What Inspired This Book is Gay: An Exclusive Guest Post from Juno Dawson, Author of This Book is Gay

Before I was a writer, I was a teacher in the UK. I was very lucky to be included in a big East Sussex project studying the impact of SRE (Sex and Relationships Education) in both elementary and high school. I was part of a pilot study which tested learning materials and lesson plans. 

However, it became achingly clear that LGBTQ people were not part of these lessons or books. Brighton, where I live, is a very queer-friendly area and lots of the kids in my school had two mums or two dads, and I was worried they might feel ‘othered’ in these classes. So, I set about recommending LGBTQ inclusive texts for inclusion in the curriculum. These included the seminal And Tango Makes Three (Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson) and The Family Book (Todd Parr). 

I noted that there were books for young adults about puberty and sex. There was wonderful fiction, such as Judy Blume’s timeless Forever or David Levithan’s Two Boys Kissing, and there was non-fiction but that tended to be rather dry. They read like textbooks. They were informative, but they weren’t very fun. 

Later, once I’d left the classroom to focus on writing, my UK publisher at the time asked if I’d consider writing a non-fiction text aimed at LGBTQ teens. I immediately knew there was a gap in the market. 

As a teenager, I was so lost and confused. I was just pre-broadband and was much too scared to ask anyone the awkward questions. I wasn’t raised in a bunker; I’d seen and heard things on TV (What’s HIV? What’s a blow job? Why are people worried about crabs, they are nice, surely?) but didn’t know where to turn to verify these strange new words. I was also deeply unsure of my identity. Three-year-old me knew I was a girl, but I certainly didn’t know of anyone who’d transitioned. This left me feeling very sad indeed. 

After some initial hesitancy — I felt I couldn’t and shouldn’t speak on behalf of the entire LGBTQ community — I said I’d write what became This Book Is Gay on two conditions: one, I wanted to interview a diverse cohort of LGBTQ people to offer multiple, uncensored guidance; and two, it had to be funny. The last thing teenaged readers need is yet another textbook. My publisher agreed, and the rest is herstory. 

Ten years on, there’s something very special about having adults come up to me on trains or at festivals to tell me This Book Is Gay found them when they were thirteen or fourteen, and how it shaped the adults they are now. I could never have dreamed. I hope that my transgender-focused What’s the T? has the same impact in time. I sleep soundly at night knowing something I made has helped. What a lovely thing. 

Juno’s YA Recommendations: