Sensible Footwear: A Girl's Guide

by Kate Charlesworth

Cartoonist Kate Charlesworth presents a glorious pageant of LGBTQI+ history, as she takes us on a PRIDE march past personal and political milestones from the 1950s to the present day. Peopled by a cast of gay icons such as Dusty Springfield, Billie Jean King, Dirk Bogarde and Alan Turing, and featuring key moments such as Stonewall, Gay Pride and Section 28, Sensible Footwear: A Girl’s Guide, is the first graphic history documenting lesbian life from 1950 to the present. It is a stunning, personal, graphic memoir and a milestone itself in LGBTQI+ history.

In 1950, when Kate was born, male homosexuality carried a custodial sentence. But female homosexuality had never been an offence in the UK, effectively rendering lesbians even more invisible than they already were—often to themselves. Growing up in Yorkshire, the young Kate had to find role models wherever she could, in real life, books, film and TV.

Sensible Footwear: A Girl’s Guide is a fascinating history of how post-war Britain transformed from a country hostile towards ‘queer’ lives to the LGBQTI+ universe of today, recording the political gains and challenges against a backdrop of personal experience: realising her own sexuality, coming out to her parents, embracing lesbian and gay culture, losing friends to AIDS. Kate’s ex-navy dad said to her: ‘You shouldn’t have told her, love… you should have just told me.’ But it turned out her mother might have known a bit more about life, too.

Genres: Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, LGBT, Queer, History, Comics, Bande Dessinée

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 2019

About the author

Kate Charlesworth was born in Yorkshire and studied at the Manchester College of Art and Design. Her illustrations have appeared in the Guardian, the Independent and she has worked on many books, comics and magazines. She lives in Edinburgh.

Reviews

[Shannon Lohner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book as i have a signed copy but i found the structure of the book really difficult to follow! it was not intuitive what pattern my eyes were supposed to go in and it made it hard to read. i almost wish that this would’ve been two books- one as a personal memoir and one as an overview of the social and cultural history. overall i think it’s a great book but just not organized in a way that works for me!

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an fucking incredible, exhaustive, dazzling history of LGBT life in england and its coverage of recent history blew me away. I always knew there were things I wasnt aware of about my history as a gay woman, but I never knew there was so much! This is vital reading. Theres no other way to put it. Funny, inclusive, beautiful, affectionate and so full of love it might burst. I loved this book.

[Charles Edwards-Freshwater · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm fairly new to the graphic novel genre, but already I think this is a perfect example of one done right.

Packed full of history, charm, wit and humour, Kate Charlesworth's ode to the queer lifestyle is a poignant, autobiographical look into living a life off the path of ordinary and also a highly educational piece of work that really delves deep into UK queer culture.

I especially liked learning some basic Polari and seeing how this coded language developed by the gay subculture was integrated into our language today. It was also great to learn about some of the pioneers of our times who were also queer icons - I basically learned so much from reading this that it felt like a history lesson, but one delivered in an enjoyable, digestible way.

Funny, meaningful and beautifully animated - this is definitely one to pick up for anybody who wants a solid look into queer UK culture and who wants a moving life story to go with it.

5 stars.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mix of personal memoir and social history, with Charlesworth's own life set within the larger context of LGBTQ life in the UK from mid-century (her birth) to the present. Looking back over the past few decades, the legal and social horrors of being queer are overwhelming, and I found myself frequently reminded of just how recent some of the changes were. We may seem to be in an entirely different place now with regards to LGBTQ life and freedoms to be who they are than we were in the 1950s, but these changes have happened so recently that they might seem firmer and more deeply rooted than they are. We cannot let ourselves go backwards. This double narrative is warm and energetic and appealingly drawn, a celebration of the trajectory of one particular life and of the communities within which it has been lived.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sensible Footwear: A Girl's Guide is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Kate Charlesworth, which chronicles the LGBTQ+ movement in the United Kingdom over the last seventy years, while focused on Charlesworth life during this time.

Across almost 70 years, Charlesworth has seen massive changes in British attitudes towards queer people. These weren't changes that happened on their own, they're not part of some inevitable tumble towards progress, as they were hard fought for and pushed against by reactionaries.

