Gender?
In Gender Queer, Maia uses this set of pronouns, which many non-binary people also use.
What are e/em/eir?
Maia Kobabe uses this unique medium to tell their story, making it accessible and visually engaging.
What is a graphic memoir ?
Graphic novels like Gender Queer use this combination of words and pictures to tell deeply personal stories.
What are comics?
Maia struggles with this common social ritual that often divides people into strict gendered categories.
What is using public bathrooms?
Gender Queer has been frequently challenged in schools and libraries for discussing this topic.
What is gender identity and sexuality?
Maia describes feeling disconnected from this traditionally “feminine” milestone, which many girls grow up dreaming about.
What is wearing a bra/wedding dress?
Maia first starts exploring gender identity after this moment in their early life, which sparked curiosity and confusion
What is puberty?
Maia Kobabe’s storytelling is especially powerful because of this visual feature, which helps convey emotions and identity.
What is expressive artwork/body language?
This phrase is often used when people assume someone’s gender based on appearance or name.
What is misgendering?
Some schools and politicians argue that banning books like Gender Queer is about “protecting children,” but critics argue it’s actually this.
What is censorship/marginalization of queer voices?
This common societal assumption makes people automatically label someone’s gender based on appearance.
What is gender essentialism?
Maia describes a hilarious and awkward encounter with this product while trying to navigate body dysphoria.
What is a binder?
This LGBTQ+ graphic novel, also often challenged in schools, tells a coming-of-age story about a lesbian protagonist.
What is Fun Home by Alison Bechdel?
Maia explores gender identity by rejecting certain “feminine” norms and feeling drawn to traditionally “masculine” ones. This phrase describes breaking free from those expectations.
What is gender nonconformity?
Maia Kobabe has responded to book bans by saying that Gender Queer helps young people with this personal journey.
What is self-discovery?
Instead of describing gender as a fixed identity, queer theorists and Maia suggest it’s more like this flexible art form.
What is a spectrum/doodle/sketchbook?
Maia’s parents played an important role in their gender journey. Their mom had a particularly open stance toward this controversial topic in parenting.
What is homeschooling and unrestricted reading?
Comics have been an important medium for queer storytelling because they allow for this unique form of representation.
What is visual metaphor/lived experience?
Throughout Gender Queer, Maia reflects on how they never felt fully comfortable with this common gender label.
What is woman/girl?
Many books about LGBTQ+ experiences are removed from schools, but this important day raises awareness about the dangers of censorship.
What is Banned Books Week?
This is how Maia feels about being put into “girl” or “boy” categories, reflecting a larger discussion in queer theory.
What is discomfort/anxiety/confusion?
Throughout the book, Maia finds comfort in books about LGBTQ+ identities. This famous novel about a young boy questioning his gender identity particularly stood out.
What is Orlando by Virginia Woolf?
The use of fantasy imagery in Gender Queer helps illustrate this concept, which describes the inner sense of one’s gender identity.
What is dysphoria/euphoria?
The book challenges this idea that gender is only about being male or female, instead embracing the idea that it can be complex and fluid.
What is the gender binary?
Despite backlash, Gender Queer received this major literary award, recognizing its importance in queer literature.
What is an Alex Award from the American Library Association?