Uncomfortable Labels Review
Uncomfortable Labels Review
Wow doing a degree is hard and takes up a lot
of time, who woulda thunk? Anyway, new year, new... Ah screw it, I've missed my
window for that. But, maybe it is time to try something different; I'm kinda
used to talking about video games, although this isn't that unrelated cause
it's Laura Kate Dale's book, Uncomfortable Labels (review copy provided). For
those who may not know Laura Kate Dale is a writer for Kotaku, she leaked a
bunch of accurate shit about the Nintendo Switch and is just an all-round great
journalist (psst, if you can't already tell, my opinions on Laura are highly
positive and she's part of the reason I decided to do what I want and write
about video games). She is also a trans lady, gay and has autism (which is
quite common; actually), so if you've ever been on the Internet; even just the
once; you'll probably be able to see that it's hard to just be yourself. We'll
with the introductions out of the way- let's get down to the book.
(I have no idea how I'm gonna structure this,
I'm just making it up as I go along).
As I mentioned before, Uncomfortable Labels is
a memoir/autobiography/look at how cultures treat and view trans/gay/autistic
people, there's a lot going on in this book- and that really does come through
a lot when reading it. I get why, there’s a lot to talk about with a book like
this but I honestly feel like a different sort of structure might have helped a
little, I found the book went from talking about to statistics to a part of Laura’s
life then more statistics then a different part of her life, I also felt some
points were occasionally repeated. Ultimately; this is just nitpicking because
the content is really good, well written, and most importantly very interesting,
and most, most importantly doesn’t out stay it’s welcome. especially to someone
who’s a fan of Laura’s work.
At this point I feel I should mention that if you
want to read this book you should know there are some very dark subjects in this
book, there’s talk of drug use, depression, suicide, and sexual abuse. There is
happy stuff in it too for example, spoiler alert, Laura turns out to be a
really great journalist/person, just in general.
I’ve gotten to the point where I’m really starting
to realize that it’s been so long since I’ve done a review and I definitely don’t
know what I’m doing, I also did make notes of a lot of things said in the book
which I felt was important or a talking point. My phone didn’t like that idea,
so it deleted them.
Before I read this book, I had heard of Autism
(mostly in a derogatory term from people who are either actually only 13 years
old- or people who just seem like they should be 13 years old. My point is that
neither trans people nor people with Autism are that well represented on the
internet meaning, like me, people don’t entirely know many facts about Autism
or trans people and this book genuinely taught me about Autism and trans people
to the point where Laura was describing certain aspects of her Autism and I kept
thinking, “wait, I get that too.” Probably not to the degree people who are further
on the spectrum do but still now I’m questioning whether maybe I might be on
there in some degree. Even when Laura was talking about gender dysphoria I
still felt like there were aspects of it that really resonated with me, I’m not
trans but I definitely understand why someone would be; as a person who’s had
years and years of feeling uncomfortable in my own body (for me it was weight,
not gender) I completely understand the clawing feeling of wanting to change
but for me, my change is more accepted. When you lose weight people say “well
done, I’m so proud” because people see that being fat as unhealthy and people
could see I was unhappy being like that; but as Laura mentions when she
transitioned it was very rough, but surely, it’s a similar process? I was fat,
I hated myself for being like that and then I decided that I needed to change,
and it took me to a happier place. People who are trans are uncomfortable and
unhappy presenting as a gender they don’t truly believe they are, so they try
to change to get to that happier place. Not that I’m saying they’re the same,
not at all, if you say to someone “I want to lose weight” they say things like “I
can recommend a diet” or “we can go running” coming out as trans can be a lot
less welcoming. One part of the book that really hit me was when Laura talks
about her love for swimming and how, as she got older, she couldn’t go as much
because she wasn’t happy with showing her body to others, the reason that got
me was because I had the exact same thing, I still haven’t been swimming since
because the idea makes me so anxious, even though I’ve lost weight and I’m a
lot happier with how I am there’s a little bit of that fear that just lingers
in the back of my mind.
But, I’m really not an expert in these subjects
if I’ve said something here that just seems like I’m not being genuine or that
I’m being a dick then it’s definitely not intentional. My main point is that
this book is a real look at someone who is open about being trans, Autistic and
gay in a world and time where all of those things can open you up to abuse 24/7,
and even if you ignore that it’s written by someone I really admire it serves
as a great way to educate people about what it actually means to be trans and Autistic.
Plus, it’s an enjoyable read; I mean I read it on my phone, and I hate reading
books on a screen.
That dance from the end of Always Sunny/10
https://soundcloud.com/dawn-of-the-winter-moon
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