While the book uses Charlesworth's own direct experiences as its launching point, her fierce intersectionality means she doesn't want to leave anything out. To manage the weight of all this history, Charlesworth breaks down major events into five year blocks, making timelines out of newspaper clippings, notes, and scanned images, invoking a DIY vibe across intricate double page spreads. This mash up approach, taking different sources and styles, feels defining here.

Sensible Footwear: A Girl's Guide is written and constructed rather well. It is a brilliant, wonderfully warm, often very smile-inducing and laughter-creating, emotionally engaging tour through the last few decades of Queer life and culture in the United Kingdom and further afield, intertwining both the Charlesworth's own life experiences as she grows up with the wider cultural and historical changes taking place, which gives the graphic novel both an over-arching, wide-ranging historical arc but at the same time maintaining a close, personal aspect to it that allows the reader to experience this as more than historical events or social-cultural changes, the reader can feel the impact on a more individual, emotional level.

All in all, Sensible Footwear: A Girl's Guide is a wonderful graphic novel that is both a personal story and a social history of the LGBTQ+ culture in the United Kingdom over the last seven decades.

[Isabelle Liang · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good!~~!~!~!~ it's gay

[Amy Marsden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great! It's a history of the LGBTQ movement in the UK through the eyes of a woman who lived it, with a particular emphasis on being a lesbian.

I don't know about everyone else, but I feel like LGBTQ history is extremely American centric (as is the Internet in general), so it was really nice to read about my own country and the people who paved the way before me. I can't thank them enough!

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spotted a copy of 'Sensible Footwear: A Girl's Guide' in the library and recalled reading a recommendation of it somewhere on the internet, so onto the card it went. It is a lovely graphic novel that combines personal memoir with queer history. Charlesworth recounts her experiences of lesbian life and chronicles changes in legal and social acceptance of LGBTQ people in the UK since the 1950s. I really like her art style, which includes delightful pastiches of kids comics and beautiful montages. Although the personal memoir parts were moving and compelling, I was most interested in the broader social and cultural history. The bright, eye-catching collages on particular famous people, events, and periods of time were delightful. I also learned a lot; I hadn't realised that Dusty Springfield was a gay icon, for instance. The focus on Scotland and scenes from Edinburgh's first pride march were particularly appealing, as it turns out that Chalesworth lives in Edinburgh and it's always nice to discover local authors. The only parts I found a little hard to keep track of were all the people in her Manchester social circle. Finally, given the title part of me hoped for a montage of sensible yet cool shoes, which sadly did not materialise! A vivid visual history that is full of fun and solidarity, yet doesn't neglect the impact of homophobia and transphobia over the decades.

[MechaComicReviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a history of LGBT rights in both post-war Britain and some moments from the USA’s history, check out Kate Charlesworth’s book Sensible Footwear: A Girl’s Guide. The book is both an examination of the movement in the 20th century and Charlesworth’s place in it; it’s a memoir and a history.

The book switches between many different art styles like watercolor, inks, collage, and more. The writing is quite witty and fun while showing Charlesworth’s humor about her coming out as a lesbian. I found myself letting out a chuckle on occasion, and I enjoyed how the art felt appropriate to her different scenes.

Two issues hampered my full enjoyment of the book: It’s a little steeped in the rhetoric of the early gay-rights movement in the same vein as Alison Bechdel or Howard Cruse’s work, which isn’t as radical as the current LGBTQIA-movement despite paving the way for where we are now. The second thing is that the lettering is really confusing, particularly in the collage sections. The text is not very intuitive for reading as my eyes often struggled with where to go. Nevertheless, it was a good read but not an overwhelmingly awesome one.

I was given a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Rebecca]

dnf @ page 40

as a queer woman i was so excited to find this— a history of the lgbt movement here in the uk! so much of lgbt history is told from an american perspective so i was thrilled this wasn’t going to be another version of the same old stories.

unfortunately the layout and writing placement was so overwhelming, it made it really hard to properly follow along and i could tell my eyes were glazing over things that were probably important. a shame as i’ve has this on my radar for years but oh well. i am still very glad that this a) exists and b) my library had a copy

[Scarlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really wonderful graphic novel, part autobiographical, part LGBTQ history guide. A great concept and it mostly worked. I loved the chats between the author and her friends, sort of reminded me of Dykes to Watch Out For. The historical parts were really interesting and even though I've read a lot on LGBTQ history I still learnt a few things I didn't know before.

