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50 Queers Who Changed the World: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Icons
LGBT people are some of the coolest in history – Freddie Mercury, Divine, Virginia Woolf, Marlene Dietrich, Andy Warhol... the list goes on. Queer subculture has had an enormous impact on style, music, science, art and literature. From Oscar Wilde, who defended his homosexual relationships in court, to Rupaul acting as an ambassador for drag on network television, queer people have fought to express their identities and make a difference. This book will celebrate the lives, work, and unique perspectives of the icons who changed the world. Featuring beautifully illustrated portraits and profiles, 50 Queers Who Changed the World is a tribute to some of the most inspirational people of all time
112 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
December 3, 2017
So this book was really nicely made, Michele Rosenthal's portraits were wonderful and it taught me things I didn't know. The range of people included are diverse in sexualities, race and gender, and I would recommend it to anyone, queer or not, who wants to know more about queer history but isn't sure where to start. It was very nearly an easy five stars. Nearly.
I'm docking one star for the inclusion of Madonna in the main text of the book. Nothing against Madonna, she's an incredible woman who I respect the hell out of; and she has been a staunch queer ally for her entire career, which is great! But she's just that – an ALLY. It seems incredibly disingenuous to count her as "a queer who changed the world" when, as far as we know, she's not queer at all.
It's especially insulting that she's included when ACTUAL queer people like Josephine Baker, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King and Kate Bornstein are relegated to a "more queer heroes" list at the back of the book, and Marsha P Johnson, a black trans woman who threw the first brick at the Stonewall Riots and to whom we owe many of our current rights and freedoms, is merely mentioned once in someone else's entry. (A note: the entry she's mentioned in is Sylvia Rivera's, who was the other trans woman who started those riots. The book gets that right, at least.)
If this book had been called "50 Queer Icons Who Changed the World" then I wouldn't have minded Madonna's inclusion at all. And if, someday in the future, she happens to come out, then I'll cease to be angry. But right now, to call it "50 QUEERS" (and only put the word "Icons" in the subtitle) and include her over actual queer people is, as I said, incredibly insulting.
After some consideration I'm docking a second star because Dan Jones was unfortunately insensitive when writing about trans people. He unnecessarily included the birthnames of four of the six trans people featured in the book. He also assigned gender to specific body types ("the press discovered [subject] had been born with a female body"), and when talking about Lili Elbe's pre-transition life he used her previous name and male pronouns which is disrespectful. He thankfully didn't do that for any of the other trans people who were profiled, and maybe Lili was okay with people doing that when talking about her, I don't know. It's still not good practise.
A final quibble: it's not "Aids," it's "AIDS." AIDS is an acronym which stands for "acquired immune deficiency syndrome" and acronyms should always be in all capitals.
I'm docking one star for the inclusion of Madonna in the main text of the book. Nothing against Madonna, she's an incredible woman who I respect the hell out of; and she has been a staunch queer ally for her entire career, which is great! But she's just that – an ALLY. It seems incredibly disingenuous to count her as "a queer who changed the world" when, as far as we know, she's not queer at all.
It's especially insulting that she's included when ACTUAL queer people like Josephine Baker, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King and Kate Bornstein are relegated to a "more queer heroes" list at the back of the book, and Marsha P Johnson, a black trans woman who threw the first brick at the Stonewall Riots and to whom we owe many of our current rights and freedoms, is merely mentioned once in someone else's entry. (A note: the entry she's mentioned in is Sylvia Rivera's, who was the other trans woman who started those riots. The book gets that right, at least.)
If this book had been called "50 Queer Icons Who Changed the World" then I wouldn't have minded Madonna's inclusion at all. And if, someday in the future, she happens to come out, then I'll cease to be angry. But right now, to call it "50 QUEERS" (and only put the word "Icons" in the subtitle) and include her over actual queer people is, as I said, incredibly insulting.
After some consideration I'm docking a second star because Dan Jones was unfortunately insensitive when writing about trans people. He unnecessarily included the birthnames of four of the six trans people featured in the book. He also assigned gender to specific body types ("the press discovered [subject] had been born with a female body"), and when talking about Lili Elbe's pre-transition life he used her previous name and male pronouns which is disrespectful. He thankfully didn't do that for any of the other trans people who were profiled, and maybe Lili was okay with people doing that when talking about her, I don't know. It's still not good practise.
A final quibble: it's not "Aids," it's "AIDS." AIDS is an acronym which stands for "acquired immune deficiency syndrome" and acronyms should always be in all capitals.
May 31, 2021
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community who is considering majoring in LGBTQ+ studies in college, I had a strong interest in this book and I assumed that I would love it. However, this book was not as great as I hoped. It wasn't the worst book in the world and I learned a lot from it, but it needs a lot of revisions.
The introduction to this book started off rocky and I was worried about how the book was going to turn out. There were just some things that didn't sit right with me that I felt a queer or trans editor could've helped correct. It did get somewhat better at first. It was really informative and I was learning about important LGBTQ+ icons, but everything took a turn for the worse when Lili Elbe was mentioned. She was the first trans person mentioned in this book and she was deadnamed and was even called the gender of her birth in one sentence. It just got worse from there. Every trans person that has passed away was deadnamed in the book. I don't understand the author's motivation in including trans' people's deadnames in this book. No one needs to know a trans person's deadname. Deadnaming someone is incredibly rude and I would even say it's transphobic. I'm hoping that the author of this book just didn't understand why not to dead name trans people and that there wasn't any negative intent behind the author's word choice... A simple trans editor or proofreader could've helped correct the author so that dead names were not included in this book.
