Gay Science Book Review
Summary: With tongue firmly planted in cheek (you decide which) Rob Anderson takes readers through the world of LGBTQ+ people via a science text book format.
5
Fabulously Fun
I’ll be honest… when I requested Gay Science I was expecting a book covering science from a queer perspective, instead it’s more like covering queerness from a science perspective… sort of.
As soon as you open the book it’s quite apparent this isn’t going to be taking things too seriously. It reminded me a bit of The Onion, it’s a bit like what you’d get if you compiled a list of questions from Quora and then had someone with some sass and wit answering them.
I mean a page or so in, you are presented with a bold message saying “Before you ban this book”… which goes on to point out what the book is “sort of” and what it’s not. You then go on to find chapters divided into categories such as Natural Sciences with topics such as “Why Do Gays Love Drama?” and “Why Do Gay Men Colour Their Hair In A Crisis?” or the Social Science which contains such burning questions as “Does College Make People Bi?” or “Why Do Gay Men Talk Like That?”.
Continuing through the book you will come across diagrams, graphs and explanations to these questions and more and if at any stage you are taking this seriously… you’ve missed the point. The presentation, from the bright coloured and debossed cover to the stock images “that are totally indistinguishable from the real images” it’s a visual treat from cover to cover. Rob is clearly not afraid of making fun of himself (or perhaps just sharing very intimate things qualm free) and despite the humorous nature of the whole thing… you can actually find some very good points and valid arguments for issues facing LGBTIQA+ people.
As stated early in the book (remember that “Before you ban this book” page) this isn’t a book for children so as much as it is presented as a text book… it’s really a text book for mature readers… so perhaps late high school at the earliest and even then, only if you aren’t in one of the areas that are just as likely to burn a book as ban it because it doesn’t fit their limited world view.
Final Thoughts:
If your humour tends to lean to the left or you are part of (or an ally of) the LGBTIQA+ community then there’s a good chance you will get quite a few chuckles out of Gay Science. I certainly recommend grabbing a copy… you might even learn something… but probably not what you thought you might learn.
About the Author
Chris O'Connor Father of four, husband of one and all round oddity. Gaming at home since about 1982 with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Moving on to the more traditional PC genre in the years that followed with the classic Jump Joe and Alley Cat. CGA, EGA, VGA and beyond PC's have been central to my gaming but I've also enjoyed consoles and hand helds along the way (who remembers the Atari Lynx?). Would have been actor/film maker, jack of many trades master of none.
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