My only criticism is that some of the autobiographical parts were really confusing? I couldn't keep track of all the people she talks about and she would skip between time and include random snippets of conversation which made it really hard to follow and dampened my enjoyment.

[Dr. des. Siobhán · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great graphic novel which chronicles LGBTQIA+ / queer history through personal, societal, and political change. It was truly inspiring, super super super informative, but at times a bit much and it made me tired pretty quickly. Maybe I shouldn't have read it hours at a time... Great to use in class, I believe, but it truly is a bit much.

5 Stars

[Fay Babette · Rating 5 out of 5]

No words will sum this up. The discrimination of LGBT people will always be there, but this beautiful book shows how far we have come and how grateful I am to those who protested before me, to enable a safer future for me and my wife. In love.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bloody brilliant, aye!

[Mikey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gotta say I'm surprised I didn't like this one. Usually queer autobiographies are right up my alley.

I'll start with the good parts. I really like the artstyle. I liked how she played around with colors. Pages looked different while at the same time being consistent. I also liked the scrapbook style of the 'lgbt facts timeline' pages.

The biggest problem I had with this book was that I just couldn't follow the story. For a lot of panels I felt like I was missing context to fully understand what was going on. When I finished a page the next page would be about a totally different topic that had barely anything to do with the last page. There were constant time skips to the point where I couldnt tell when anything was happening. then there'd be the 'lgbt facts timeline' stuff that also just broke up the story. In short this book read like a bunch of snip-its of a story that didn't logically follow up on eachother.

Another thing that bothered me was that I could never tell who was who. Most of these people look exactly the same and don't have a single feature that makes them stand out from the rest.

The only thing I really liked story-wise was the last part of the book, when she writes about her mom. If the whole book was written like that it could have been a 4.5 stars.

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleins de choses hyper intéressantes sur l'histoire de la communauté LGBT+ (pleins de recos films et livres que je connaissais pas du tout)

Je trouve l'idée de mêler cela à l'histoire personnelle de l'auteure très pertinente mais malheureusement ça m'a semblé fouillis et ça m'a perdu à de nombreuses reprises... Dommage

[Larakaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous art, paired with funny and insightful commentary on queer history

[Catherine Rowley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this so much! It's introduced me to a host of British queer figures that I'd not previously come across and now need to go away and find out more about!

It's always nice to see older queer women writing about their lives - it reminds me that they do exist, and exist happily. I've not always had older queer role models, so this book is a real beacon in that sense.

[Carla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Molt guai tota la informació sobre la història LGBTQ a UK i la cultura i estils de vida queer, però a mi personalment no m’ha agradat la barreja amb la seva autobiografia (que en si també és interessant) perquè al estar tot com desordenat trobo que li falta una mica un fil conductor més clar al còmic en conjunt.

[Millie Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't love this as much as I wanted to, but it's an amazing document of queer history!

[Juliane Seidel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inhalt:
Kate Charlesworth wird 1950 in Groß Britannien geboren und wächst in einem konservativen Umfeld auf. Früh bemerkt sie, dass sie anders ist und als lesbisches Mädchen vieles geheim halten muss, denn für ihr Umfeld ist es undenkbar, dass sie queer ist. Als Künstlerin findet sie jedoch im Laufe der Zeit Mitte und Wege, um sich auszudrücken und entdeckt eine blühende, queere Gemeinschaft, die zumeist im Verborgenen existiert, denn Homosexualität ist in Groß Britannien lange strafbar. Über viele Jahrzehnte erlebt Kate die queere Bewegung hautnah, zeigt, welche Fort- und teilweise Rückschritte sie miterlebt hat und welche Auswirkungen dies alles auf ihr eigenes, von Höhen und Tiefen geprägtes Leben hat …

Eigene Meinung:
Das 320 Seiten starke Buch „United Queerdom“ erschien erstmals 2019 unter dem Titel „Sensible Footwear: A Girl’s Guide“ in Großbritannien und ist eine Mischung aus einem historischen Sachbuch und einer Biografie der Künstlerin, aufbereitet in einer künstlerischen Form, mal als Collage, mal als Comic. Die deutsche Ausgabe erschien im Herbst 2023 im Carlsen Verlag und schlägt mit 32,-€ zu Buche.

