Title: Game Changers, lesbians you should know about
Author & Illustrator: Robin Lowey
Published: 2020
Ages: 11+
144 pages.
Genre: nonfiction
Themes: lgbtqia+, contemporary lesbians, San Francisco, queer history, Bay Area, queer community, role models
Opening:
American LGBTQ+ history includes stories of a brave and powerful community, but have you ever wondered why there are not more stories about the lesbian women? In this book you will find the stories of lesbians who made significant contributions to LGBTQ+ culture and, in doing so, made a big impact on our nation.
Synopsis:
Why I like this book:
I, and I think I can safely say the vast majority of lesbians from my generation, grew up with very few, read almost no role models, which certainly in my case had a nefarious impact on my early queer identity. My coming out was slow and tortuous. A book like this could indeed have been a game-changer. Each one of these stories is compelling and inspirational, with many, “you too!” moments.
The focus of this graphic-novel style book is on contemporary Bay Area lesbians – over fifty pioneering women who came out early in their lives. I knew few as I am a recent transplant here, but the lesbian community being what it is, I immediately identified with these storytellers, their triumphs and pain, as part of my tribe. They are not necessarily big national names, but each woman here has a story of perseverance, authenticity and influence. It is so important for you people to know where they have come from and to know the strength and resilience of our history. These testimonies include women of color and from different generations and backgrounds, and are true sheros who continue to make an impact on present-day queer culture.
I believe the author, Robin Lowey, has achieved an initial goal of providing a copy of this book to every public high school in the Bay Area, over 300,000 students in more than 300 schools. When I met her at a friends last fall, and she discovered I was a school librarian, she immediately took my address to send our school a copy.
This is a great resource for all high school libraries.
Resources/Activities:
Robin Lowey and her team’s mission is to educate young adults by providing valuable resource books and films that help fill the gap in education about lesbian history and foster an atmosphere of LGBTQ+ equity, visibility, and inclusion. Her author website includes many interviews as well as links to her new film series.
EXPLORE THE NEW FILM SERIES > on lesbiangamechangers.com
In my 20's, with only my guitar and a rucksack, I wandered the continents, immersing myself in the lives of some wonderful people, projects and stories, which changed the way I view my responsibility to others and this earth. Right now I'm a European transplant in the US who writes books for children and young adults. Stories can help us not only navigate our world but can connect us to others, and allow us to inspire and help each other. I believe that equity and empathy should be at the core of our all actions, words, and stories.
I am also a school librarian and I get a kick out of book-matchmaking! And I use the pronouns she/her.
