Girls Can Kiss Now: Essays
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- Create Date：2022-02-17 14:17:01
- Update Date：2025-09-23
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- Author：Jill Gutowitz
- ISBN：B0984163YF
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Summary
Perfect for fans of Samantha Irby and Trick Mirror， a funny， whip-smart collection of personal essays exploring the intersection of queerness， relationships， pop culture， the internet， and identity。
As the self-proclaimed “Overlord of Lesbian Twitter，” Jill Gutowitz’s life—for better and worse— has always been on a collision course with pop culture。 There’s the time the FBI showed up at her door because of something she tweeted about Game of Thrones。 Pop songs that have soundtrack the worst moments of her life。 And of course， the pivotal moment when Orange Is the New Black hit the airwaves and broke down the door to her sexuality。 In these honest examinations of how culture has evolved in the millennium， Jill explores how pop culture can be a house of mirrors， reflecting our values and refracting how we make meaning out of ourselves。
With her incisively hilarious insight， Gutowitz explores how pop culture pervades her life—always teaching， distracting， disappointing， revealing， and reviling her。 Girls Can Kiss Now is a fresh and intoxicating blend of personal experiences， sharp observations， and plenty of humor。 Through Jill’s sharp wit and story， we see ourselves， the baggage we still carry as a generation and in our media， but also something joyous and uproarious—our very queer near-future。
As the self-proclaimed “Overlord of Lesbian Twitter，” Jill Gutowitz’s life—for better and worse— has always been on a collision course with pop culture。 There’s the time the FBI showed up at her door because of something she tweeted about Game of Thrones。 Pop songs that have soundtrack the worst moments of her life。 And of course， the pivotal moment when Orange Is the New Black hit the airwaves and broke down the door to her sexuality。 In these honest examinations of how culture has evolved in the millennium， Jill explores how pop culture can be a house of mirrors， reflecting our values and refracting how we make meaning out of ourselves。
With her incisively hilarious insight， Gutowitz explores how pop culture pervades her life—always teaching， distracting， disappointing， revealing， and reviling her。 Girls Can Kiss Now is a fresh and intoxicating blend of personal experiences， sharp observations， and plenty of humor。 Through Jill’s sharp wit and story， we see ourselves， the baggage we still carry as a generation and in our media， but also something joyous and uproarious—our very queer near-future。
Reviews
Morgan
，
I am definitely the wrong demographic for this book， despite there being plenty of surface overlap on the topics covered。 However， the execution of these essays I can only describe as manic puppy who just learned--and now loves--the word "fuck"。 It took a very long time for me to figure what this book was even about， as the first half-plus chapters is a flittering of one topic to the next with a quasi-history of lesbian representation in the media to the author's childhood lesbian repression。 By I am definitely the wrong demographic for this book， despite there being plenty of surface overlap on the topics covered。 However， the execution of these essays I can only describe as manic puppy who just learned--and now loves--the word "fuck"。 It took a very long time for me to figure what this book was even about， as the first half-plus chapters is a flittering of one topic to the next with a quasi-history of lesbian representation in the media to the author's childhood lesbian repression。 By maybe the last third， more of a trajectory of a story came out， something that held together the "essays" in a theme， but by this point I had lost all interest。 These aren't observational humor essays， they feel more like someone's personal blog ramblings。 Honestly， this just reads to me as someone's Covid project more than anything。ARC provided by NetGalley 。。。more
Christine
，
3 starsBeing gay， this one reached out to me， and I was lucky enough to receive an advanced review copy from Net Galley。 I would like to thank Net Galley， Atria Books， and Jill Gutowitz for granting me my copy。This series of essays by Ms。 Gutowitz reflects the crossroads between millennialism， lesbianism， pop culture， and the search for identity as Ms。 Gutowitz attempts to define herself in this crazy world。 The narrative extends from the time Ms。 Gutowitz was a young girl to the end of 2020 wit 3 starsBeing gay， this one reached out to me， and I was lucky enough to receive an advanced review copy from Net Galley。 I would like to thank Net Galley， Atria Books， and Jill Gutowitz for granting me my copy。This series of essays by Ms。 Gutowitz reflects the crossroads between millennialism， lesbianism， pop culture， and the search for identity as Ms。 Gutowitz attempts to define herself in this crazy world。 The narrative extends from the time Ms。 Gutowitz was a young girl to the end of 2020 with most of the time probably spent in the 1990s and the aughts。 The writing is very good and overall quite humorous。 The tone of the book varies from fear， confusion， frustration， and hopelessness， to heartfelt， to joyfulness， not necessarily in that order。 Though I found the essays to be enlightening， entertaining， and informative， I would have appreciated them even more if I were a millennial rather than a boomer and had had a better sense of pop culture and its icons during the time frame referenced by the writings。 I did however enjoy Ms。 Gutowitz’s journey to finding herself and wanted to both hug her and high-five her at the end。I believe Ms。 Gutowitz deserves congratulations for putting her story out there for all of us to learn from。 I wish her the very best and all the happiness in the world。 。。。more
