I was honestly expecting more, but this book was largely dry and somewhat repetitive.

To start, the book often refers to other books the author has wrote very often. I understand the author to have written many books, but when the current book references the others so much, it ends up feeling more like a catalogue than its own standalone biography.

Another thing that was frustrating was the author’s assertion about being a lesbian as a ‘choice’. For her to ‘choose’ to be a lesbian and to then turn her nose up at any form of lesbian culture that she has no personal interest in made me cringe. The equation of wearing dog collars to nazi uniforms or female masculinity to upholding patriarchy is just downright absurd. The author recalling breaking down into tears from viewing lesbian erotica (made by and for lesbians) was…something!

I wish that the author had made a larger distinction between ‘political lesbians’ and ‘lesbians’, because throughout the book I got a larger sense that the author’s choice of lesbianism is that of simply political convenience rather than actual attraction to women. She spends more time talking about transgender people than she does talking about lesbian relationships. Speaking of-

The text referring to trans people is infantilizing at best and dehumanizing at worst. Calling trans men ‘unhappy lesbians’ is a massive misnomer to many trans men’s experiences and backgrounds. Considering trans men as such reduces the autonomy and expression that they have, and falsely assumes that trans men have no perception of the patriarchy or misogyny.
On the flip side, The author degrades trans women, and has clear disgust when anyone perceived as a man expresses femininity. The author recalls gawking at someone wearing a skirt and knitting while attending a conference, and another time when someone was playing piano.

It seems that there is no proper way to express oneself regardless of your body or comfort- Express masculinity, and you’re perpetuating the patriarchy, but if you express femininity, you’re a sheep or a pervert.

Still on the topic of trans people, the author considers trans activism and feminism as opposing forces, when in actuality there are many joined intersections. Many feminists of all backgrounds have considered trans people as equal fighters for self-determination, accessibility and education of medical care, and more. Of course, the author doesn’t consider trans-inclusive feminists as ‘real’ feminists, and considers them traitors to women as well.

A smaller note- The book is called ‘Trigger Warning’, but aside from the introduction, there’s really nothing in the book to tie-in the title. The introduction lambasts students of today for asking for trigger warnings, yet strangely applauds women’s groups later in the book for ‘sensitivity’ in warning female audiences of the contents they’ll show. Hm!

That all said, this book is both frustrating and boring. I didn’t even get into some other notes I’ve highlighted, including that of Israel (criticizing a military state is anti-semitic, apparently), religion (the author doesn’t seem to engage with feminists who have them), class (feminist think about class too much for the author’s tastes), trans people in xxx (trans people aren’t exploited or dehumanized by it the way women are, I guess), and LGBT orgs (all of them are bad for acknowledging trans people, meanwhile orgs that shoulder right-wing groups are okay), to name a few.

This was the first book I read from this author, though if her other books are just repeating what I already read here beat-for-beat, I might not bother finishing let alone reviewing. We’ll see.