A book I wish I had access to as a queer, lost teenager. I feel I have only come into myself truly in the last couple of years and I look back on my teenage self and feel sad at what they had to deal with and go through. If I could have read about queer people learning to love their bodies and be authentic to themselves I may have been happier, faster. But that’s not how it went and I can only appreciate that this book has shown me I am not alone and things are changing for us all. This will be on my highly recommended book list for a while.

Thank you NetGalley, Jessica Kingsley publishers and Essie Dennis for an arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start off with saying content warnings are always appreciated and I love seeing them in books. So thank you Essie for including them.

This is a raw, open and honest book, no stone is left unturned and no subject matter left out. This book challenges and discusses how most social issues surrounding the body, are seen through a heteronormative lens, and through out we get to see the irony of this.

This is an accessible read. The writing style wasn’t overly wordy with unnecessary paragraphs and the author had a very strong voice and sense of presence in the book. I felt like I was reading while the author was writing.

I loved how we got to hear from a vast amount of people in the LGBTQA+ community, this included race, disability, class and gender. This author wasn’t speaking for them and on their experiences, the author allowed them the ability to speak for themselves and their experiences.

There were times in this book that I felt recognised. I’m like “ Yes! Someone sees me”. I found it incredibly relatable and young teens/ anyone should read this.

Overall I feel like this is a well thought out and paced book. That had a good mixture of personal stories and academic studies. I recommend this to everyone.

As a young, queer, plus-size person, Essie Dennis has spent a lot of time feeling like they weren't enough - not queer enough, not feminine enough, not perfect enough. When they took to social media to share how they felt, they were overwhelmed by how many others felt the same.
"I look too masculine to be non-binary
I look too feminine to be a lesbian
Am I too fat for drag?"

Queer Body Power is an invitation to explore the beauty and individuality of our bodies and gives a raw, reflective look on the truths behind how society has viewed the bodies that have been 'othered' - disabled bodies, fat bodies, bodies that don't fit into their ideas of gender. With powerful commentary on not only Queerness and Queer bodies, but how these issues can overlap and seep into other areas of our lives from healthcare, eating habits, relationships and our own mental health and self-worth.

Featuring submissions from many other people, we get a range of backgrounds and viewpoints, providing valuable insight and making us just feel that little bit less alone.

Now, as a chubby, disabled Queer woman myself, I've spent my life fighting with my body. I don't look disabled, so should I act like I'm not? I'm a cisgender female, but I don't feel attached the idea of femininity in the way society expects me to. Do my looks match my sexuality? Learning about the power and to love the body I live in is a journey I am still on - and this book is for anyone on that same journey.

In a super easy to read style that has an almost conversational flow, but with plenty of informative references and statistics without feeling too much like a book of facts or a lecture.