K M
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I wish I was better with words so I could accurately describe how good and funny this book was。 About 2 essays/chapters in， I felt like Jill was a good friend of mine just recounting stuff about life。 I actually laughed out loud sometimes while reading。 As a 20 something queer， this book was relatable and such an enjoyment to read！
Lisa
，
I started following Jill on twitter after a couple of RT's I saw my best friend make。 She cracked me up and I found her to always be very endearing。 This collection of Essays made me love her even more。 I did struggle at the start （Maybe the age difference between us？） but once I got into it more I was very honored to be the eyes to read what she had to share。 It's vulnerable and funny。 We stan a queer twitter icon。 I started following Jill on twitter after a couple of RT's I saw my best friend make。 She cracked me up and I found her to always be very endearing。 This collection of Essays made me love her even more。 I did struggle at the start （Maybe the age difference between us？） but once I got into it more I was very honored to be the eyes to read what she had to share。 It's vulnerable and funny。 We stan a queer twitter icon。 。。。more
C。M。B。
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Funny！ Very wealthy white though。 I think certain demographics will enjoy more than others。
Nicole
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This book was exhausting to read - I mean that in the best way possible。 I was running to keep up with Jill， the author the entire time。 I wanted to read this book as fast as possible but I also wanted to slow down and savor every minute of it。 There's so much in this book that's relatable （to any female millennial）。 I found myself screaming inside so many times "I'M NOT ALONEEEEE。 SOMEBODY GETS ME。" Jill did a wonderful job of weaving her personal stories with pop-culture references。 Since this This book was exhausting to read - I mean that in the best way possible。 I was running to keep up with Jill， the author the entire time。 I wanted to read this book as fast as possible but I also wanted to slow down and savor every minute of it。 There's so much in this book that's relatable （to any female millennial）。 I found myself screaming inside so many times "I'M NOT ALONEEEEE。 SOMEBODY GETS ME。" Jill did a wonderful job of weaving her personal stories with pop-culture references。 Since this is an essay collection there were some repetitive parts but I didn't care because I loved the book so much。 I was given a free ARC of this but will be buying the book as soon as it comes out。 I received a free copy of this ebook from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 All expressed opinions are my own and do not reflect any stance or position held by the author or publisher。 。。。more
Sam Maggs
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I have rarely felt so truly SEEN by a book。 I laughed， I cried， it was gay。 Flawless。
Amanda
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When I started reading this book of essays， I knew only what I had seen of Jill on Twitter。 And when I say that， I mean I loved everything I'd seen！At first， I thought this book was a little Try Hard， but then I hit a placemarker somewhere around halfway， and the book turned more sincere。（Not to say that pop culture references aren't sincere - I also operate in that fashion in my everyday life！）It's just that， once we started getting down to the foundation and the baseline of who Jill is and how When I started reading this book of essays， I knew only what I had seen of Jill on Twitter。 And when I say that， I mean I loved everything I'd seen！At first， I thought this book was a little Try Hard， but then I hit a placemarker somewhere around halfway， and the book turned more sincere。（Not to say that pop culture references aren't sincere - I also operate in that fashion in my everyday life！）It's just that， once we started getting down to the foundation and the baseline of who Jill is and how she actually processes the world and all of the very real things that have led her to her current perspective-- man， that's what I love。Ultimately， I am so glad to have gotten to know her better through these essays。 I'm so grateful that now when I see her on my Twitter feed I have some backstory for it。 Jill's collection of essays really spans the gamut for me。 Pop culture， queer experiences， female existence。。。 Yeah！ I definitely Get It。 。。。more
Ellen Simon
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“Isn't it。。。 kinda cool？ How dumb and fragile we are， able be wholly destabilized by the likes of 。。。 Katy Perry？” not everybody likes to admit the impact that pop culture has on us， but jill gutowitz is ALL about pop culture。 this was a fun read and i truly enjoyed every essay in this book。 “Isn't it。。。 kinda cool？ How dumb and fragile we are， able be wholly destabilized by the likes of 。。。 Katy Perry？” not everybody likes to admit the impact that pop culture has on us， but jill gutowitz is ALL about pop culture。 this was a fun read and i truly enjoyed every essay in this book。 。。。more