The only other thing worth noting was that this book claims to be "a celebration of LGBTQ+ icons" yet it doesn't encompass the wide range of identities in this community. As an asexual human with romantic attractions that I have yet to put a label on, I was sort of hoping for a wider range of LGBTQ+ identities to be included in this book.
I'm disappointed to say the least but if you truly want to learn about LGBTQ+ people who've changed history, this book will give you good information. Just please don't refer to trans people in the way that this book did.
The introduction to this book started off rocky and I was worried about how the book was going to turn out. There were just some things that didn't sit right with me that I felt a queer or trans editor could've helped correct. It did get somewhat better at first. It was really informative and I was learning about important LGBTQ+ icons, but everything took a turn for the worse when Lili Elbe was mentioned. She was the first trans person mentioned in this book and she was deadnamed and was even called the gender of her birth in one sentence. It just got worse from there. Every trans person that has passed away was deadnamed in the book. I don't understand the author's motivation in including trans' people's deadnames in this book. No one needs to know a trans person's deadname. Deadnaming someone is incredibly rude and I would even say it's transphobic. I'm hoping that the author of this book just didn't understand why not to dead name trans people and that there wasn't any negative intent behind the author's word choice... A simple trans editor or proofreader could've helped correct the author so that dead names were not included in this book.
The only other thing worth noting was that this book claims to be "a celebration of LGBTQ+ icons" yet it doesn't encompass the wide range of identities in this community. As an asexual human with romantic attractions that I have yet to put a label on, I was sort of hoping for a wider range of LGBTQ+ identities to be included in this book.
I'm disappointed to say the least but if you truly want to learn about LGBTQ+ people who've changed history, this book will give you good information. Just please don't refer to trans people in the way that this book did.
February 22, 2018
There were lots of things I liked about the book: the gorgeous illustrations, learning about people I hadn't heart of before, and the writing was usually playful and entertaining.
Unfortunately, it constantly uses deadnames (like, sometimes it seems to just shoehorn them into a sentence that's not even related) and uses the person's assigned gender pronouns when talking about them before they came out.
I definitely recommend checking out the original Queer Portraits in History project and googling any person you're not familiar with, but I don't think I can recommend this book. With some slight changes, this would be a delightful little gift book to have in some queer waiting room, but not with the misgendering and other issues that are present.
Full review at the Lesbrary
Unfortunately, it constantly uses deadnames (like, sometimes it seems to just shoehorn them into a sentence that's not even related) and uses the person's assigned gender pronouns when talking about them before they came out.
I definitely recommend checking out the original Queer Portraits in History project and googling any person you're not familiar with, but I don't think I can recommend this book. With some slight changes, this would be a delightful little gift book to have in some queer waiting room, but not with the misgendering and other issues that are present.
Full review at the Lesbrary
March 12, 2018
THIS BOOK IS AMAZING. As someone who is recently out this book was amazing in educating me about LGBT icons and our history. I loved every story and the portraits inside were beautiful.
October 8, 2018
Este catálogo de personas del siglo XX relacionadas con el mundo LGBT sirve como acercamiento a la historia del colectivo y como una mirada a la biografía de las personas que, arriesgando mucho, se mostraron tal como eran e hicieron que las generaciones posteriores pudiéramos disfrutar de una vida en condiciones similares a las de los heterosexuales. Los cicuenta rostros corresponden a artistas, políticos, humoristas, activistas, científicos... de alrededor de todo el mundo. Es muy interesante que no solo hable de gays, como suele suceder en la mayoría de estas listas, sino que presta la misma atención a lesbianas, bisexuales y personas trans.
May 22, 2018
3.75 stars.
So many of these tiny "primer" books are coming out these days, and many of them profile the same people over and over again. I enjoyed the illustrations in this one, and was glad to see some unexpected faces; there were even some folks in here I hadn't heard of before, so that was nice.
So many of these tiny "primer" books are coming out these days, and many of them profile the same people over and over again. I enjoyed the illustrations in this one, and was glad to see some unexpected faces; there were even some folks in here I hadn't heard of before, so that was nice.
November 19, 2020
Michele Rosenthal’s art is beautiful but I found myself a bit disappointed reading this book as there were some elements that I didn’t like.
For example, the use of multiple trans peoples dead names I deemed unnecessary and I don’t think they should have been included. Also Madonna was included as one of the 50 Queers as she is a “Queer Icon” and while I appreciate everything Madonna has done for the LGBTQ+ community she is not in fact Queer so I feel that she maybe shouldn’t have been included in this book and the space could have been given to someone who is actually Queer.
This book could be considered transphobic and I would only recommend it as an introduction to LGBTQ+ people.
For example, the use of multiple trans peoples dead names I deemed unnecessary and I don’t think they should have been included. Also Madonna was included as one of the 50 Queers as she is a “Queer Icon” and while I appreciate everything Madonna has done for the LGBTQ+ community she is not in fact Queer so I feel that she maybe shouldn’t have been included in this book and the space could have been given to someone who is actually Queer.
This book could be considered transphobic and I would only recommend it as an introduction to LGBTQ+ people.
October 12, 2021
A great reminder that "greatness" is certainly not limited to "normality". Some real eye openers in here. To note, the proofing is not the best, though it doesn't spoil it.
