The ABC's of LGBT+

by Ashley Mardell

The YouTube star presents a personal, approachable, and informative guide for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of gender and sexual identity.

The ABCs of LGBT+ is essential reading for questioning teens, teachers or parents looking for advice, or anyone who wants to learn how to talk about gender and sexual identity. In this volume, popular vlogger Ash Mardell, who embraces all pronouns, answers your questions about the post-binary world of the twenty-first century.

With in-depth definitions, personal anecdotes, helpful infographics, resources, and more, Mardell lets readers know that it really does get better when we are empowered by information and understanding. In Mardell’s own words, "This book is also for allies and LGBT+ people simply looking to pack in some extra knowledge . . . a critical part of acceptance. Learning about new identities broadens our understanding of humanity, heightens our empathy, and allows us different, valuable perspectives.”

Topics covered include:
· LGBT and LGBTQIA+
· Gender identity
· Sexual identity
· Teens in a binary world
· The LGBT family and more

Genres: Nonfiction, LGBT, Queer, Gender, Social Justice, Transgender, Sexuality

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 25, 2016

About the author

Ashley Mardell, originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, blogs about her daily life on her YouTube channel. As a result of her kind heart and glowing spirit, Mardell has developed a strong bond with her viewers. She's trusted, loved and admired for her voice in the LGBTQIA+ community. Her insight and honest approach to LGBTQIA+ education has helped millions of kids and adults understand who they are.

Reviews

[Natalie]

This is one of the most important books I've found that addresses quite everything in regards to representing the LGBTQIA+ community. It begins with an introduction of a condensed version with the many terms and identities found in The ABC’s of LGBT+, which really, really helped a lot.

Going into this, I was personally looking forward to the abundance of new knowledge that would end up transforming my mind. I was also really appreciative of the personal stories “included from approximately 40 LGBTQIA+ people who so generously donated their time and efforts to support this project.” If you're interested in learning about a diverse array of identities, please consider picking this book up!

However, this wasn't really a read that I could consume in one sitting, so I skimmed some chapters that I'm hoping to look into again very soon. (But I did really love the parts on asexuality.)
So for now, I just wanted to mention that any book that includes illustrations (and gorgeous ones at that) will always impress me and then some:













The ABC’s of LGBT+ was an truly insightful, revealing and consuming read that made me question and contemplate a lot. It was a great way to start the year.

Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying The ABC’s of LGBT+, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!


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[Danika at The Lesbrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great! Very inclusive, accepting, and thoughtful.

Some of the things I liked:
- people explaining their own identities!
- such a huge range of identities covered!
- the colourful illustrations and colour photos of contributors throughout!
- the recognition of the complexity of the topics being discussed
- the emphasis put on having a big range of editors and proofreaders and contributors
- the inclusion of discussions of more thorny issues
- the accessibility of the text
- I got to learn about new identities! This has lots to offer for people entrenched in the LGBTQIA+ community as well as being a good intro for people unfamiliar with the vocabulary!

I think this would be such an awesome book to have in school libraries, GSAs, public libraries—any place where people are questioning their identities! This could be hugely affirming for lots of people, especially since so many identities are accompanied by personal stories by people who share that identity. Being able to not only think "Hey, that's me!" but also be able to find someone else who also IDs that way and see their videos, blogs, etc would be so helpful.

I did have some minor complaints. One is some minor typos and page formatting. The other is all the bit.ly links included in the footnotes. I love the idea! Seeing the videos and online lives of the people linked would be amazing! The problem is, even though they're short links, it's just not conducive to the experience of reading a book to put it down, pull out your laptop, and carefully type out the link as printed.

What might be a good solution is having a website that you can go to that has all the links, sorted as they appear in the book. So after reading Chapter 1, you can go the website and click through all the links and embedded videos that were mentioned in that chapter!

I thought this was great overall, though!

[Nicole Craswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so wonderful! A fantastic crash course in LGBT+ terms, identities, and concepts. I consider myself fairly well versed in gender and sexuality but I still learned a ton about identities I had never even heard of before. I love how careful Ashley Mardell was to always make sure she was in conversation with people who identify with the terms she's defining, getting personal anecdotes as often as possible.

