42 pages • 1 hour read
Juno DawsonThis Book is Gay
Nonfiction | Book | YA | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Self-Acceptance and Pride
Adolescence is often a difficult experience, even without being part of the LGBTQ+ community. Juno Dawson emphasizes that no matter who one is or their identity, self-acceptance is the most important part of growing up. Self-acceptance is the act of acknowledging one’s identity without fear, shame, or internalized stigma. This theme is present in every chapter of the book because the reader’s self-acceptance is Dawson’s goal. In Chapter 1, she directly addresses the reader in the second person with the assumption that the reader is an LGBTQ+ adolescent. She writes, “You’re not isolated; you’re part of something bigger now. Something great,” linking self-acceptance to a pride in one’s identity (6).
Dawson presents pride as a natural next step from self-acceptance. She wants to instill pride in her young readers because self-acceptance is an incredibly difficult task. At the end of Chapter 2, she writes, “This first step, our self-acceptance, is by far the hardest step of the journey,” making self-acceptance the foundation of LGBTQ+ identity (34). The “Name Game” of Chapter 2, in which the reader can find which identities fit them, relies on self-knowledge. As such, self-acceptance leads to cultivating one’s identity. This can lead to finding a community, which helps develop pride in oneself and one’s community. This scaffolding from self-acceptance to pride is reflected in the book’s structure. Dawson builds up her argument from the most basic building blocks (identity labels and self-acceptance) to work through stigma and fear. She ends the book with several chapters on community, dating, and lifelong partnerships, the areas where pride is built in community with others.
Most chapters end by emphasizing the importance of self-acceptance. For example, Chapter 4 confronts LGBTQ+ stereotypes and ends with the following: “Who do you want to be? There’s only one rule: Always be true to yourself” (66). Dawson places this emphasis at the end of each chapter because conclusions are often more easily remembered than the rest of the material within a chapter. She uses this reinforcement technique because adolescents are very susceptible to internalizing anti-LGBTQ+ biases. Dawson cites how common it was to hear “gay” used as an insult or derogatory term through the 1990s and 2000s, saying that this language is “incredibly powerful and oh-so-easy to internalize” (71) and that these insults “obliterate” the people they refer to (72). Dawson uses repetitive affirmations of self-acceptance to combat internalized anti-gay bias in young people. Dawson does this because LGBTQ+ self-acceptance is the first step to being proud of one’s identity and building community together.
Education as a Cure for Culturally-Inspired Shame
LGBTQ+ people are shamed for their identities at young ages. Dawson writes that every LGBTQ+ person, regardless of age, is “coming out into a world that is littered with hatefulness” (72). Dawson, who previously worked as a teacher, uses education as a tool for countering the shame and hate around LGBTQ+ identities. Dawson accomplishes this in several ways: She frames her book as an “instruction manual” (3); she addresses taboo topics, like steroid usage and LGBTQ+ bars; and she defines terms in simplistic, conversational language.
Chapter 1 presents This Book Is Gay as an instruction manual by addressing the reader’s lack of education. Dawson speaks to the reader in the second person frequently, as if she is having a conversation with the reader. She uses this to talk about the realities of insufficient LGBTQ+ education: “School probably hasn’t taught you very much about what it’s like [to be LGBTQ+]” (3). The presentation as an instruction manual and the frequent use of second-person narration create a welcoming tone that encourages questioning and learning, much like in a classroom setting.
The Back Matter section, “Build a Bridge,” is directly aimed at the culturally-inspired shame parents might hold. Dawson begins the section by personally greeting parents: “Hey there, parents and caregivers—how’s it going?” (253). This use of a rhetorical question creates an inviting, personable tone as if readers are having a private conversation with Dawson. She directly addresses some of the most pertinent fears and shames parents might have about their LGBTQ+ child, including how their child “became” LGBTQ+. Her humor is toned down in this section, making her tone more serious as she talks to other adults. Dawson’s frank and honest approach is meant to put cisgender and heterosexual parents at ease where they might otherwise be defensive over the idea of their child being LGBTQ+.
Dawson views education as the one cure for the shame and stigma surrounding LGBTQ+ identities. This approach shapes the framework of This Book Is Gay from beginning to end. Dawson uses Harvey Milk as an exemplary figure for LGBTQ+ rights activism who felt similarly about education (46, 74). Milk believed that coming out and being publicly visible, thereby educating non-LGBTQ+ people, was the only way to change the world. Dawson also believes this since the education provided in This Book Is Gay is aimed at helping young people come out and be proud of their LGBTQ+ identities. Dawson’s educational work in This Book Is Gay situates her in a long line of LGBTQ+ advocacy through education.
Sexual Health and Humor
Sex, particularly LGBTQ+ sex, is a topic that is often not spoken about in school or society. STIs (sexually transmitted infections) and HIV are dangers for everybody, but some LGBTQ+ demographics are more susceptible to HIV, which can lead to AIDS. This means that sexual health and safe sex practices are even more important in the LGBTQ+ community. Because these issues are so sensitive, educators need to take specific rhetorical approaches to talk about taboo topics. In This Book Is Gay, Dawson uses humor to talk about sex.
Dawson opens Chapter 9 with an illustrated anecdote. As a child, she thought LGBTQ+ sex was funny because it did not fit into what she was taught about straight sex. She thought that “bumming,” British slang for anal sex between men, was the act of two men rubbing their butts together. This story is told next to an illustration of two men bumping their butts together (166). Dawson chose to open with this anecdote for two reasons: Humor lightens the mood around heavy topics and makes people more likely to listen, and it allows her to highlight the complete ignorance young people often have about LGBTQ+ sex. Introducing the topic with a humorous misconception rather than a dangerous one creates a friendly tone that assures the reader that such misunderstandings are common, and it’s normal to not know everything. Dawson goes on to use humor to talk about sex, a taboo topic, and institutional anti-LGBTQ+ biases, easing into difficult topics through her tone.
Dawson also uses humor to balance out explicit sexual and anatomical discussions, diffusing the culturally-inspired shame around bodies and sexual pleasure. Dawson leans into her humor in Chapter 9 to counteract the disgust and repulsion that are often attached to discussions of sex. For example, when Dawson talks about the specific actions involved in LGBTQ+ sex, she titles the section “Doing the Sex” (172). By phrasing the section title in an unorthodox way, Dawson turns the topic into something lighthearted to be played with. This is followed by several jokes in each section about the specificities of sex, such as the “mega combohandie (trademark pending)” (172) or suggesting that a hand “can do the job of five penises” (179). Dawson injects humor frequently to stop the topic from becoming taboo, wrong, and shameful. Additionally, laughter highlights that sex can be joyful, pleasurable, and a meaningful way for LGBTQ+ people to connect with themselves and others.
Dawson uses humor throughout her book because most topics associated with LGBTQ+ identity are taboo to some degree. However, sex of all kinds is associated with particularly strong feelings of shame. By using a heavy dose of humor, Dawson shows that sex and sexual health are not dry, shameful topics. They are instead areas of fun and humor when one knows how to practice safe sex.