April 14, 2018
This book wasn't what I was expecting, and like other reviewers have noted, it was more than a little disappointing. Although the introduction to the book mentions this, the book is not just about actual LGBT+ individuals, but includes allies like Madonna. I wish it had just been about LGBT+ people, and there were many such people that could've been included that would've been a better fit - Madonna is just an example.
Despite the book's acknowledgments page stating that there was a "queer consultant" on the project, the book itself was really transphobic. Jones consistently deadnames trans people and equates gender with biological sex. That part could use a whole lot of work, and was very disappointing to read. The LGBT+ community needs to do better. The title as well could've used some work. Given the history of queer as a slur and the harm it has been used to inflict in LGBT+ individuals, lobbing the term like a generic grenade and applying it to people who never reclaimed or applied the term to themselves is problematic to say the least.
The book would also have benefited from a more thorough editing job. There were plenty of grammatical errors that made reading a bit grating, and the author wrote "Aids" instead of "AIDS" which was actually kind of infuriating. This is very basic stuff that was apparently beyond the author, queer consultant, and editorial team, and made the book difficult to read. It makes the book appear amateurish and uneducated.
That being said, it was a good intro to people who either were LGBT+ or allies of the community, and the art was absolutely gorgeous.
Despite the book's acknowledgments page stating that there was a "queer consultant" on the project, the book itself was really transphobic. Jones consistently deadnames trans people and equates gender with biological sex. That part could use a whole lot of work, and was very disappointing to read. The LGBT+ community needs to do better. The title as well could've used some work. Given the history of queer as a slur and the harm it has been used to inflict in LGBT+ individuals, lobbing the term like a generic grenade and applying it to people who never reclaimed or applied the term to themselves is problematic to say the least.
The book would also have benefited from a more thorough editing job. There were plenty of grammatical errors that made reading a bit grating, and the author wrote "Aids" instead of "AIDS" which was actually kind of infuriating. This is very basic stuff that was apparently beyond the author, queer consultant, and editorial team, and made the book difficult to read. It makes the book appear amateurish and uneducated.
That being said, it was a good intro to people who either were LGBT+ or allies of the community, and the art was absolutely gorgeous.
January 24, 2021
Nice but imbalanced little introduction :) I was inspired by the selected persons' determination to live authentically in a world that values the archetype of white European Christian heterosexual male (preferably middle class at least). The highlighted persons have definitely contributed colour and flare to their endeavours which is admirable. But this book is limited by its representations of middle and upper class global North examples, being dominated by British and American examples particularly white persons. How difficult would it have been to do a bit more research and produce a richer compilation that truly highlights all not parts of the queer community?
November 25, 2019
Gave a nice quick recap of all the cool LGBT+ folks throughout history. Something about the way it was written threw me off though, and many of the pages didn’t get in depth with the people mentioned, which is sad.
But it was read in two days, and if you want some gay intel, this book might fancy your interests
But it was read in two days, and if you want some gay intel, this book might fancy your interests
March 24, 2018
I learnt so much queer history throughout this book and was introduced to many incredible characters that helped push forward lgbt rights and challenged society at every turn. The book itself is truly beautiful and the artwork fantastic. I highly highly enjoyed it.
November 1, 2019
Joitain ongelmia transihmisten nimissä ja pronomineissa. Ennen kaikkea tämä oli kuitenkin aika tylsä ja ponneton, vaikka tällaisen teoksen pitäisi kai toimia inspiraationa. Paria tyyppiä googlailin, mutta kerrottavaksi oli valittu usein epäkiinnostavia asioita. Osa kuvista oli näk��isempiä kuin toiset.
September 22, 2020
I wish the lives of many of these people were better known. A must & easy-to-read book that helps to give greater visibility to the queer community.
March 31, 2018
Time taken to read: 11 days
Rating: 3.5 stars
Meet 50 queer heroes of music, art, theatre and literature, tough-ass political activists and sugary pop culture icons, plus non-binary pioneers and gender non-conformists, gay codebreakers, trans revolutionaries and lesbians in space.
Firstly, the main selling point to me of this book is that it is beautiful. The art work by Michele Rosenthal could have sold this book on its own and for each of the 50 people featured in this book there is a full page illustration of them. Obviously with any book of this kind, people are going to be disappointed that someone they love wasn’t featured, so I am not going to use that as a criticism as this book did introduce me to a number of people I had either never heard of or knew very little about. I was however a little disappointed with some of the allies included – there is space for championing people who have helped the cause, but I feel that they should have probably focused purely on LGBTQ+ icons.
The main criticism I have, and that I have seen echoed in the comments, is how the author treats the trans icons in this book. For some the wrong pronouns are used, especially when referring to pre-transition which seems inappropriate as we should always use their correct pronouns. Additionally there is also usage of pre-transition names and I feel like for one individual there was a throw away comment that read as a slur to me.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Meet 50 queer heroes of music, art, theatre and literature, tough-ass political activists and sugary pop culture icons, plus non-binary pioneers and gender non-conformists, gay codebreakers, trans revolutionaries and lesbians in space.
Firstly, the main selling point to me of this book is that it is beautiful. The art work by Michele Rosenthal could have sold this book on its own and for each of the 50 people featured in this book there is a full page illustration of them. Obviously with any book of this kind, people are going to be disappointed that someone they love wasn’t featured, so I am not going to use that as a criticism as this book did introduce me to a number of people I had either never heard of or knew very little about. I was however a little disappointed with some of the allies included – there is space for championing people who have helped the cause, but I feel that they should have probably focused purely on LGBTQ+ icons.