I also love and really respect how open she was about the information she didn't know, didn't have a source for, or might be wrong about. I mean obviously she did a truly impressive amount of research on this book but since sexuality and gender are such complex topics that mean different things to everyone it's hard to nail down a specific definition that everyone's happy with for a lot of the terms. She was very thorough in making sure to explain all sides of the argument when it came to controversial terms. She was also very open about when she was not in the position to define terms that were not hers and she couldn't find people who DID identify within the community those terms belonged to (specifically this was in regards to gender identities that belong to specific cultures such as two-spirit).

She's also very open to discussion about the book and feedback that she can incorporate into a sequel or fix later (maybe in a later edition? Or I think she also has a Tumblr she's set up for any corrections or additions that need to be made). Sexuality and gender are such difficult and complex topics that I have so much respect towards Ashley for taking on this incredible project and being so open to the input of others and criticism. She made it very clear in the book that she was not writing it alone. She had practically an entire army of people helping her edit, fact check, and contributing stories which I think is so, so important in books like this.

This is truly a wonderful book and I cannot recommend it enough for anyone who is trying to figure out their own sexuality/gender, trying to find the right label for them, trying to understand a loved one's experiences, or just interested in learning! Seriously, bravo Ashley.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great reference for anyone who wants to further their understanding of the wide variety of diverse identities in our world today. Indeed, the "cheat sheet" of terms covers ten pages at the beginning of this book! I liked the straight forward conversational writing style, colorful illustrations and personal stories. My youngest son came out as female to male transgender FTM a dozen or so years ago, and my daughter came out as bi-sexual within the last five years, so my education in this area has been ongoing. However, there were many terms in this book that were new to me. An area I feel challenged in is referring to individuals in their preferred gender pronouns, which may defy my ingrained grammar rules. This book is a valuable tool for my education and I have ordered a copy for my own personal reference shelf.

[Anniek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extremely inclusive, helpful book, with lots of room for nuance and examples. It was really heartwarming to read and I know I'll end up picking it up often just to look up specific parts. I'd be inclined to call it an essential guide if you're part of the LGBTQIA+ community or just want to read more about these topics!

[Mariana Duarte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've chosen to refer to the author as Ash Hardell in this review. I know this book was published before Ash changed their name but even though I doubt he'll ever read this I don't want to use a name she might be uncomfortable with.

This book has been on my TBR for literal YEARS. I've followed Ash's channel since I was a teenager and their ABC's of LGBT+ videos were so informative and helpful when I was struggling to figure out my identity. Even now I sometimes revisit those videos as a point of reference or just to brush up on something I've forgotten.

I was aware of this book back then, but for the longest time I just didn't enjoy nonfiction, but with being Pride month and after reading the Gay Agenda I thought it was time to finally revisit some other queer nonfiction.

I was a bit worried that since 2016 this book would've fallen a bit behind in terms of information, but no it absolutely still stands, it's one of the best guides for people who are looking to understand the growing LGBT+ community, and since it's complete with dozens of voices of people who fall all over the spectrum of queer, it's a great guide whether you're new to the community or a seasoned member.

Thank you Ash for writing this book and helping me and thousands of other people understand more about this wonderful community we've created.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is so so great that this book exists. It’s both a super helpful and accessible place to start for young people who are dipping their toes into the LGBTQIA+ waters and also an almost shockingly comprehensive overview of terms & ideas that would help a more experienced/older reader. Unless you’re a total expert (and maybe even if you are), I guarantee there will be something you haven’t heard of in here — there were a bunch of terms/identities that I didn’t know, like abrosexual, diamoric, neutrois, nomasexual, and skoliosexual, just to name a few!

It reads pretty much like a YouTube video, which is totally fine, but don’t expect super fancy prose or perfect grammar (it was Kickstarted, so it has a few more typos than you might see in a big pub.’s book. I always wish I could do a quick pro bono copy edit for this kind of book! I mean, I know many people have put their time and effort into it, but like! Could I just throw a couple more commas in there real quick?).

But definitely worth a read! My fave parts were the bits where people told their own stories. It’s so impressive that Ash was able to get so many people to contribute, and it made a huge difference to hear from them personally, and often to see their faces too, as there were lots of photos included. It made it all feel so much more personal.

