Story is a powerful thing. It has the ability to cut through the rhetoric, disarm our prejudices, and reveal our common humanity. Whether it is a memoir, a crime thriller, or a romance, stories connect us to each other.
The first LGBTQ+ novel I read was Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden, a sweet teenage coming-out story. Not long after that, I read Rita Mae Brown's Rubyfruit Jungle and Katherine V. Forrest's Murder at the Nightwood Bar.
This was 30 years ago and early into my new life as a transgender woman.
More than anything, these books made me feel seen. They helped me see that being queer is normal. At the same time, they reflected the world as hostile to anything that challenges the straight, white patriarchy.
What was the first book you read with an LGBTQ+ main character? How did it make you feel? What did you enjoy about it?
I will draw a name from those who leave legit comments (spammers and haters excluded) and the winner will get one of my ebooks free.
13 comments
Rubyfruit Jungle. It was in my high school library in the 1970s.
The first LGBTQ book I can remember reading was Chaser. I have been a fan of Dharma ever since.
Hallowed Murder by Ellen Hart, the first in the Jane Lawless mysteries. It was the first time I described a book (and then the series) as “delicious.”