The main criticism I have, and that I have seen echoed in the comments, is how the author treats the trans icons in this book. For some the wrong pronouns are used, especially when referring to pre-transition which seems inappropriate as we should always use their correct pronouns. Additionally there is also usage of pre-transition names and I feel like for one individual there was a throw away comment that read as a slur to me.
May 28, 2021
Muistin tätä kirjaa lukiessani, ettei minulle yleensä jää tällaisesta luettelosta oikein mitään mieleen. Ne, jotka tunnistin, tiesin jo ja koin heistä kirjoitetun tekstin suppeina. Uudet nimet taas unohtuivat nopeasti. Löysin kuitenkin muutaman kiinnostavan uuden kirjailijan, joiden kirjoihin haluan tutustua tulevaisuudessa.
Read
April 14, 2021This book was very educational however I cannot recommend it due to how Trans men and women were continually dead-named.
November 29, 2021
Libros como estos hacen falta.
Aunque aún más, que estos personajes se incluyan en los temarios habituales de cualquier disciplina hace más falta aún.
La visibilidad es necesaria.
Aunque aún más, que estos personajes se incluyan en los temarios habituales de cualquier disciplina hace más falta aún.
La visibilidad es necesaria.
February 10, 2022
Wow. I'm actually shocked at how insulting this manages to be in so many ways.
From the introduction, I was expecting a standard peak liberal Pink Poundified version of queer icons, and that's largely true, but this also somehow manages to be deeply ignorant and insulting to whole swathes of people. In no particular order:
Lesbophobia: I very nearly put down the book when Gertrude Stein and her partner were described as having a "traditional hetero lifestyle," in a rather derogatory way. If you are so ignorant of sapphic gender and sexual identities that you cannot see butch/femme partnerships as inherently queer, there are plenty of sources out there wiling to explain it for you. Deeply insulting. There's also some general sapphobia in the minimising and desexualisation of wlw relationships, where the opposite is done with mlm relationships.
Biphobia and bi erasure: Oh my, the lengths this book goes to to refuse to label people as bisexual, while absolutely jumping at the chance to use gay, lesbian and trans identifiers for people (not always appropriately). This continues even in the list of "extra" icons in the back. Honestly, I wish I could say I was surprised, but I am yet to read a book that isn't exclusively about bi+ history that doesn't so this. BISEXUAL IS NOT A DIRTY WORD. And - surprise - bisexuals are also queer and have been around, being iconic, since the beginning of time. Stop writing and publishing biphobia. The bio of Dan Savage is also really bad for this - it's arguably one of the most glowing bios in the whole book, and manages to completely avoid the fact that he spent decades arguing viciously for biphobia and bisexual oppression, and used his platform to do a great deal of harm to bi+ people on an individual and general stage. SUCH an icon.
Transphobia: Of course. Most of the trans icons are deadnamed, often multiple times, unnecessarily. There's also some content, particularly in Lili Elbe's bio, that is just transphobia and misgendering inserted for no obvious reason. This is basic, basic stuff.
Misogyny: I get a general sense from the way women are portrayed and talked about that I women aren't taken as seriously as men, but the kicker was when misogyny was described as "hilarious." I assume it was supposed to be humourous, but it was not.
Fatphobia: Again, not wildly surprising, but in Leigh Bowery's bio in particular there was a weird insistence to use fat descriptors (voluptuous, plump) where similar descriptions aren't used in other bios.
I also find it very questionable that cishet people are included as queer icons - not because I don't think they can be, but because even the author seems to acknowledge there were other actual LGBT icons they wanted to use and couldn't find room for listed at the back of the book. If you are struggling in your choices, what possesses you to choose a cishet person over an actual queer person?
I was looking for a quick, simple, probably not great but fairly harmless introduction to some LGBTQ people and history. I got a whole lot of queerphobia and a book that does more harm than good.
From the introduction, I was expecting a standard peak liberal Pink Poundified version of queer icons, and that's largely true, but this also somehow manages to be deeply ignorant and insulting to whole swathes of people. In no particular order:
Lesbophobia: I very nearly put down the book when Gertrude Stein and her partner were described as having a "traditional hetero lifestyle," in a rather derogatory way. If you are so ignorant of sapphic gender and sexual identities that you cannot see butch/femme partnerships as inherently queer, there are plenty of sources out there wiling to explain it for you. Deeply insulting. There's also some general sapphobia in the minimising and desexualisation of wlw relationships, where the opposite is done with mlm relationships.
Biphobia and bi erasure: Oh my, the lengths this book goes to to refuse to label people as bisexual, while absolutely jumping at the chance to use gay, lesbian and trans identifiers for people (not always appropriately). This continues even in the list of "extra" icons in the back. Honestly, I wish I could say I was surprised, but I am yet to read a book that isn't exclusively about bi+ history that doesn't so this. BISEXUAL IS NOT A DIRTY WORD. And - surprise - bisexuals are also queer and have been around, being iconic, since the beginning of time. Stop writing and publishing biphobia. The bio of Dan Savage is also really bad for this - it's arguably one of the most glowing bios in the whole book, and manages to completely avoid the fact that he spent decades arguing viciously for biphobia and bisexual oppression, and used his platform to do a great deal of harm to bi+ people on an individual and general stage. SUCH an icon.
