Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg

13 reviews

rhiannonhoward's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Rape, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death, Classism, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Racial slurs, Suicide, and Racism

saritaadam's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

It broke my heart

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Rape, Death, Violence, Transphobia, Sexual content, Sexism, Police brutality, Misogyny, Deadnaming, Medical content, Grief, Outing, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Vomit, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Medical trauma, Lesbophobia, and Gore

Moderate: Body shaming, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Dysphoria, and Suicide

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

kacheekah's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Racism, Violence, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Murder, Police brutality, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Outing, Sexism, and Suicide attempt

q_bert13's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A great work of speculative fiction- retelling the many real experiences of queer and gender diverse people during the mid/late 20th century. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Transphobia, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Body shaming, Deadnaming, Classism, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, and Domestic abuse

bearystarry's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Fuck capitalism, fuck white supremacy, fuck the police. Incredibly rewarding read, even if it’s excruciatingly painful sometimes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Outing, Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, Blood, Animal death, Alcohol, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Violence, Medical trauma, Excrement, Bullying, Body shaming, Antisemitism, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Death, Sexism, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Racism, Racial slurs, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Homophobia, Cursing, Child abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Adult/minor relationship, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Genocide, and War

kibiiiariii's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Classism, Drug use, Bullying, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Car accident, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Confinement, Alcohol, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Dementia, and Rape

gayelfboi's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Look at tge trigger warnings

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Drug use, Vomit, Torture, Lesbophobia, Grief, Transphobia, Misogyny, Mental illness, Alcohol, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Outing, Murder, Deadnaming, Bullying, Body shaming, Blood, Antisemitism, Suicide, Excrement, Cursing, Confinement, Classism, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Death, and Child abuse

Minor: Islamophobia and War

bone_pottery's review

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Suicide, Homophobia, Cursing, Hate crime, Addiction, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, and Body shaming

seeceeread's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

💭 "Strong to my enemies, tender to those I loved and respected."

This feels like both a product of a specific time and place ... and a timeless gem ✨️

Jess is a forlorn and wary guide. From childhood, she notices, "The world judged me harshly and so I moved, or was pushed, toward solitude." After a particularly horrific act of violence against her, she escapes into a small world of butches and femmes in Rochester, New York. There, peers welcome her gender and teach her rudimentary guidelines for a blossoming sexuality. She spends years in their embrace.

But racism, interpersonal slights and shallow politics disintegrate her world, leaving her unmoored. To find safety,

"I began passing as a man. Strange to be exiled to borders that will never be home."

Trapped in a lie, Jess allows new coworkers to call her Jesse and cuts ties with old friends who slip up new pronouns in public. As her world constricts, "Loneliness had become an environment—the air I breathed, the spatial dimension in which I was trapped."

Finally, she finds the courage to begin again on a new city. A neighbor becomes friend, then lover. She circles back to her past to try to repair open wounds. And she shoulders the mantle of her youth that made so many admire her: complex American history and organizing for change. She ends the book fearful in a different way—for what may be a leadership role: "Violence is as American as cherry pie. [Riots are] a dress rehearsal for the revolution."

Incredibly brief paragraphs - many just a sentence - develop verve and sincerity. Feinberg movingly invites readers into select 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 — then gently complicates them again. Butches love butches; working class union laborers sabotage each other; lesbians exclude women who pass as men; white queer folks struggle to grasp race as another axis of oppression. The author also chides the fictional cast (and us, as onlookers) into solidarity, explicitly planting the concept of strength across difference and in numbers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Sexism, Suicide, Body shaming, Bullying, Grief, Misogyny, Rape, Hate crime, Homophobia, Outing, Transphobia, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Cursing, Medical trauma, and Racism

Minor: Alcoholism and Classism

msmarlena's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Gore, Misogyny, Police brutality, Bullying, Death, Suicide, Cursing, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Murder, Outing, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcohol and Excrement

Minor: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Drug use, Terminal illness, Trafficking, and War