backsides are shown); an illustrated depiction of oral sex using a sex toy in place of male genitals.

Mature Subject Matter:

Transgenderism is a major theme of this book; some characters follow pagan religion; mention of cancer; lesbianism; homosexuality; gay marriage; discrimination against women (reported); discrimination based on gender identity is a major theme of this book; discussion of pronouns and misgendering.

Alcohol/Drug Use:

Report of characters drinking alcohol shots; alcohol is abused to excess; discussion of hormones used to block puberty; drugs are used medicinally (with illustration).