Das Buch ist in verschiedene Zeitepochen aufgeteilt und beginnt ca. 1950, dem Jahr in dem die Künstlerin zur Welt kam. Auszugsweise erfährt man etwas über ihre Kindheit und Jugend, ihre Familie und ihr Leben in einem kleinen, konservativen Dorf in Groß Britannien. Während Kate nach und nach heranwächst, bekommt man auch Einblicke in die allgemeine Entwicklung der queeren Kultur, die aufgrund diverser Verbote im Verborgenen ausgelebt wird. Viele bekannte Persönlichkeiten finden in den Collagen Erwähnungen, die die verschiedenen Etappen aus dem Leben der Künstlerin einläuten – aber auch unbekanntere Personen, Ereignisse und Gruppierungen, finden einen Platz in „United Queerdom“. Dies gibt Lesenden die Möglichkeit ein wenig tiefer in die queere Geschichte Groß Britanniens einzutauchen und eine neue Sicht auf die Entwicklung zu gewinnen. Zudem erfährt man auch mehr von Kate Charlesworth, denn ihre Vergangenheit steht im Fokus der eigentlichen Geschichte – ihr Heranwachsen, ihr Leben als Künstlerin, die vielen Berührungspunkte, die sie mit der queeren Szene ab den 70er Jahren hatte. Es ist durchaus spannend, sie auf ihrem Weg zu begleiten und durch ihre Augen die Entwicklung der queeren Szene zu erleben.

Was die Lektüre ein wenig anstrengend macht, sind allerdings die Zeichnungen. Kate Charlesworth hat einen sehr eigenen, kantigen, teils skizzenhaften Stil, der es Lesenden mitunter nicht leicht macht, den Ereignissen zu folgen, zumal die Künstlerin keine kontinuierliche Geschichte erzählt. Stattdessen gibt sie kurze Einblicke in ihr Leben – mal sind es wichtige Gespräche mit Eltern, Freunden oder Bekannten, mal prägende oder besondere Ereignisse. Diese werden je nach Umfang auf wenigen Seiten dargestellt, teils mit sehr vielen Panelen, was einige Seiten recht voll und unübersichtlich wirken lässt. Auch fällt es schwer, die einzelnen Personen auseinander zu halten oder im Gedächtnis zu behalten, so dass man mit der Fülle an Namen, die genannt werden auch in Verbindung mit den Illustrationen wenig anfangen kann. Hinzu kommen die zeitlichen Sprünge ins Jahr 2019, in der sich die Künstlerin mit ihren Freund*innen an die Zeiten zurückerinnert, als sie jünger waren, wen sie gekannt hatten und wie sie die Zeit erlebt haben. So interessant diese Gespräche grundsätzlich sind, sorgen sie doch für zusätzliche Verwirrung, da man gar nicht so genau weiß, um wen es sich bei den Figuren handelt.
Auch die Collagen, die neue Abschnitte einläuten wirken mitunter sehr voll gestopft – optisch (durch teils realistische teils comichafte Bilder) und sprachlich (viel Text, der kreuz und quer gesetzt wurde). Die Fülle an Informationen sind mit der Zeit erschlagend, was zur Folge hat, dass nur wenig von den teils interessanten Fakten wirklich im Gedächtnis bleibt. Hier wäre es schöner gewesen, den Seiten mehr Struktur zu geben und sie übersichtlicher zu gestalten und den ein oder anderen Fakt ein wenig ausführlicher zu gestalten, anstatt möglichst viele Punkte auf einer Doppelseite abzuhandeln.

Fazit:
„United Queerdom“ von Kate Charlesworth bietet eine interessante Mischung aus Graphic/Comic Biografie und der LGBTQIA+-Geschichte von 1950 bis heute, die vom Grundkonzept her durchaus spannend und innovativ ist, jedoch in der Umsetzung nur bedingt überzeugen kann. So schön es ist, mehr über unbekanntere Persönlichkeiten und Ereignisse der queeren Entwicklung bzw. Szene von Groß Britannien zu erfahren, so schwer fällt es Lesenden der Geschichte zu folgen, die Personen auseinander zu halten und den Ereignissen zu folgen. Insgesamt wäre es besser gewesen, hätte die Künstlerin auf die oder andere kleine Geschichte verzichtet und sich stattdessen auf einige, wenige Schwerpunkte aus ihrem Leben konzentriert, anstatt die Graphic Novel so voll zu packen.
Wer dennoch Interesse an der Entwicklung der britischen, queeren Szene hat und gerne einige unbekanntere, schillernder Persönlichkeiten kennen lernen will, sollte dennoch zugreifen – „United Queerdom“ enthält einen Fundus an spannenden, informativen Einblicken, die kaum ein anderes historisches Sachbuch zu bieten hat.