[Mackenzie Melichar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Full of contradictions :( I can’t imagine how confused teenagers would be if they are already in a dark place and choose to attach themselves to a community with so many labels and so many definitions. At best, this book is anti-science. At worst, it is harmful. This makes me sad.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It turns out that I can find a book super insightful and informative and still think it’s pretty boring. I’ll admit, I’m a little disappointed that this book wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as the title, cover, and even book blurb led me to believe it would be. I hoped for more anecdotes from a diverse group of people. I wanted it to have more story telling and less content that felt like a textbook. But as a resource and a sort of crash course in LGBT+ terminology and identities, it was pretty great. I learned a ton and was left asking more questions, so it did it’s job. I really appreciated that Ash didn’t just write this book alone, they consulted and interviewed a long list of people with a wide variety of identities along with tons of professionals in relevant fields. So while it’s billed as a book by a YouTuber, it’s got a wide range of voices and fact to back up it’s content.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feared this book to be on the boring side and I worried that it would be 'preachy' or defensive towards anyone not necessarily in the LGBTQIA community. I truly need not have feared! This a casual, open minded, informational resource geared for anyone who is or isn't part of the LGBTQIA community. I highly recommend this book to any person who is:
-Looking for a label to connect to.
-Seeking more information about what types of genders, orientations, and identities are out there.
-Attempting to understand a loved one better.
-Interested in expanding their views to be more inclusive.

[Line · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of the information in this wasn't new to me, and occasionally it just felt like being bombarded with terminology, but it has an index and a quick guide making it easy to look up stuff again. Also I liked that it added personal stories from members of the queer community to the explanations, gave the whole thing a bit more of a personal touch instead of just dry theory. So, all in all definitely a good resource.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads kind of like a textbook but has some awesome visuals. (Hence the 2nd star.) The 1st 10 pages were definitions & that's a bit overwhelming. It would've been nice to have them dispersed throughout the book and/or put at the end. Then you are not just bogged down right away.

[Julie Trapp · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry - liked nothing about this book. You are what you were born. There are 2 genders - male and female. Whole book was annoying.

[Stephie Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is more than a simple glossary of terms or labels used in discussing gender identity and sexual orientation. Ashley Mardell does, however, provide a glossary at the beginning called a Cheat Sheet. What she does is in the main part of the book is to bring other persons identifying with the term under discussion after an explanation of it. Before getting into specific terms for gender and sexual identities she has a section on the use of spectrums, and not just in linear fashion or even one dimensional. She than separates the book into two sections – one for gender and one for sexual/romantic identities. For each section she gives and overview of these two kinds of identities. She provides a conclusion at the end (no duh).

The following are comments based on the text I have made from my notes as I read the book. Numbers in brackets [] indicate Kindle page numbers the text the comment is made for. An “@” in front of the number indicates I was not referencing a particular piece of text.

[29] “The age range of collaborators is also fairly wide, spanning from mid-teens to mid-thirties.” I do not view this as very wide as it completely leaves out the thoughts older persons. Of course, these are people she knows personally so the age range is understandable. However, and most likely unintentional, it smacks of ageism. I hope if she reads my review she will correct this in later editions.

[179] “Transition: The process of accepting oneself and/or pursuing changes in order to affirm one’s gender and/or alleviate dysphoria.” I separate the two aspects here. First came my gender recognition, and only later did I start to transition. And, there are actually at least two components to my transitioning. Yes, it does relieve some aspects of dysphoria, but I also see it as wanting to express who I am by how I present to others socially.

[181] “Hormones (hormone replacement therapy, ‘HRT’) ” I prefer cross hormone treatment, and looking at seeing it as feminizing hormone treatment, as I am not replacing anything. Cross hormone no longer seems accurate either because in reality I already have, like almost everyone, both male and female hormones. What the effect of the hormone treatment I am receiving is the feminizing of my body, feminizing hormone treatment appears to be the most accurate descriptive term to use.

[185] “DFAB/AFAB/FAAB: These are acronyms for ‘designated female at birth,’ ‘assigned female at birth,’ and ‘female assigned at birth.’” “DMAB/AMAB/MAAB: These are acronyms for ‘designated male at birth,’ ‘assigned male at birth,’ and ‘male assigned at birth.’” I think MFAB or MMAB could be more accurate. These are “mark female or male at birth. After all that is what occurs when they are marking this on a birth certificate.

[243] “In the end, everybody gets to decide what is and isn’t sexual to them as well as what they find sexually attractive.” I think how you want to receive or give sexual pleasure to another is also important.

