Customer Reviews

Baby Remember My Name: An Anthology of New Queer Girl Writing

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I love Michelle Tea's writing, particularly "Valencia" and "Rose Of No Man's Land." Perhaps of some of the disappointment I felt about this anthology was my own fault. I thought it would consist of a lot of hot erotica between queer women of all different gender identities and partner preferences within the lesbian spectrum. Instead, it depicted a world where all queer girls were either FTMs, hard butches, or masculinity-loving femmes. Therefore, I think it should have been called "Tough Girls and FTMs--an anthology of Butch/Femme and FTM writing". There's nothing wrong with butch/femme relationships and FTMs who previously identified as lesbian, but in my book, "queer girl" encompasses a lot more than masculine-identified women or transgendered men and the femme women who love them. The soft butch, the sissy emo tomboi, the tough femme, the glamour dyke, the genderswitch...they were nowhere to be found. It is sad when a book about "queer girls" can read just as gender-restrictive as your typical novel about high school cheerleaders (the desperate to be topped femmes) and the football players (the masculinity-obsessed tough boys--or should I say, tough bois). In this book, the representations of masculinity and femininity that the various dykes/FtMs exhibited were not progressive at all, but rather rooted in a 1950s notion of gender dynamics. The fact that all were born female did little to dissuade this notion.

Lesson learned: Really, really wanting a book to be good does not, sadly, make it good. The stories contained in this anthology were certainly written by queer women, mostly about queer-related topics, but I found the writing to be sub-par across the board. Many of them read like journal entries or first drafts. Overall there was a lot more ego than skill, and very little subtlety or inspiration. Sorry, folks.

Valley Gay Press Book Review by A'Ja Lyons
"Baby Remember My Name: An Anthology of Queer Girl Writing" edited by Michelle Tea

Michelle Tea, author of 'Rose of No Man's Land' and acclaimed spoken word artist, has gathered a collection of queer core writings that will please any fan of the genre. While not every story features a queer protagonist, the writing is truly queer; not just lesbian, gay, or transgender. All of the writings embrace truth and individuality, defy conventional notions, and further shake up this already liberal writing genre.

In 'Keep Your Goals Abstract' by Page McBee, a woman emotionally deals with her father's suicide and funeral. Her mother's insistence that she keep many of her fathers' belongings delivers deep emotional blows, as she seeks a farewell to disturbing memories and future solace with a lover.

'Juan the Brave' by Claudia Rodriguez, is a story about a young Transgender Latino boy who refuses to allow the neighborhood children to call him 'Erica.' No matter what anyone thinks of him, as those around him attempt to figure him out, Juan stays true to himself.

The most heartwarming tale is Jenna Henry's 'Sunshine in the Fat End.' A preteen girl named Jessie has to care for her autistic savant brother while her irresponsible mother spends her time doing drugs with her boyfriend. Jessie finds consolation with Gloria, her trailer park neighbor, a teenage girl not much older than she is, who is the sole provider for herself and her little brother.

Most of the stories have dark undertones, a few others, like the comic strip piece by Katie Fricas, are fairly lighthearted. Within this collection is a story sure to please any fan of queer literature.