I Know You Are, but What Am I? On Pee-wee Herman

by Cait McKinney

92 pages, Paperback

Published July 2, 2024

Reviews

[Lucy Hodgman · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you were also addicted to peewee’s playhouse as a five year old then i have a crazy piece of scholarship for you!!!

[Sian Lile-Pastore · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good. I love a re-evaluation of a celebrity and looking at the context their work was made in. Great links from his homophobic arrest to the anti trans rhetoric today.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A largely delightful book that looks back at the remarkable history of Pee-Wee Herman. Its analysis of “queer“ culture is generally quite compelling but occasionally lapses into the excessively soul-less academic pedagogy one finds in a middling doctoral dissertation, hence four, rather than five, stars. I can imagine Pee-Wee reading some of these more ponderous passages in the book, scratching his head, and bursting out into his insane giggle.

Now that that’s out of the way, the treatment of Pee-Wee as a lens into a host of nuances involving gender, sexual preference, and, perhaps most surprisingly, modern technology is heartfelt and insightful. In particular, the discussions about the inanimate/animate denizens of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse is unexpected and fascinating. It reinforces the loathing many of us share of the consumerist surveillance state the Zuckerbergs, Bezos’s et al have foisted on us.

The gender and identity discussions are a bit more familiar but still poignant, especially in thinking about closeted joys that ultimately become shared. The “porn house” arrest that still serves as the foundational memory for so many who remember Pee-Wee is thoughtfully treated and demystified.
And the Pee-Wee doll retrospective is well done as the doll becomes Shambolic of so much of Pee-Wee culture that manages to live on. I don’t recall their mentioning it (maybe I missed it) but the author doesn’t connect dots between Pee-Wee doll collection and restoration and the puppets, “machines” and various other “non-humans” (sic?) that were so much a part of the Playhouse.
As Pee-Wee might have put it, thanks a biziollion, million Cait!

[Becka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! Paul Reubens deserves this insightful analysis of his work, and so do all the weird kids and queer kids who saw their hero ruthlessly publicly shamed in the homophobic culture of the 90s. Thank you Cait McKinney for this gem.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief exploration of Peewee Herman and a thesis against repair at all costs.

[Julesreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Liberal with the leftist academics, but thoughtful, interesting and provocative nonetheless. And it’s about Pee-Wee and Pee-Wee dolls.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short academic book evaluating Peewee at the intersection of queer identity, moral panic, technology, and the beauty of chaotic play. Lovely section on the symbolism of the talking Peewee doll.

[Siggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

so good made me want a pee wee doll even more than I already do