Katie
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I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of this book from Atria Publishing， in exchange for an honest review。Compared to the works of Samantha Irby， as well as the collection 'Trick Mirror，' I knew I wanted to pick this up！ This collection of essays brings together pop-culture， queerness， self-discovery， etc。 The stories range from funny， to heart-warming， to heart-breaking， and informative。 Some of the essays that will stick with me included: Memeing the FBI， I Know This Now， Kiss Me and I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of this book from Atria Publishing， in exchange for an honest review。Compared to the works of Samantha Irby， as well as the collection 'Trick Mirror，' I knew I wanted to pick this up！ This collection of essays brings together pop-culture， queerness， self-discovery， etc。 The stories range from funny， to heart-warming， to heart-breaking， and informative。 Some of the essays that will stick with me included: Memeing the FBI， I Know This Now， Kiss Me and Murder Me in the Words。As I was not as internet savvy as Gutowitz during this time period， and as I am not as educated in pop-culture， there were definitely essays and instances I couldn't relate to。 I am not sure I was the correct audience for this book， though the marketing drew me in。 I enjoyed it， but did not connect in a way that I hope other readers can。 Though I learned a surprising amount about Perez Hilton， and Lindsay Lohan？ 。。。more
emma charlton
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This was a really fun exploration of lesbian pop culture， growing up in the beginning of the internet， and the growth of queer representation in media。 It made me laugh out loud at times。 I probably recognized about half of the references （Nicole Kidman’s divorce photo， gay Taylor Swift theories， etc） but I had fun looking into the other ones as I read。 I’d definitely recommend this to readers of Samantha Irby， Jen Winston， and any Taylor Swift fans。 It’s a great， mostly lighthearted， read for p This was a really fun exploration of lesbian pop culture， growing up in the beginning of the internet， and the growth of queer representation in media。 It made me laugh out loud at times。 I probably recognized about half of the references （Nicole Kidman’s divorce photo， gay Taylor Swift theories， etc） but I had fun looking into the other ones as I read。 I’d definitely recommend this to readers of Samantha Irby， Jen Winston， and any Taylor Swift fans。 It’s a great， mostly lighthearted， read for people my age on the internet who are trying to get into more nonfiction。 。。。more
Melissa
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This is a fantastic collection of essays。 As a “pop culture junkie” myself， I devoured this book。 Gutowitz chronicles her obsession with celebrities from an early age to mid-pandemic。 Her stories are funny and relatable。 Millennials will be taken down memory lane by references to Soffe shorts， Paul Frank， and HitClips。 As a straight woman I especially enjoyed reading about how queer representation in the media has changed。 I will never look at Entourage or Julianne Moore the same way again。 I wo This is a fantastic collection of essays。 As a “pop culture junkie” myself， I devoured this book。 Gutowitz chronicles her obsession with celebrities from an early age to mid-pandemic。 Her stories are funny and relatable。 Millennials will be taken down memory lane by references to Soffe shorts， Paul Frank， and HitClips。 As a straight woman I especially enjoyed reading about how queer representation in the media has changed。 I will never look at Entourage or Julianne Moore the same way again。 I would recommend this book for anyone interested in pop culture， LGBT issues， or both。 TW: sexual assault 。。。more
Ella Dawson
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Respectfully I say， “Step on my face， Jill Gutowitz。”Girls Can Kiss Now is essential reading for the 90s kid/2000s teen queer girl still healing from an era of homophobic pop culture。 Y2K is back， baby， so let’s unpack some gay panic childhood trauma！！ I want to throw this book at a bunch of my friends， but in a loving and respectful manner。 Honestly nothing has helped me understand so well why it took me such a long time to embrace my bisexuality。 The Lindsay Lohan era！！ The mixed messages of B Respectfully I say， “Step on my face， Jill Gutowitz。”Girls Can Kiss Now is essential reading for the 90s kid/2000s teen queer girl still healing from an era of homophobic pop culture。 Y2K is back， baby， so let’s unpack some gay panic childhood trauma！！ I want to throw this book at a bunch of my friends， but in a loving and respectful manner。 Honestly nothing has helped me understand so well why it took me such a long time to embrace my bisexuality。 The Lindsay Lohan era！！ The mixed messages of Bring It On！ So much to unpack and Jill does an excellent job。 。。。more
Kai
，