[264] “Noma-: This is a sexual/romantic attraction to anyone who isn’t a man.” [285] “Demi-: The most common definition of demisexuality/romanticisism is an orientation in which a person who only experiences attraction to people with whom they have formed a strong emotional bond.” I would combine the two. I am not attract to men period, and combine it with demi-lesbian (she does not mention this specific attraction) because it is not genitals I am looking at; it is someone’s personality that counts, and that personality has to come off as feminine, or what I see as feminine.

[@297] I don’t use the label queer for myself. It can equate with being odd and hence not normal. Statistically I am abnormal, but in the sense of right or wrong, I feel I am completely natural, and hence normal.

[312] In footnote 151 Ashley states: “Look, I published a book on sexual/gender diversity....and I still question the specifics of my identity almost every single day.” I would not say it is a daily affair, but I am still working on what my sexual/romantic attraction is. In addition to (above in comment at [264, 285]) I would add autosexual, although I would call it self-sexual. Some how auto sounds like I am a machine doing something automatically.

A far better book than I was expecting. I even learned about some new terms being used, and I can see two fitting me pretty much pretty good—nomasexual and autosexual for self-sexual (which I use and will continue to use as “auto” makes me feel like a robot). My biggest issue with her is her belief that she has used a wide range of ages in getting and using editing advice (see comment for [29]). One of the things that make it standout from other trans* lexicons is the use of people’s own experience applying various terms and their uses.

I will recommend the book for one and all, but especially those who seek to support a trans* love one, or to perhaps better understand themselves. Also those who like/love how words are used would most likely be happy reading it.


† Her Amazon product page says she embraces all pronouns. I have chosen to use ordinary female pronouns for her in this review as to me she comes across as a fun loving woman. Please excuse me Ashley if I have seen you in this way, and you would rather not be. I do honor your choice of all pronouns even if I chose to use she/her pronouns in this review.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 stars

This was my first book on LGBT in non-fiction and it was really good, but I also have nothing to compare it too. Nonetheless, I will say that it's a good book to learn the most common and also uncommon terms of LGBT and it's also good if you're looking for labels that fit you! This book explains a lot and I have to process all the information first. I was most interested in the sexual and romantic orientations, but the other sections were interesting too!
The only thing is that of course the author has her own labels and terms that she was very "enthusiastic" about, and so these labels got a lot more text than the others. For me, it would have been better if each label had been given the same length of text. It felt like the other terms weren't as important, or that they weren't worth writing much about. (But I know that wasn't their intention)

In general, I learnt a lot and I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about it or wants to learn about themselves. It really helped me to learn more about my sexual and romantic orientations.

[Nai | Libros con(té) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Different people can self-identify with these words in different ways. A label doesn't define a person's identity. While some people might "fit the definition", they still may not use that label because it may not resonate with them. That is totally valid!"

Tras haber leído This book is gay de Juno Dawson hace años, tenía un poco de miedo al leer esto. A ver, que This book is gay nos advierte que es 99% contenido e información gay but still, esperaba un poquito más. Por suerte, y gracias a Ash y a todo el equipo detrás de este libro, The ABC's of LGBT+ es super inclusivo, super respetuoso, y muy informativo!

Este libro no solo cuenta con Ash y su equipo detrás informándonos sobre la comunidad, sino que además nos encontramos con más de cuarenta testimonios y experiencias de personas pertenecientes al colectivo. Primero Ash nos explica algunas definiciones pero luego invita a distintas personas que se identifican de esa forma a explicar qué significa esa identidad u orientación para ellos.

Además, me encantó que abarcara una enorme variedad de identidades y sexualidades! Había muchísimas palabras que desconocía y me alegra haber aprendido nuevas cosas con este libro.
Sumado a esto, también se tocan temas como qué es lo "femenino" y lo "masculino", su peso en la sociedad, cómo afecta el binarismo y demás. Abarca muchos temas y el texto está acompañado de unos dibujitos muy bonitos.

También se está continuamente aclarando que estos tópicos y etiquetas dependen de las experiencias de cada uno, que todo es totalmente válido si uno así lo siente, y que este tema de conversación es mucho más complicado que lo que se trata de resumir en este libro y que está continuamente evolucionando, tanto la sexualidad e identidad como el lenguaje que se utiliza por lo que siempre viene bien seguir informándose y no quedarse solo con lo que nos ofrece este libro.
Aun así, yo lo encontré super actualizado. Este libro es del 2016 y me pareció que lo que se informa está muy bien. De seguro algo se modificó pero igual siento que es un libro importante y necesario de recomendar.

