Customer Reviews

Queer 13: Lesbian And Gay Writers Recall Seventh Grade

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My first reaction to QUEER 13 was: "Oh god, 13? Seventh grade...What a year that was..." Thirteen was one of those years that only now I can begin to appreciate and laugh at. I don't know if I'd like to relive it though. And this is perhaps why I was so hesitant to pick this book up. But I'm glad that I did. The stories are all beautiful. There isn't one that stands out the most because they are all so good (most are bittersweet--prepare yourself). I found myself crying and laughing and most of all remembering my own experience while reading this book. I highly recommend this collection be read by all.

I am not a fan of the short story form, preferring the long immersion in fiction that novels offer. This book is one of the few exceptions. I received it as a gift and am glad I did. The stories are thematically related and the writing is uniformly superior. These tales so capture the deliciousness, awkwardness, hope, and disappointments of budding adolescence that I imagine anyone could relate.

This collection of 25 autobiographical essays about gays and lesbians at age 13 is not for queers only. You may ask, what makes it a Jewish Book? Well, what is age 13? The age of bar and bat mitzvah's, the age of wo/manhood, seventh grade, hair growth, Keds, adolescence, zits, humiliation, name-calling, teen-star posters, summer camp bunkmates, Playboy magazines, and peer scrutiny. An age when you make your way to Junior High, gain friends, lose friends, outgrow friends, and are outgrown by others... a time when some focus on band practice and other on athletics, and others... who knows. At least six of the writers discuss their Jewish adolescence, so the book may be of interest to Jewish readers. They include Robert Gluck's "Three from Thirteen", in which he mentions the irony of his Bar Mitzvah parsha being the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Gabrielle Glancy's "Train", she discusses how she managed the school officer campaign of her German/Swiss, swastika loving classmate, even though she was obsessed with fellow tribesman, David Gittelman, as well as Diane McCann. In David Bergman's "A Close Escape," David recounts a sickly miserable life in Queens NY which was enriched by an enchanting performance of the puppet show, Sleeping Beauty, and his desire for association with one boy and lust for another. David's Bar Mitzvah was a grim, small, estranged affair which marked his escape from shul and elementary school. In Wayne Koestenbaum's "Fashions of 1971", Wayne writes about his boy scout uniform, bell bottoms, LOVE shirt, fringe, P.E. class jocks and coaches, tube socks, and Becky's slip. In Lisa Cohen's "Still Life with Boys" we find a make out scene with the Bar Mitzvah boy. And in Michael Lowenthal's (SAME EMBRACE) "Lost in Translation", he recounts Spanish class, the derision of classmates, a Bar Mitzvah sleepover party, and his desire for a classmate.

Some of the intent of this collection was psychological investigation. The editor, Clifford Chase was looking for memories of "that key transitional moment." There are certainly many questions that arise from studying the early adolescence of homosexual people.
How does it arise that gay males have constellations of interests in particular fields? Why the liberal arts rather than the physical sciences? Why acting rather than football? Is this really true or is it a prejudiced stereotype? How and why do effeminate or butch mannerisms arise?
Does the gay student need to be protected from peer persecution? Are segregated high schools justified.?
A taboo question is that of "nature or nurture?" Many gays get annoyed if we even consider the possibility of homosexuality being other than inborn, although some transsexuals are liable to insist that sex roles are social constructs and that a chromatin negative person can choose to be a female.
The collection does not answer all these questions or identify a key moment. What is does have, and which may be a homosexual trait, is superb literary merit. Every story is a gem.
Most of the memories are surprisingly benign and many of the childhoods are remembered as pleasant. Recollections of being "scowled and smirked at" in gym class, such as that of Ralph Sassons, are counterbalanced by the titillating voyeuristic pleasures of such settings. The only horrendous abuse, in Justin Chins "The Beginning of my Worthlessness" was not inflicted as a penalty for effeminacy although it fed into a later feeing of homosexuality as a stigma.
(By the way the book "Peace from Nervous Suffering" that Sassons' mother found helpful is by Claire Weekes, an Australian pschiatrist, and I have often recommended it.)

What a wonderful collection. It evokes all the hazy confusion, awkward self-awareness, and occassional moments of innocent joy that are part of growing up gay. A great book to share with teens who may be struggling with issues of identity and difference.

13 is hard. I'm straight and barely survived it. To hear these stories gives us all hope. Hope that anyone can survive not only 13, but life...regardless of where we are coming from.....and what baggage we must handle.

These writers have captured the pain and anguish of being a teen. The collection will bring back memories and stay with you long after you finish the last story. It's a must have for anyone interested in the developing psyche of gay youth. I wish this collection was around when I was 13. Some of the stories are erotic, others painful and uplifting but all of them are well written and offered from the heart. Worth reading!

Candi Cushman, Education Director for the conservative group "Focus On The Family," makes the following claim about this book "It's called Queer 13 and features erotic, glamourized descriptions of adult-child sexual interactions." She is denouncing this book as a book about sexuality disguised as a book about "embracing diversity."
While I have yet to read the book - and I definitely will - I thought that everyone should know about the hate that Ms. Cushman is teaching. I would not buy a book that glamourizes "adult-child sexual interactions" and I seriously doubt that GLSEN would promote such a book in public schools. Before I buy the book, could someone assure me that the book is about what so many of us suffered in school and not an erotic, gay version of "Lolita?"

This book was a fantastic idea to begin with and lives up to its promise. I can't think of a better depiction of junior high school for anybody, gay or straight. I wish they'd do a Queer 14, 15, and keep on going.