“Girls Can Kiss Now” is the first non-fiction book I’ve read in AGES， and it was wonderful。 Jill Gutowitz does an amazing job making these short essays hilarious， entertaining， informative， and relatable。 These essays made me feel like I was hearing stories from a friend I grew up with; they feel familiar and intimate， and the style of humor is age inclusive but peppered with early 2000’s anecdotes that made me actually laugh out loud numerous times。 These essays feel like a queer coming of age “Girls Can Kiss Now” is the first non-fiction book I’ve read in AGES， and it was wonderful。 Jill Gutowitz does an amazing job making these short essays hilarious， entertaining， informative， and relatable。 These essays made me feel like I was hearing stories from a friend I grew up with; they feel familiar and intimate， and the style of humor is age inclusive but peppered with early 2000’s anecdotes that made me actually laugh out loud numerous times。 These essays feel like a queer coming of age movie straight out of the 2000’s， MySpace drama and Lisa Frank folders included。 I am not normally a fan of reading essays or non-fiction， and maybe I just haven’t branched out enough， but “Girls Can Kiss Now” definitely changed that。 The way these essays are written are more memoir style than anything; they kept my interest and made me laugh， and I think that’s probably exactly what Gutowitz was going for while telling her story。 Lots of pop culture references， well written， engaging， funny， and just good overall story telling-“Girls Can Kiss Now” has a lot going for it。 。。。more
Kelleen （booms。books）
，
I really enjoyed this！！ A series of essays by a Twitter comedian， the writing is accessible， funny， harsh， heartfelt， vast， and specific。 It's so queer and so current and so eminently readable。 Really validating！Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC。CW: pornography， abusive relationship， sexual assault I really enjoyed this！！ A series of essays by a Twitter comedian， the writing is accessible， funny， harsh， heartfelt， vast， and specific。 It's so queer and so current and so eminently readable。 Really validating！Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC。CW: pornography， abusive relationship， sexual assault 。。。more
greyreads
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Thank you to netgalley and and the publishers for sending me a digital copy！ I flew through this book。 And yet， as I reached the end， I couldn’t help but feel confused。 On the one hand this book made me feel seen。 Jill writes about pop culture in a way I relate too， I too was a teen obsessing over pop culture and anything potentially gay in pop culture。 And yet， there felt like there was something miss。 It was funny and relatable and very raw and real， but for some reason I find myself unable to Thank you to netgalley and and the publishers for sending me a digital copy！ I flew through this book。 And yet， as I reached the end， I couldn’t help but feel confused。 On the one hand this book made me feel seen。 Jill writes about pop culture in a way I relate too， I too was a teen obsessing over pop culture and anything potentially gay in pop culture。 And yet， there felt like there was something miss。 It was funny and relatable and very raw and real， but for some reason I find myself unable to decipher my feelings about this book， it feels like the kind of book that has such a big personality it’s almost impossible to review， to boil down to a few lines。 Which is why I am giving it a 3。5 stars， a rating right in the middle。 。。。more
Jenn Adams
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Absolutely loved this！ The author is also very funny on Twitter。 Probably would have enjoyed this as an audiobook， but I was too interested and jumped at the chance to grab an ARC。For fans of Jen Winston's Greedy: Notes from a Bisexual Who Wants Too Much and Grace Perry's The 2000s Made Me Gay: Essays on Pop Culture。 You definitely will get a lot more out of this if you are Very Online and/or into pop culture。Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review。 Absolutely loved this！ The author is also very funny on Twitter。 Probably would have enjoyed this as an audiobook， but I was too interested and jumped at the chance to grab an ARC。For fans of Jen Winston's Greedy: Notes from a Bisexual Who Wants Too Much and Grace Perry's The 2000s Made Me Gay: Essays on Pop Culture。 You definitely will get a lot more out of this if you are Very Online and/or into pop culture。Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
bee （they✧them） ‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ♥
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I gotta say it’s weird reading books that start to talk about COVID and the pandemic right now， considering we’re still in it， but that doesn’t affect how I feel about this bookI quite enjoyed this one。 I thought it was a fairly quick read， as I think most books filled with essays are。 I have read some of Jill’s previous work on Vulture so I am familiar with her writing style， and I have always liked it。I will preface this review by saying while I am not a lesbian， I am queer， so there was some I gotta say it’s weird reading books that start to talk about COVID and the pandemic right now， considering we’re still in it， but that doesn’t affect how I feel about this bookI quite enjoyed this one。 I thought it was a fairly quick read， as I think most books filled with essays are。 I have read some of Jill’s previous work on Vulture so I am familiar with her writing style， and I have always liked it。I will preface this review by saying while I am not a lesbian， I am queer， so there was some of this book that didn’t quite resonate with me。 However， the vast majority of it did。 There were some parts where I audibly laughed and the person I am sharing。a home with right now kept asking what was so funny。 However， there are some darker parts where Jill discusses sexual assault and having to grow up in the times-post 9/11 that hit a little too close to home for me， so I was met with a lot of those emotions that I didn’t expect。I truly enjoyed this book。thank you to NetGalley， Jill Guowitz and Atria Books for the ARC 。。。more