Un libro que creo que es sumamente necesario, tanto para aquellas personas pertenecientes a la comunidad como a aquellos que no. Siempre viene super bien informarse, abrir sus mentes y así ser más empático con las personas a nuestro alrededor.
Super diverso e inclusivo, sobre todo al tener testimonios de muchas personas pertenecientes a la comunidad. ¡Super recomendado!

--- Reseña completa en mi bookstagram: Libros con(té)

[sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was very nice, i enjoyed this very much!
the book is basically a glossary on everything sexual and gender orientation. it's divided into different sections, explaining everything built on one another. although it's a lot of information, it's nicely illustrated with coloured drawings (v cute) and stories of individuals that explain how they experience and live the explained identity.
i feel like there was a lot of research going into this book. at the beginning, the editors are introduced, who come from different organisations specialised in educating in different fields.
it's a gr8 introduction to different identities, everything is explained very well, and it's superb for getting to know more about urself or people around u!
i'd recommend this for everyone, tbh.
also: there's a lot about aros and aces, making me so happy.

[Tamara (notvibing on storygraph) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about lots of LBGT* terms, gender identities, sexual identities, etc. All these terms are explained and there are examples and stories from people who identify with these terms.

It was so nice to read a book about not just the most known terms like bisexual and gay but all the other terms that aren't talked about a lot but that are just as valid.
I loved the tiny, adorable illustrations and the super interesting stories made by so many different people!

You can totally notice that a lot of research went into this book and that Ashley made an effort to include even conflicting and maybe problematic things. You also get the feeling of this great community with pictures of the contributors and introductions of the editors!

It really is a fun and interesting book to read and I'm glad I read it and could learn so much more about the LGBT* community!

[R · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ABC's of LGBT+ is a good resource for anyone unversed in LGBTQIA+ identities or trying to pinpoint their own identity. However, as other reviewers have mentioned, it's a fairly dry read of definition after definition which is broken up here and there by interspersed personal stories. An important read? Yes. A fun read? No.

I have two main bones to pick with this book.

First, it could have done without the repetitive reassurances that it's okay to choose any identity that feels right to you. Say it once and be done.

Second, if you read the 10 page cheat sheet at the beginning of the book, you've read the book. The remaining 170 pages don't elaborate enough on the terminology to warrant 170 more pages. The book would be better suited as a 30-40 page primer or a website or a series of Youtube videos (which Mardell has already done on her Youtube channel, FYI).

[Britt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ABC's of LGBT+ by Ashley Mardell is packed with information about gender en sexuality. Perfect if you are looking to understand more about yourself or others. Personally, even though I knew a lot of the terms discussed, I still learned a lot of new terms and identities like same-gender love and graysexual.

Most identities are explained with a person who identifies with it talking about why they love that particular label or term. The book also has so nice illustrations.

It is also good to mention that the whole book was written, edited and illustrated by people from the LGBTQIAP+ community. Mardell acknowledges that even though our language and the words we use to identify with are constantly changing but this book can still help with someone's search to understand themselves (or others).

[Jena · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very serviceable (if not a little dry) dive into various sexual and gender identities. For anyone else who was unfortunate enough to spend formative years on Tumblr, none of the information in this book will likely be new. However, this is the sort of book that should be in counselor's offices and teacher's rooms, etc. For those less up to date on more modern terms like demisexual, agender, aromantic, etc. - giving this book a read will help introduce you to some of these concepts that don't often get discussed in broader conversations on queer folk.

However, this book is very textbook-like in how information is laid out and also in tone. I almost see this working better as a resource for people who work WITH queer kids/adults to get some insight into the community, rather than for questioning or queer folk themselves. But that's just my perspective on it, I won't say that this isn't also valuable to someone questioning. This might be a good resource for someone to learn terms and then take that information online to get more personal accounts. The trouble with trying to lay out information about identities in an academic sense is that terms overlap and identities are so personalized by each individual. For example, the definitions in this book (and on paper) for bisexual and pansexual are pretty similar, so someone whose questioning may not really understand the nuances and why people may chose one label over the other if they only read this book. That happens a lot with gender identities as well in here. It's not really a fault of the book per se, it's just the natural struggle that comes with trying to pinpoint a singular definition for a term that means something different to each person.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Da ich in den letzten Jahren ja schon einiges zum Thema gelesen habe (ob nun in Buchform oder im Netz), ging ich davon aus, dass mir dieses Buch nicht mehr viel beibringen kann. Da es aber ein überraschender Fund aus einem Bücherschrank war, konnte ich nicht anders, als es mit nach Hause zu nehmen.

