Louis-Georges Tin with Alice Michaud & Kyle Mather
Reviewer: B.I. Laureano
The fact that this book exists saddens me. Yet, it is an important text that has been translated into English five years after the original French language text was published. Presented and compiled in dictionary format, each theme is in alphabetical order from abnormal to the workplace. There are sections based on parts of the world, such as Africa and Latin America, and there are also people such as Oscar Wilde and Pope John Paul II.
The articles are written by numerous scholars in various interdisciplinary fields focusing on gender identity, sexual orientation, and the oppression and marginalization experienced by community members. Sharing historical documentation and court cases around the world, each section provides an overview of the past and current situations. The editors make it clear that this text will constantly be updated with the progressions and not so progressive changes we are witnessing in the world today.
The writing is very much for an academic audience and almost reads as an academic book at times. This is not to say that it may not be useful, but it may not be the most useful resource on its own for youth or people unfamiliar with the terminology that is used. I know this sounds odd for a dictionary, but it’s not a traditional dictionary where you can find the term “repress” defined if used in a passage. If a term is used in a definition that you can find a discussion of in the text, that term is highlighted and bolded in the text.
Perhaps it is that some things get lost in translation, but when I started to read certain sections, such as the beginning of the Africa section, there seems to be a clear nod in the direction of how great colonization was to parts of the continent. It is almost as if the author is implying that because countries were colonized (specifically by the French) this is the reason for their “progressive” non-homophobic laws. This just doesn’t sit well with me because I can’t help but think of the indigenous practices and laws that were seen as primitive and problematic that might have been all-inclusive were eliminated during exploration and conquest. Whatever your impression, this dictionary gives food for thought from an international prospective.
This book is an important part of the history of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer and intersex community around the world. This book is about a specific community, but it is not just that community’s history; it is all of our history and we have the power and opportunity to make the changes necessary to end discrimination and oppression for all people regardless of what their difference may be.
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