Discussion | #ownvoice versus non #ownvoice authors?

Discussions around #ownvoice authors are not exactly new in the book blogging community. It’s something I’ve seen spoken about quite a lot by other bloggers but is not something that I’d especially given much thought to before. The extent of my thought process around #ownvoice authors had been that I should continue to support them and champion their work. If there was a book about an issue affecting black people written by a black author then I would definitely boost the #ownvoice author. And, in cases where a book is written by a non #ownvoice author and has problematic content in it then I speak up about why the book is problematic and recommend #ownvoice alternatives.

But what happens when a book deals with sensitive marginalized issues or is potentially problematic without it being clear if the author is #ownvoices or not? 

Blogmas | Being Trans During the Winter Holidays

The Winter Holidays can be tough on many of us. It’s often a time when a lot of difficult circumstances and experiences arise during the times when you least want to (or are able to) deal with them. It might be the first (or even tenth) holiday season without a loved one, where you’re without a roof over your head, where you struggle to cope with addiction or family members who are addicts, where you have no money for heating let alone any presents… the list goes on. This Blogmas I wanted to acknowledge the difficulties that many of us face during the winter holidays and talk about my own experiences of being trans during this time. Obviously, trans people are not a homogenous group so rather than generalize the ‘trans experience’, this post will explicitly be about my own experiences and I welcome other trans people to add their voices too.

ARC Review: Autonomous | Full of potential but ended up full of transphobia instead

TITLE: Autonomous
AUTHOR: Annalee Newitz
SERIES: N/A
RELEASED: September 2017; Tor
GENRE: Science Fiction
FORMAT: e-Book

KEY INFO: pharma piracy, artificial intelligence/human relationships, bioengineering, anti-capitalism, sentience, science, ethics
REPRESENTATION: m/m romance, gender transition, android, mental illness, Polish main character, bisexual main character, Asian female main character
CONTENT NOTICES: transphobia, internalized homophobia, homophobia, abusive relationship, coerced transition

amazon // book depository // goodreads

Autonomous was one of my most anticipated reads of Autumn 2017 and I was ecstatic when I received a copy on NetGalley to read for free in exchange for a review. To some extent, Autonomous did not disappoint and yet, to another extent, Autonomous is downright homophobic and transphobic.