Transphobia: Of course. Most of the trans icons are deadnamed, often multiple times, unnecessarily. There's also some content, particularly in Lili Elbe's bio, that is just transphobia and misgendering inserted for no obvious reason. This is basic, basic stuff.
Misogyny: I get a general sense from the way women are portrayed and talked about that I women aren't taken as seriously as men, but the kicker was when misogyny was described as "hilarious." I assume it was supposed to be humourous, but it was not.
Fatphobia: Again, not wildly surprising, but in Leigh Bowery's bio in particular there was a weird insistence to use fat descriptors (voluptuous, plump) where similar descriptions aren't used in other bios.
I also find it very questionable that cishet people are included as queer icons - not because I don't think they can be, but because even the author seems to acknowledge there were other actual LGBT icons they wanted to use and couldn't find room for listed at the back of the book. If you are struggling in your choices, what possesses you to choose a cishet person over an actual queer person?
I was looking for a quick, simple, probably not great but fairly harmless introduction to some LGBTQ people and history. I got a whole lot of queerphobia and a book that does more harm than good.
May 21, 2018
50 Queers Who Changed the World: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Icons was written by Dan Jones and illustrated by Michele Rosenthal and pays homage to a collection of fifty lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer icons and their impact on style, music, science, art, and literature.
Jones writes these mini-biographies in a straightforward and youthful manner, without sounding too condescending. Each fifty entries seemed well researched and explore and elevate the person in question, quite frankly I was surprised from some of the entries chosen and was glad to learn more of them. Rosenthal's illustrations were wonderful depicted, which doesn't distract from the text, but enhanced it. While I can’t vouch for the accurateness of the illustrations, I can say they were well done.
However, I am slightly perturbed how Jones handled the transgender he had included in this book. While I don't mind Jones using their original birth names in their biographies – because that is part of their journey – their history, it was insensitively done and not done for everyone. Furthermore, Jones assigned gender to specific body types and using the wrong pronouns when addressing the specific transgender person in question.
I was rather surprised to see the inclusion for Madonna, while I don't know her personally or her sexuality – neither does the author or at least that's the indication I got when reading her mini-biography. Don't get me wrong, I love Madonna and her music and I understand that she's been a wonderful ally for the LGBTQ+ community, but that's all she is – an ally. To have her on a list of LGBTQ+ icons seems rather disingenuous if not erroneous.
All in all, 50 Queers Who Changed the World: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Icons is a wonderfully written book and a magnificent collection of mini-biographies of LGBTQ+ people from all walks of life and from different parts of the world. It is a good read and reference book for anyone who wants to learn more about queers in history.
Jones writes these mini-biographies in a straightforward and youthful manner, without sounding too condescending. Each fifty entries seemed well researched and explore and elevate the person in question, quite frankly I was surprised from some of the entries chosen and was glad to learn more of them. Rosenthal's illustrations were wonderful depicted, which doesn't distract from the text, but enhanced it. While I can’t vouch for the accurateness of the illustrations, I can say they were well done.
However, I am slightly perturbed how Jones handled the transgender he had included in this book. While I don't mind Jones using their original birth names in their biographies – because that is part of their journey – their history, it was insensitively done and not done for everyone. Furthermore, Jones assigned gender to specific body types and using the wrong pronouns when addressing the specific transgender person in question.
I was rather surprised to see the inclusion for Madonna, while I don't know her personally or her sexuality – neither does the author or at least that's the indication I got when reading her mini-biography. Don't get me wrong, I love Madonna and her music and I understand that she's been a wonderful ally for the LGBTQ+ community, but that's all she is – an ally. To have her on a list of LGBTQ+ icons seems rather disingenuous if not erroneous.
All in all, 50 Queers Who Changed the World: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Icons is a wonderfully written book and a magnificent collection of mini-biographies of LGBTQ+ people from all walks of life and from different parts of the world. It is a good read and reference book for anyone who wants to learn more about queers in history.
April 16, 2021
So I definitely like the education aspect, I like the broad range of figures included in this book and there were definitely some people I hadn’t heard about before or had heard of but didn’t realise they were lgbt+
I really loved the illustrations
My main issues are:
1. The inclusion of allies (Madonna) in a book about queers. Obviously allies are very important and all but this book was about queers specifically (from the title) and I feel like with the amount of queers who had an impact on history they could’ve included somebody else for that spot. LGBT+ are often ignored, dismissed or forgotten about in history, it seems odd the book would choose to highlight an ally who is hugely well known and famous rather than another queer individual who is maybe less talked about or whose queerness is often forgotten/dismissed
2. Trans individuals in the book were dead-named and in one case the incorrect pronouns were used when talking about the individual pre-transition. This is such an easy, simple thing to change/correct and I’m really surprised and disappointed that in a book about queers, nobody bothered to fix this. It only came out in 2017 so it’s not like there was a lack of information/understanding/resources.
3. AIDS was consistently misspelt as Aids. Considering the devastating and hugely problematic nature of the AIDS epidemic it seems almost disrespectful and uneducated.
4. There were several smaller statements/sentences that just felt a little off/uncomfy to me which just kinda gradually built up a little (eg. Talking about how a male celebrity had girls around the globe with wet knickers or smthg). Just doesn’t sit quite right.
All in all while I think this book tried (well...) I think the (potential?) harm it does isn’t worth it. I’d recommend giving this one a pass and finding a book that respects transgender individuals by taking the time and effort to properly understand and write about them.