Dort durfte ich feststellen, dass es doch noch einiges für mich zu lernen gibt. Durch die Lektüre konnte ich Wissen vertiefen und auch neues hinzugewinnen. Das Buch ist liebevoll gestaltet, die Texte kurz und auch schwierigere Konzepte gut erklärt. Ganz besonders mochte ich es, dass viele unterschiedliche Menschen zu Wort kommen und ihre Erlebnisse und Gedanken mit uns schildern. So bekommen die Begriffe ein Gesicht und werden greifbarer.

Es ist das perfekte Buch für Allies, die sich in der queeren Welt besser zurechtfinden möchten, und für Leute, die auf der Suche nach sich selbst sind. Oder für jene wie mich, die einfach nicht genug bekommen können.

[Jaq]

If you think you know all there is to know about something, you'll be proven wrong. That's just life.
This book is very informative about anything concerning the LGBTQIA+ community: the section about sex and gender is the one that helped me the most (being the one thing I never struggled with before), I felt it dismantled stereotypes and myths in a concise, but still precise way.
If you still get confused about certain labels and identities, this book is certaintly for you.

[Jenna (Falling Letters) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review originally published 23 March 2018 at Falling Letters. This book is available for (legitimate) free download here!

The ABC’s of LGBT+ introduces over 100 terms to describe gender, sexual, and romantic identities. The book consists of three sections preceded by a “cheat sheet” that briefly introduces the vocabulary: 1) spectrums and how one can use them to work out their identity, 2) gender, and 3) sexual and romantic identities. Hardell wrote this book primarily for newbies, whether they are “questioning teens” or “anyone wanting to learn the language of respect” (jacket description).

Hardell, “a very fluid, queer person, comfortable using the words bi, pan, and multisexual interchangeably”(19) (to quote some of the terms Hardell uses to describe themself), emphasizes that defining one’s identity can be an ongoing and evolving process, using both their own continuing process of understanding her identity and that of over 40 diverse first-person testimonials as examples.

Throughout the book, Hardell takes care to highlight the complexity of identity while avoiding to be prescriptive. They address different ways that different groups of people may use the same term, without privileging one use over another (for example, they include a chart explaining reasons why people would or would not choose to use the term queer).

Although not published explicitly for young adults, the book’s appealing design (including the use of photographs and colourful hand-drawn images) and conversational, encouraging narrative style make it accessible for teen readers.

I read this book because I needed one to fill the information text requirement of my young adult literature class. I recently started watching Hardell’s YouTube channel and my sister highly recommend this book. I was not expecting to come across any labels I could apply to myself, but I was pleasantly surprised when I did! The spectrum chapter was very helpful. I ended up learning more about how I feel about my gender identity and confirming some thoughts I've had about my romantic and sexual identities. That being said, I particularly appreciated the section that explained why a person (like myself) may not choose to label themselves, and that that’s a valid choice.



The Bottom Line: An excellent text that I can highly recommend for serving well its purpose of addressing questioning teens or anyone wanting to learn the language of respect.

[Sergio · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book came to my life at the very moment I needed it. I was familiar with the most commonly known terms (like the letters of LGTBQIA) but, lately, I've been struggling with some other new ones for me. In the end, I feel that everything is a consecuence of gender, so I'm glad that Ash has worked so hard to divulgate things like gender seen as a spectrum/gradient, or the sexual orientations that we all easily forget about. Also, 'The ABCs of LGTB+' has helped me to clarify some of the terms I already knew, and no doubt about the experiences of real people being very handy too. Finally, I came to the conclusion that every person is different, thus every experience.
I'd like to encourage every human being (or unicorn), whether a member of the community or not, to read it :)

*****

Este libro llegó a mi en el preciso momento que lo necesitaba. Ya estaba familiarizado con los términos más comunes (como los de las siglas LGTBQIA) pero, últimamente, he estado tratando de comprender otros con los que me he encontrado recientemente. Al final, creo que todo es una consecuencia del género, y me alegro de que Ash haya trabajado tan duro para divulgar cosas como el género visto como un espectro/gradiente, o algunas de las orientaciones sexuales que tan fácilmente tendemos a olvidar. Además, 'The ABCs of LGTB+' me ha ayudado a clarificar algunos de los términos que ya conocía, y no me cabe duda de que las experiencias vitales son asimismo útiles. Finalmente, he llegado a la conclusión de que cada persona es diferente, así como su experiencia. Recomiendo a cualquier ser humano (o unicornio) la lectura de este libro, ya sea miembro de la comunidad o no.

