R/B Mertz

4 / 5 ⭐️‘s

"Burning Butch" by R/B Mertz

This is a brave and impactful memoir that delves into the difficulties of being a trans/non-binary butch person growing up in a conservative Catholic subculture. The author reflects on how faith, sexuality, and gender identity intersect and the struggles that arise when these aspects clash.

Mertz's writing is candid and vulnerable, portraying the challenges they faced while growing up split between two worlds - one of safety and the other of abuse. They write about their experiences being homeschooled, their exposure to secular American culture, and the dichotomy between their true self and the world they were taught to fear. The author's account of their struggles with their faith and sexuality while attending a conservative Catholic college in the early 2000s is particularly compelling.

This ARC audiobook was provided by @Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)

In honor of Pride Month, I've been working some LGBTQ+ memoirs into my reading. Burning Butch is one of those titles—an articulate, quirky recounting of the author's journey from fundamentalist Catholicism to their current identity as a nonbinary butch teaching at a Catholic University and still wrestling with issues of faith. I was struck by the commonalities and differences between Mertz's experiences and my own. I had an easier time of it embracing my identity (in this case nonbinary no frills femme lesbian) than did Mertz, and I was also raised by a religious family, but my family's religion was Congregationalism. Congregationalism more or less leaves each of us to find our own path with a minimum of dogma, but has high expectations for living our beliefs. (There's a joke that UCC—United Church of Christ—actually stands for Unitarians Considering Christianity.)

If you're interested in learning more about nonbinary queer experience, Burning Butch is a title you'll appreciate. You'll also appreciate it if, like a great many of us, you've come to your queer identity after a childhood firmly grounded in religion. This is memoir, not fiction, and Mertz is inviting us to stand alongside them as they reflect on their journey of identity.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via EdelweissPlus; the opinions are my own.… (meer)