I really loved the illustrations
My main issues are:
1. The inclusion of allies (Madonna) in a book about queers. Obviously allies are very important and all but this book was about queers specifically (from the title) and I feel like with the amount of queers who had an impact on history they could’ve included somebody else for that spot. LGBT+ are often ignored, dismissed or forgotten about in history, it seems odd the book would choose to highlight an ally who is hugely well known and famous rather than another queer individual who is maybe less talked about or whose queerness is often forgotten/dismissed
2. Trans individuals in the book were dead-named and in one case the incorrect pronouns were used when talking about the individual pre-transition. This is such an easy, simple thing to change/correct and I’m really surprised and disappointed that in a book about queers, nobody bothered to fix this. It only came out in 2017 so it’s not like there was a lack of information/understanding/resources.
3. AIDS was consistently misspelt as Aids. Considering the devastating and hugely problematic nature of the AIDS epidemic it seems almost disrespectful and uneducated.
4. There were several smaller statements/sentences that just felt a little off/uncomfy to me which just kinda gradually built up a little (eg. Talking about how a male celebrity had girls around the globe with wet knickers or smthg). Just doesn’t sit quite right.
All in all while I think this book tried (well...) I think the (potential?) harm it does isn’t worth it. I’d recommend giving this one a pass and finding a book that respects transgender individuals by taking the time and effort to properly understand and write about them.
December 23, 2017
The art is so beautiful, and the selection of people to profile was a great mix of iconic queer heroes (Kahlo, Lorde, Baldwin), and people I can't wait to learn more about (Chavela Vargas, Justin Vivian Bond, Essex Hemphill, Radclyffe Hall). The people selected tended to slant toward artists, writers, and musicians with some activists.
My major critique is that the quality of the prose is poor--grammatically bad to the point of confusion. It has more in common with a hastily written listicle for buzzfeed than the revolutionary zine/biography it aims to be. I can bear a few sentences ending with prepositions, but frequent fragments and the denial of the oxford comma actually stand in the way of comprehension. Coupled with the strange overuse of very specific words and phrases, namely "sticky" and "___ marks him/her out as a ___," the repetitive and sloppy writing made me cringe even while I was completely engrossed in the lives of truly fascinating people.
This book would make a great holiday gift for anyone interested in queer history, radical activism, or art. Dan Jones, if you're reading this, I mean no offense. I will copy edit it for free.
My major critique is that the quality of the prose is poor--grammatically bad to the point of confusion. It has more in common with a hastily written listicle for buzzfeed than the revolutionary zine/biography it aims to be. I can bear a few sentences ending with prepositions, but frequent fragments and the denial of the oxford comma actually stand in the way of comprehension. Coupled with the strange overuse of very specific words and phrases, namely "sticky" and "___ marks him/her out as a ___," the repetitive and sloppy writing made me cringe even while I was completely engrossed in the lives of truly fascinating people.
This book would make a great holiday gift for anyone interested in queer history, radical activism, or art. Dan Jones, if you're reading this, I mean no offense. I will copy edit it for free.
February 16, 2018
The writing is simple and to the point. It doesn't go into HUGE major points about the individuals' lives, BUT...it does tell why they are influential in LGBTQ+ culture, along with a painting of each celebrity (done in the style of mentioned LGBTQ+ Andy Warhol).
Using only a single page to encompass the lives of both living and deceased actors, models, artists, writers, politicians, athletes and others who may serve as heroes to future generations, looking for an idol. It includes several trans, lesbians, gays and activists for each, so there is equal representation.
Most, if you're gay, you've probably heard of: Andy Warhol, Freddy Mercury, Harvey Milk, James Dean, etc.
Some I was surprised by: Eleanor Roosevelt
Others I'd never heard of and will let you explore yourself.
While the book doesn't say, HEY look at the people who have made a difference because of their sexuality, you don't have to hide who you are, it does make it obvious. BUT, the awesome part is, it literally just feels like a collection of mini-bios of the individuals. However, they just all happen to be LGBTQ+
Using only a single page to encompass the lives of both living and deceased actors, models, artists, writers, politicians, athletes and others who may serve as heroes to future generations, looking for an idol. It includes several trans, lesbians, gays and activists for each, so there is equal representation.
Most, if you're gay, you've probably heard of: Andy Warhol, Freddy Mercury, Harvey Milk, James Dean, etc.
Some I was surprised by: Eleanor Roosevelt
Others I'd never heard of and will let you explore yourself.
While the book doesn't say, HEY look at the people who have made a difference because of their sexuality, you don't have to hide who you are, it does make it obvious. BUT, the awesome part is, it literally just feels like a collection of mini-bios of the individuals. However, they just all happen to be LGBTQ+
October 20, 2019
Reseña completa en: https://ricardodf1999.wixsite.com/ric...
El libro es un conjunto de contradicciones, faltas de respeto y desinformación increíble.
Primero, el autor intenta evitar "etiquetar" o afirmar hechos demostrados, como la relación entre Chavela Vargas y Frida Kahlo diciendo que "simplemente eran amigas que se escribían cartas". También evita hablar sobre la orientación sexual o identidad de género de alguno de los personajes, como por ejemplo evitando decir que Freddie Mercury era bisexual.
La desinformación es muy visible, por ejemplo, en la página protagonizada por Sylvia Rivera, donde dice que fue la cabeza e instigadora en los disturbios de Stonewall, cuando realmente fue Marsha P. Johnson, mujer trans negra.