[Adam Webling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This non-fiction covers EVERYTHING you need to know about all things LGBTQ+. I know I’m not the only one who gets confused by certain identities encompassed in the + and know there’s plenty I’ve never heard of before - well, this book delves into 80 of them!

Now, as someone who isn’t a massive fan of labels due to idenfying as bisexually and having to deal with society’s connotations of this, I decided to use this book as a way to become more comfortable with labels again while learning a lot. And the book took me back to that feeling of completeness when you discover a word you feel describes you perfectly - a feeling I’ll never forget when I first applied ‘bisexual’ to myself.

Ash Hardell does this by not just listing identities and their definitions, but including personal accounts from people (mostly youtubers, which as a huge youtube fan was great) who describe what the identities they claim mean to them. This gives the book a personal feel, which I’ve no doubt makes people discovering themselves more comfortable in exploring their identity - the fact you’re never alone is a great subtext to weave throughout.

Half the book explores gender, and the other half sexuality, by giving overviews of both along with the identities - making this a great book to learn from scratch or bulk up on terms you’re yet to encounter. I definitely found I was exploring different parts of myself as I learnt new things on every page.

A must LGBTQ+ read.

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an ally trying to catch up and educate myself, I found The ABC's of LGBT+ *extremely* helpful. The book starts off with a cheat-sheet that lists the terms and the definitions that will be covered in text. Before even starting to read these terms, she reassures you that you do not need to feel discouraged if you don't know the definitions by heart or are still a little unsure about what they mean by the end of the book. This is what I appreciated the most about the book. Mardell felt very much like a kind friend who is genuinely enthusiastic about the subject and is excited to not only share it with you, but encourage you to keep learning.
I also loved the inclusion of different people's stories and experiences pieced throughout the various sections. Mardell even includes footnotes to links where you can learn more about the person who is telling their story.
I learned so much from this book, not only about the terms and labels used in the LGBTQIA+ community, but also about myself.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to educate themselves but doesn't know where to begin.
I am looking forward to her follow-up book about the ace and aro community!

[Carolien. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how Ash's way of educating from their youtube videod translated into his (Ash is pronoun-indifferent) writing.
Although I had read the sexual/romamtic orientation section as soon as I'd got the book I wanted to reread it to understand different ace identities better.
I'd highly recommend anyone who wants to learn more about the different LGBTQIA+ identities to read this book. It's available for free now, Ash put links under one of her last video's.
Ash has said earlier that looking back they'd change many things in the book after having further educated themselves. In that light I'd like to add bisexuality often has the meaning along the lines of "being able to feel attraction towards more than one gender not neccessarily at the same time/with the same amount or in the same way."

[Bregje · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely an important book and helpful in explaining lesser known identities and orientations! However, the book was quite a dry read and because of that it took me a long time to finish. Being familiar with Ash's creative and humorous videos on Youtube I guess I was expecting their style to shine through a bit more. That just has to do with my own expectations, this book definitely does what it sets out to do, namely explaining LGBT+ terms. I appreciated how often Ash would acknowledge that other people might explain terms differently or have different feelings towards certain terms. It was also great that they addressed biphobia within the LGBT+ community and dismissal of asexuality and aromanticism.

[Oyinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 181 of 2021


This was such a great read! My review will be really short because all that needs to be said is right there in the book. This is an entry-level book on gender and sexuality identity politics and is a definite must-read.

The book opens up with a dictionary of SO MANY terms relating to -gender, -sexual, and -romantic identities. I was already familiar with a ton of them and others I had never heard of before.

Later chapters delve into essays and expositions into these identities. Myths and misconceptions are explored and demystified and more clarity is waiting for readers at the end of this book.
I’m glad I read this book and everyone should pick this up.