Genderqueer is a comic/graphic memoir by Maia Kobabe (e/em/eir). E is 5ish years older than me, and we had a lot of the same interests growing up. I feel our differences primarily in how that age gap shaped our different relationships to the same things (Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter fandoms, John Green, Tumblr and fanfiction, queer YA). On a personal level, while I do identify as a cis woman, I certainly still related to some of eir experiences with and feelings about feminine pressures, and eir relationship with eir sister reminded me strongly enough of my relationship with my own sister that I texted her about it while reading and loaned her the book immediately after.
Aside from the many personal connections I felt with Kobabe while reading, I mainly thought about this book in relation to Queer Literacies (McBeth), which I was reading at the same time. Kobabe falls in love with reading through Harry Potter, tracks and documents eir reading extensively through eir teen years, and includes multiple panels that show the titles of some of the many books e read during eir formative years. Most of the books are not directly commented on in the text or story of the memoir, or mentioned in general terms— reading YA, reading fantasy, seeking queer representation.
As a “Queer literate” myself, to use Mark’s phrase, I recognized many of these titles, and many of them are close to my own heart for the same reasons. Several titles by David Levithan appear, and many by Tamora Pierce (although only The Song of the Lioness series in general is mentioned by name in the text). Tamora Pierce has since said on Twitter that if she had been aware of genderqueerness when writing the books, she would have written Alanna as non-binary.
Kobabe’s participation in different fandom communities (and how that relates to eir own gender and sexual identities) is also an example of queer literacy. Eir Queer-Straight-Alliance in middle school rapidly turns into a Lord of the Rings fanclub, with an emphasis on slash fics (fanfiction centered around characters having gay romances and/or sexual relationships with each other). While I wasn’t interested in fanfiction myself growing up, I cannot overstate how big of a deal slash fic was for many queer teens and preteens during the ‘aughts and the first part of the 2010s. Reading and writing slashfic gave young people opportunities to explore their sexualities in a safe, contained way before they became physically involved with others in real life, while bonding with others around a shared interest, and developing writing skills that they will also use in other areas of their lives. While slash fic and shipping more generally is definitely still a thing, I think its popularity has waned as LGBTQ+ representation in YA novels has increased.
Another thought on queer literacies and Kobabe’s book— I was delightfully surprised to notice how e re-drew (I think) a particular panel from Fun Home (maybe e got Bechdel’s permission to reprint instead?) as a visual citation of the comic. How else can you accurately quote from a visual medium? The visuals matter! References to Fun Home and other books are accompanied by page numbers drawn into the background of the panels. It’s such a wonderful and creative form of citation, in my opinion.
After finishing the book, I messaged Kobabe on Instagram to say thank you and let em know I was reading eir book for my PhD exams. In eir reply, e said one thing e kept in mind while writing/drawing was how the book might be used in schools in the future, especially cite-ability.