Y por último, y a mi parecer el peor error del autor, es la inmensa cantidad de misgender y uso de deadnames en las biografías de algunas personas trans. Sólo se refería a las personas trans como "transexuales" si se habían o han operado para cambiar su sexo, si no lo hicieron se refiere a ellos como personas que "usaban ropa del genero opuesto o que tenían alter egos".
Lo único buena del libro son las increíbles ilustraciones, que también se pueden encontrar en el libro de la artista que creó los dibujos, que es Michele Rosenthal; exceptuando eso, el libro no merece la pena.
El libro es un conjunto de contradicciones, faltas de respeto y desinformación increíble.
Primero, el autor intenta evitar "etiquetar" o afirmar hechos demostrados, como la relación entre Chavela Vargas y Frida Kahlo diciendo que "simplemente eran amigas que se escribían cartas". También evita hablar sobre la orientación sexual o identidad de género de alguno de los personajes, como por ejemplo evitando decir que Freddie Mercury era bisexual.
La desinformación es muy visible, por ejemplo, en la página protagonizada por Sylvia Rivera, donde dice que fue la cabeza e instigadora en los disturbios de Stonewall, cuando realmente fue Marsha P. Johnson, mujer trans negra.
Y por último, y a mi parecer el peor error del autor, es la inmensa cantidad de misgender y uso de deadnames en las biografías de algunas personas trans. Sólo se refería a las personas trans como "transexuales" si se habían o han operado para cambiar su sexo, si no lo hicieron se refiere a ellos como personas que "usaban ropa del genero opuesto o que tenían alter egos".
Lo único buena del libro son las increíbles ilustraciones, que también se pueden encontrar en el libro de la artista que creó los dibujos, que es Michele Rosenthal; exceptuando eso, el libro no merece la pena.
September 9, 2020
¿A quién no le va a gustar un libro que comienza con Freddie Mercury y acaba con Frida Kahlo?
La primera vez que escuché hablar de la palabra «referentes» se la escuché a Pedro Zerolo. El dijo entonces que cuando era joven no veía a nadie, ni a su alrededor ni en los medios, que fuese como él (gay), es decir, un «referente». Cuando yo era adolescente sí tuve y, de hecho, Zerolo fue uno de ellos. Este libro sitúa a aún más referentes en la historia, personas que se salieron del patrón cis-hetero tradicional y que, a veces desde la fama, a veces desde el anonimato y a veces desde el desprecio social, han ido abriendo camino a las nuevas generaciones para que seamos más libres.
El libro está interesante, y tiene unas ilustraciones muy chulas, pero está principalmente enfocado en los Estados Unidos (aunque tiene varios referentes internacionales). Mi mundo lo han cambiado también mucho personas que no están en este libro, como el ya citado Pedro Zerolo, la Moni de Huelva, Carla Antonelli, Pedro Almodóvar, Bibiana Fernández o la mismísima Lola Flores («¿quién no se ha dao un pipazo con una amiga?»). Cómo es el machismo, que entre mis referentes de la adolescencia no hay mujeres cis-homo ni hombres trans...
La primera vez que escuché hablar de la palabra «referentes» se la escuché a Pedro Zerolo. El dijo entonces que cuando era joven no veía a nadie, ni a su alrededor ni en los medios, que fuese como él (gay), es decir, un «referente». Cuando yo era adolescente sí tuve y, de hecho, Zerolo fue uno de ellos. Este libro sitúa a aún más referentes en la historia, personas que se salieron del patrón cis-hetero tradicional y que, a veces desde la fama, a veces desde el anonimato y a veces desde el desprecio social, han ido abriendo camino a las nuevas generaciones para que seamos más libres.
El libro está interesante, y tiene unas ilustraciones muy chulas, pero está principalmente enfocado en los Estados Unidos (aunque tiene varios referentes internacionales). Mi mundo lo han cambiado también mucho personas que no están en este libro, como el ya citado Pedro Zerolo, la Moni de Huelva, Carla Antonelli, Pedro Almodóvar, Bibiana Fernández o la mismísima Lola Flores («¿quién no se ha dao un pipazo con una amiga?»). Cómo es el machismo, que entre mis referentes de la adolescencia no hay mujeres cis-homo ni hombres trans...
May 28, 2021
I would have given this book 5 stars, but there was a lot of dead naming and misgendering of the trans people mentioned in the book. Other than that, it was a nice and short book to read and learn about famous queer people. I assume the author was a bit ignorant on trans language and issues which sucks because to talk about trans people, you should know how to refer to trans people.
Also I thought it was a bit odd that Madonna was included. I believe she was the only person in the book who wasn’t lgbtq+. I know it was prefaced in the intro that not all people are lgbtq+ but it’s kind of weird that they only had one person who wasn’t. Also to be picked as one of the 50 queers who changed the world over actual queer people that were honorable mentions at the end of the book is a little odd. I guess it also just depends on whether or not we think cishet people can be referred to as “lgbtq+ icons.” Not to mention the fact that Madonna capitalized off of and popularized “vogue” which is Black queer culture and wasn’t hers to take. But that part isn’t mentioned in this book. 🤷🏻
Also I thought it was a bit odd that Madonna was included. I believe she was the only person in the book who wasn’t lgbtq+. I know it was prefaced in the intro that not all people are lgbtq+ but it’s kind of weird that they only had one person who wasn’t. Also to be picked as one of the 50 queers who changed the world over actual queer people that were honorable mentions at the end of the book is a little odd. I guess it also just depends on whether or not we think cishet people can be referred to as “lgbtq+ icons.” Not to mention the fact that Madonna capitalized off of and popularized “vogue” which is Black queer culture and wasn’t hers to take. But that part isn’t mentioned in this book. 🤷🏻
December 10, 2018
I've read a lot of books about women in this format recently, and this is the first I've seen about queer folks. While I love the concept, and adored the illustrations, I was just hoping for a bit more.
