Book Reviewed: Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

Space between e/em/eir Gender fluidity and non-binary nature of an individual is an intensely personal facet of life. Author Maia Kobabe visually explores e/em/eir gender confusion in all of its complexities, and handling day-to-to-today challenges of being gender fluid with supportive family and friends. This is a brilliantly rendered book that demystifies gender fluidity that mingles feminine and masculine identities into one multidimensional nonbinary person. Through personal anecdotes, e/em/eir reflects on childhood experiences, navigating puberty, and discovering that eir attraction to others that did not conform to the standard definition of sexuality. The artwork complements the storytelling by providing a visual representation of emotional experiences and severe identity crisis. Its candid nuanced portrayal of gender identity has become a point of discussion in schools and public libraries. In fact, this is the top book of the ten most challenged books in 2023 according to the list published by American Library Association. The narratives are in the form of cartoons, and the story reads flawlessly. I did not see any objectionable material or anything that can be construed as porn. One of my main concerns is LGBTQ activists have misused this story to promote their own agenda. A rapid rise in drag performances in the presence of children, and their interaction with kids in some public libraries are challenging the young minds. Many states are also radicalized, for example, one of the most progressive laws in California related to limiting parental control over minors is Senate Bill 107, signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022. This law, known as the Gender-Affirming Care Sanctuary Law that allows minors to receive gender-affirming healthcare, such as hormone treatments or gender reassignment surgery without parental consent, if kids travel to California for such care. Courts in California are prohibited from enforcing out-of-state laws or subpoenas that conflict with this policy, and the state won’t cooperate with out-of-state authorities seeking to remove the child from such a care. Several other states besides California have implemented laws that provide minors with some level of healthcare autonomy: Oregon protects minors 14 years and older, Washington minors 13 years and older; Illinois and Colorado minors 12 years and older; and New York. Government has no business to interfere in the parental rights over their children. These are the most troubling developments in the past few years.