Live, Laugh, Lesbian

August 14, 2023
Social media influencer Scott debuts with a chatty if erratic guide aimed at newly out “baby gays.” Billing herself as “your lesbian big sister,” Scott recalls coming out at 17 and realizing that, while her “identity had been completely dismantled... the entire world had aligned”; here she guides those at similar crossroads through “the many exciting facets of lesbianhood,” including coming out, building a supportive queer community, developing a queer fashion aesthetic, and forging a sturdier self-acceptance (“You were born with this sexuality as much as you were born with your hair color”). Scott at times seems unsure of her intended audience, alternately chatting to millennial peers, and deploying a somewhat pedantic tone to address Gen-Z readers (whom she reminds that the “elder lesbians” they “may not feel akin to because they don’t know who JoJo Siwa is spent a lot of their lives... fighting against prejudice”); she also intercuts worthy information about trans women and nonbinary people somewhat clumsily, generally via awkwardly interspersed accounts from members of those communities. Nonetheless, readers will be charmed by her relatable advice; useful elucidation of such terms as “lipstick lesbian” (“favors a glamorous and traditionally feminine style”); and unflagging enthusiasm for the “uplifting, soul-gratifying, mind-blowing feeling of living a queer life.” Readers looking to more fully embrace their sexuality will find this an animated and upbeat starting point.