Graphic Medicine
Home / sexuality

Gender Queer: A Memoir

by

by Victoria James Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer: A Memoir offers readers a look into self-discovery and what it means to grow up without the language to describe gender. The memoir unfolds through moments of friction and curiosity. It probes the kinds of questions that surface long before anyone is introduced to terms like nonbinary or genderqueer. “Why are girls supposed to shave their legs but boys don’t have to?” (p. 42). Questions like this appear throughout the memoir, capturing the subtle but persistent ways that gendered expectations shape a child’s understanding of what is “normal.” Kobabe describes these pressures as… Read More

Surviving the City Series

by

by Angélique Roy   Surviving the City is a three-volume young adult graphic novel series set in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is written by Tasha Spillett, an Afro-Indigenous educator, public speaker, and scholar of Cree and Trinidadian descent, whose passion is to advocate for Indigenous women and women of colour and to create supportive, joyful worlds for children within her work. All three volumes are illustrated by Natasha Donovan, a Métis and white illustrator from Vancouver known for her work in children’s literature and graphic novels. The series follows two teenage best friends, Miikwan, who is Anishinaabe, and Dez, who is… Read More

Bionic

by

By Martha Cornog   Bionic centers on the flawed romance between two high school students: Victor and Patricia. Patricia’s father runs Venn Industries, which manufactures  robotic replacement parts for injured humans (i.e., prostheses), including eventually the pretty Patricia. Victor’s father works for that corporation. Science fiction comics starring a beautiful bionic girl have already attracted large fandoms, especially through two popular manga/anime characters: Major Matoko Kusanagi of the Ghost in the Shell stories, and Alita of the Battle Angel Alita manga series. Other graphic novels centering on the body enhancement theme include fiction/nonfiction blended in Helene Chauchois’ The Body Factory… Read More

Girlsplaining: A (Sorta) Memoir

by

by Saily Marrero Content advisory: Some illustrations of naked bodies Girlsplaining: A (Sorta) Memoir written and illustrated by Katja Klengel and translated by Nika Knight is a collection of stories centered around relatable women’s issues. In seven short chapters, Klengel offers her insight and experience on several taboo subjects like body hair, female sexuality, being child free, and gender. In chapter 2, “The Ghost of the Rusty Razor Blades” she talks about female body hair and how stigmatizing and shameful it was, that she opted to hide her body. On page 31, in what I hope is an exaggerated illustration,… Read More

Sunhead

by

By Carrie Forbes, MLS The graphic novel, Sunhead, is written and illustrated by Alex Assan and is set in Tel Aviv around 2008. Rotem (she/her, the protagonist,) is a teenager currently attending high school. The primary theme in the book is Rotem’s journey of self-discovery. Assan’s illustrations are magical in how he was able to capture the vast range of Rotem’s emotions and feelings as she navigates the difficult passage into adulthood, her own sexuality, gender, physical identity, and romantic feelings. Other important themes included are living with unidentified medical issues and having to endure medical appointments that may not… Read More