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Diese Graphic Novel ist ein Teil Memoir und ein Teil queere Geschichte. Vor allem mit Fokus auf Grossbritannien, wie der Titel schon erahnen lässt.

Viele Teile waren informativ und durch die Lektüre erhielt ich einen weiteren Einblick in die Geschichte der LGBTQIA+-Bewegung, dennoch konnte mich das Werk nicht vollends überzeugen.

Dies lag unter anderem am Stil, der mir persönlich einfach nicht lag. Die Leseführung war mir zu verwirrend und oft verlor ich die richtige Reihenfolge aus den Augen. Dies mag daran liegen, dass ich nicht noch so viel Erfahrung mit Graphic Novels habe, sodass ich wohl etwas zu überfordert war. Auch die einzelnen Figuren konnte ich kaum unterscheiden, was wiederum die Zeitsprünge schwer nachvollziehbar machten. Die Collagen beinhalteten mir oft zu viel Text und Informationen, sodass das ganze Buch auf mich sehr nervös und überladen wirkte.

Trotzdem war es eine aufschlussreiche Lektüre, die einen vertieften Umgang mit bisher verdrängter Geschichte ermöglicht. Denn es gab immer schon Queers, nur jetzt weigern sie sich mehr und mehr, ins Abseits gedrängt zu werden.

[Mima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Upea teos jossa käydään LGBTI+historiaa läpi vuosikymmenten aina 50-luvulta nykypäivään saakka. Kirjailijan oma tarina kulkee rintarinnan historiallisten tapahtumien ja henkilökuvausten kanssa. Kirjassa on paljon nostalgisia pastisseja, rintanappeja, klubikortteja, mainoksia ja valokuvia. Kirjaa oli raskasta lukea (siksikin että se on fyysisesti iso ja painava) mutta menneisyys kaikkine vääryyksineen ja rikoksineen ihmisyyttä vastaan on niin lähellä historiallisesti ja jälleen on uusi vihan aalto noussut Euroopassakin.

[Rory · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. Un livre important au style pas come les autres. Un livre sur les luttes qui nous rappelle que nos droits n’ont jamais été donnés facilement. Un livre qui apprend beaucoup.
Mais qui nous rappelle qu’il ne faut jamais arrêter de lutter. Encore moins aujourd’hui

[Eve]

Mon doux que je suis mêlée. Beaucoup beaucoup d’info, et la traduction n’aide pas (je ne comprends pas la moitié des expressions françaises on dirait 🥴). Je donne une pause à mon cerveau et je dis bye bye 👋

[Júlia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Für Regional Studies Scotland and North Ireland mit Don Lowman gelesen.
Viel Info und garantiert ganz viel Arbeit, das alles zu zeichnen, die Struktur des Comics und der rote Faden fehlen aber gänzlich, was die Lektüre weniger genießbar als erwünscht gemacht.

[Léa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un must-read mais je pense que deux tomes aurait été mieux. Or l'autrice a décidé de mélanger son histoire perso, et des doubles pages sur des personnalités phares et importantes de la commu LGBTQUIA+ ce qui parfois me semblait un peu brouillon.

[louise ୨୧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

un peu cringe sur certains points, et j’ai grincé des dents parce que j’étais pas tout le temps d’accord

j’ai trouvé que la mise en page était assez difficile à suivre et à apprécier, trop chargée et pas bien organisée

mais ça reste très touchant et l’autrice s’attache à donner une histoire la plus vaste qu’elle peut de la communauté LGBT depuis les années 50, et c’est très intéressant!!

[Lara]

Beaucoup d’informations, c’était dur à lire mais j’ai aimé et appris des choses

[Thomas Brassington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous art, paired with funny and insightful commentary on queer history since the mid 20th century