This is a super gay book, which is great in a lot of ways... BUT I felt a slight lack of representation for anyone who isn't gay. To be more specific, I noticed a lack of bisexual and non binary representation. Though its obvious that author attempts to represent all queer folks, it felt like this book was mostly gay men and lesbians. I just would have loved to see a bit more diversity in the subjects chosen.
I was also very uncomfortable with the deadnaming in biographies of trans individuals.
That being said, this book still feels like something the queer community needs more of. Even though this book did some things wrong, it feels like a good starting point. I really appreciate that books like this are being written and I can't wait to read more.
This is a super gay book, which is great in a lot of ways... BUT I felt a slight lack of representation for anyone who isn't gay. To be more specific, I noticed a lack of bisexual and non binary representation. Though its obvious that author attempts to represent all queer folks, it felt like this book was mostly gay men and lesbians. I just would have loved to see a bit more diversity in the subjects chosen.
I was also very uncomfortable with the deadnaming in biographies of trans individuals.
That being said, this book still feels like something the queer community needs more of. Even though this book did some things wrong, it feels like a good starting point. I really appreciate that books like this are being written and I can't wait to read more.
June 8, 2021
Completely disappointing. Centres straight allies whilst sidelining actual queer people, many who fought with their lives/livelihoods.
Intro is awful; “what makes a queer hero? You don’t have to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans or unicorn.” Firstly - yes, to be a queer hero you need to be queer that’s the whole point! Secondly, unicorn? Really? You could’ve omitted that in favour of “+” or “and other identities within the community.”
Uses deadnames/ birth names of trans people - incredibly disrespectful! Lili Elbe’s section makes a point of how much her family missed “their brother and son.” Again centring straight people in a queer life story.
Yet another text written by a straight writer, profiting on a community they haven’t even had the decency to write about with respect. Would have given 0 stars and got a refund if I could
Intro is awful; “what makes a queer hero? You don’t have to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans or unicorn.” Firstly - yes, to be a queer hero you need to be queer that’s the whole point! Secondly, unicorn? Really? You could’ve omitted that in favour of “+” or “and other identities within the community.”
Uses deadnames/ birth names of trans people - incredibly disrespectful! Lili Elbe’s section makes a point of how much her family missed “their brother and son.” Again centring straight people in a queer life story.
Yet another text written by a straight writer, profiting on a community they haven’t even had the decency to write about with respect. Would have given 0 stars and got a refund if I could
December 10, 2021
2.5 Really. How can you have a book about influential lgbtq people and only have one small reference to Marsha P Johnson? Kind of insulting that Marsha gets one measly reference in Sylvia riveras page but Ru Paul gets a whole page.
Also whats up with all the deadnaming?
Its an interesting book dont get me wrong the illustrations are nice and the bite sized chunks of information are very digestible but this book really could of done with being co-written by multiple people inside the lgbtq community as Jones seems to make some odd inclusion and exclusions (Marsha p johnson, boy George, Ma Rainey (granted she gets an honourable mention at the end) and Bowie to name a few).
In conclusion OK book that could of been great if it had more people from different parts of the community working on it.
Also whats up with all the deadnaming?
Its an interesting book dont get me wrong the illustrations are nice and the bite sized chunks of information are very digestible but this book really could of done with being co-written by multiple people inside the lgbtq community as Jones seems to make some odd inclusion and exclusions (Marsha p johnson, boy George, Ma Rainey (granted she gets an honourable mention at the end) and Bowie to name a few).
In conclusion OK book that could of been great if it had more people from different parts of the community working on it.
September 27, 2025
I am incredibly disappointed in this book/author
Let me lay it out for you:
Good bits: Beautiful illustrations. Inspired me to go and further read about certain queer people.
Bad parts: Deadnaming practically EVERY trans person. Misgendering whilst refering to a trans person before their transition. + other things that felt softly transphobic at times. Cishet people being included in a book thats quite literally called '50 Queers Who Changed The World'. Buck Angel.
i genuinely couldn't get past the deadnaming as it was always forced down my throat! I'd be casually reading and then i'm suddenly hit with "(Then Known As [Deadname])" NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! A trans persons DEADname is never relevant in a situation like this!
The only reason i ended up giving 2 stars is because of the drawings and Oscar Wilde or else it would have been an easy 1 star.
Let me lay it out for you:
Good bits: Beautiful illustrations. Inspired me to go and further read about certain queer people.
Bad parts: Deadnaming practically EVERY trans person. Misgendering whilst refering to a trans person before their transition. + other things that felt softly transphobic at times. Cishet people being included in a book thats quite literally called '50 Queers Who Changed The World'. Buck Angel.
i genuinely couldn't get past the deadnaming as it was always forced down my throat! I'd be casually reading and then i'm suddenly hit with "(Then Known As [Deadname])" NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! A trans persons DEADname is never relevant in a situation like this!
The only reason i ended up giving 2 stars is because of the drawings and Oscar Wilde or else it would have been an easy 1 star.
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