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The 2000s Made Me Gay
The 2000s Made Me Gay: Essays on Pop Culture | Grace Perry
11 posts | 10 read | 17 to read
From The Onion and Reductress contributor, this collection of essays is a hilarious nostalgic trip through beloved 2000s media, interweaving cultural criticism and personal narrative to examine how a very straight decade forged a very queer woman "Honest, funny, smart, and illuminating. Anna Drezen, co-head writer of SNL "If you came of age at the intersection of Mean Girls and The L Word: Read this book. Sarah Pappalardo, editor in chief and co-founder of Reductress Todays gay youth have dozens of queer peer heroes, both fictional and real, but former gay teenager Grace Perry did not have that luxury. Instead, she had to search for queerness in the (largely straight) teen cultural phenomena the aughts had to offer: in Lindsay Lohans fall from grace, Gossip Girl, Katy Perrys I Kissed A Girl, country-era Taylor Swift, and Seth Cohen jumping on a coffee cart. And, for better or worse, these touch points shaped her adult identity. She came out on the other side like many millennials did: in her words, gay as hell. Throw on your Von Dutch hats and join Grace on a journey back through the pop culture moments of the aughts, before the cataclysmic shift in LGBTQ representation and acceptancea time not so long ago, which many seem to forget.
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Peddler410
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One of two current reads

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Mariasimon
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Pickpick

Grace Perry discusses how many iconic 2000s pop culture tv shows/ music/ movies/ etc impacted and influenced her coming out and queerness (Taylor swift, glee, Disney movies, Harry Potter and more). Sometimes this book was a little too relatable and triggered things in me I had not thought of ever or in a long time. Enjoyable essays though that encapsulated the 2000s and (At least my) queerness.

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TheBookDream
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Reading this openly in my living room because I‘m tired of being closeted in my own house. This could go poorly.

Bookwormjillk Good luck 🍀🤗 3y
Chrissyreadit I hope it does not go poorly ❤️ 3y
TheBookDream @Bookwormjillk and @Chrissyreadit it went fine. I‘m out, but basically keep on the down low because of religious family. Tired. 3y
Chrissyreadit ❤️ 3y
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mdemanatee
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Pickpick

I am a sucker for pop culture essays—and was especially looking forward to essays about the decade I came of age in through a different lens. It can be easy to forget just how far we‘ve come since the 2000s. (Also I would like another series a la VH1s “I loved the 80s” this time not done while still in the decade)

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britt_brooke
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Mehso-so

⭐️⭐️⭐️ As a “geriatric millennial” 🙄 myself, I felt a smidge too old for most of the pop culture phenomena covered here. Maybe it‘s just differing tastes. I didn‘t watch any of the shows except Dawson‘s Creek. Pacey forever! But I digress. Perry‘s astute observations relate pop culture to her own self-realization, and the broader societal picture in a thoughtful way.

PS. I really hate the term “aughts” and it‘s used a lot here.

vivastory First off, I also hate the term aughts. Second, geriatric millennial made me legit cackle. 😂😂 3y
britt_brooke @vivastory Some asshole thinks that‘s a good term for those born from 1980-1985. It‘s not!! 😂 I‘d like to lump my 1981 self with gen x, but I don‘t get a say. (edited) 3y
Alfoster OMG, I‘m way older but I loved Dawson‘s Creek! Think I‘m a geriatric boomer!😆😫😂😂😂 3y
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britt_brooke @Alfoster 😂😂 You‘re so funny! I used to watch it with my mom. We both loved it! 3y
Cinfhen I think I may be more like a dinosaur 🦕 if you‘re “geriatric”!!! This is still on my TBR but I‘ll make it a #BorrowNotBuy 3y
MidnightBookGirl Thankfully, my 1977 self if firmly in the Gen X camp, but I still think this sounds like a fun read. One of my fav comedians has a Netflix special called Elder Millennial, and it's hilarious. 3y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick Aughts is a garbage word but I also can think of a better word. As a Nov 1979 girl, I think I'm technically Gen X and embrace it, but since I'm not far off I have been known to refer to myself as Millennial Adjacent. @MidnightBookGirl Eliza is great! Elder Millennial was a riot. 3y
britt_brooke @Cinfhen 😂 Definitely borrow. I grabbed it in a recent audio sale. 3y
britt_brooke @MidnightBookGirl @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick I‘m definitely going to look for the standup special - thanks! 3y
JamieArc My 1983 self prefers Xennial. I find it most fitting 😊 3y
britt_brooke @JamieArc I remember not being a fan of Xennial when I first heard it, but it‘s infinitely better than “geriatric.” 😂 3y
SaunteringVaguelyDownwards I prefer the term Oregon Trail generation for that segment. 🐂 3y
britt_brooke @SaunteringVaguelyDownwards I can 100% get on board with that! Playing Oregon Trail is truly my first memory of the PC. 😂 I love having experienced so many technological advances. 3y
britt_brooke @MidnightBookGirl @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick Y‘all. I watched Elder Millennial today and laughed my ass off. Just what I needed! Plus that sailor-inspired outfit! 🔥 Thank you both for the rec! I‘d never watched Iliza‘s standup before (though I read her book) and now I want to watch all of her stuff. 3y
JamieArc @SaunteringVaguelyDownwards I love that! The OT Generation 😂 3y
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Megabooks
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Pickpick

Born in 1989, Grace takes a look at the pop culture of her teen years and how it influenced her coming out. Not the 90s Ellen Time cover, nor the non-event coming outs of the 2010s, the 2000s were a particularly transitional time in lesbian culture. She writes about the negative stereotype at the heart of Mean Girls, the Disney Channel‘s lack of representation, JK Rowling, and Katy Perry‘s “I Kissed a Girl” among others. Recommend the #audiobook!

Hooked_on_books What a fabulous title! 😂 3y
mdemanatee Oohh glad for this review! I‘ve been eyeing this one because I love essays that approach things through the pop culture lens. 3y
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Megabooks @mdemanatee I flew through it. Just very funny, and she did a great job putting the pop culture event in the context of broader LGBT culture as well as her personal story. 3y
Cinfhen This sounds really fun 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen it was! 3y
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WanderingBookaneer
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brittanyreads The map inside!! 😍😍 3y
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WanderingBookaneer
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My LGBTQ order from Books Are Magic finally arrived! #LGBTQ #LGBTQYA #Essays #Nonfiction #Fiction

Copwithabook I‘m looking forward to reading With Teeth 3y
WanderingBookaneer @Copwithabook : I loved Mostly Dead Things and am very excited about this one. It gives me We Need to Talk about Kevin vibes, but I hope is not as dark. 3y
sarahbarnes I liked Mostly Dead Things a lot too! 3y
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