All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson was the most memorable and 🤯🤯 book I read this summer.

Not only for how it’s impacted me, but also because we got to have the greatest conversation about the book with @thesolreader on our podcast. Thanks so much for recommending this book to us Sol!! 🌞💛🙏🏽

All Boys Aren’t Blue is @iamgmjohnson ‘s retelling of their childhood and maturation into a young adult as a queer Black person. By being so honest and vulnerable at every step of the way, they invited me to reflect on my own upbringing and the heteronormative/homophobic culture that we still exist in.

There were lots of ways that I stuck out as a kid (my 🌲 height being one of them) but I definitely took my sexuality for granted.

So much of what makes this book beautiful is that it creates a space for queer young people to feel seen, heard and empowered, and offers people like me the opportunity to connect with another person in ways that are way deeper than the categories that people have designed to separate us.

As I laughed, cried, and connected with Johnson’s story, I also learned a lot about how children can be hurt and othered by the people around them because of how they express themselves and/or who they like. This kind of education is *crucial* to creating communities and a culture that loves all children unconditionally.

This book has the power to give every reader permission, and a friend, in this process of to being their fluid, complex self 🌈 rather than force themselves into a gender or sexuality “box”📦 as society too often encourages.

This felt so liberating for me, while also strengthening my resolve to love and fight for our LGBTQ+ family🌈✊🏽💜