Christina
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I have been following Jill Gutowitz on Twitter for awhile now， and she always brings the hilarious pop culture commentary。 Her first book is a major achievement in humor and pop culture analysis and reading it brought an almost constant smile of recognition and joy to my face。Our funny and charming friend Jill （I say “friend” because her book communicates a sense of warmth and intimacy that really makes you feel like she’s your friend） started out in a childhood where she wondered “can girls kis I have been following Jill Gutowitz on Twitter for awhile now， and she always brings the hilarious pop culture commentary。 Her first book is a major achievement in humor and pop culture analysis and reading it brought an almost constant smile of recognition and joy to my face。Our funny and charming friend Jill （I say “friend” because her book communicates a sense of warmth and intimacy that really makes you feel like she’s your friend） started out in a childhood where she wondered “can girls kiss eachother？” while watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Britney videos。 Her experience with popular culture contributed greatly to her sexual awakening as a lesbian， and really had a lot to do with Britney and Taylor Swift。 Here Gutowitz provides hilarious analysis of key lesbian/bi moments in popular culture， like paparazzi pics of Lindsay Lohan with her girlfriend Samantha Ronson （I had almost forgotten about her！） and of course detailed analysis of the Karlie Kloss/Taylor Swift “friendship” - an issue which obsessed many of us Swifties for years。 Probably my favorite part of the book makes explicit the difference between people “outing” gay celebs （mostly straight folks but also people like Perez Hilton back in the day） — and then those people like Jill ， especially when she was young， whose obsession over lesbian themes， couplings and conspiracies （a la Taylor Swift） in pop culture adds to an overall sense of belonging and feeling understood and seen for girls who are gay， bi， or questioning。This is a sensitive， intimate， laugh-out-loud funny book。 You don’t need to be gay， bi， questioning or non-binary to love it — Jill’s charm， humor and explanations of her coming out will resonate with anyone ready to join her in her journey through her teenage years。 But if you do have a deep visceral understanding of the sexual appeal of Taylor/Karlie， Xena Warrior Princess， Buddy the Vampire Slayer， and other key female touchstones of the 90s？ This book is DEFINITELY for you。Thanks to Simon and Schuster， NetGalley and the author for this sweet laugh-out-loud funny book。 Count me in for all of Jill Gutowitz’s books from here on out。 。。。more
Alyssa Lentz
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As someone who also grew up in the 2000s and realized they were gay in their twenties， I was interested in this book on the premise and also recognized Jill as someone who is funny on Twitter。 This is certainly a book that those who are "extremely online" will enjoy， and has that specific brand of irreverent comedy and language that Jill utilizes so well。 What I loved most about this book was the way she writes about what growing up in that era and loving pop culture was like， and how exhausting As someone who also grew up in the 2000s and realized they were gay in their twenties， I was interested in this book on the premise and also recognized Jill as someone who is funny on Twitter。 This is certainly a book that those who are "extremely online" will enjoy， and has that specific brand of irreverent comedy and language that Jill utilizes so well。 What I loved most about this book was the way she writes about what growing up in that era and loving pop culture was like， and how exhausting and confusing and painful it was as a young woman and as a queer person。 I found it really true to my own experience and described in a way that felt almost visceral， like I was reliving those horrors all over again。 She's also downright hilarious， and I laughed out loud multiple times while reading this。 My favorite essays were the ones focused more narrowly on specific stories from her own life， in which she conveys all the agony of the moment but also all the punchlines and humor that hindsight provides。 Other essays I struggled with a little and her commentary felt a little more shallow （For example， an essay about yearning that talks about how there should be more lesbian movies with happy endings--shouldn't we want queer stories of all varieties， from people with all kinds of experiences， happy or not？ Another was about how terrible Perez Hilton was in the aughts about outing gay people， which then screeches to a halt when she reveals she writes professionally for media outlets about how Taylor Swift should be/is maybe gay， but it's okay because she's not doing it with bad intentions and just wants to relate to her more， which also made me feel kind of weird， as a fellow pop culture zealot and even gay Taylor Swift fan！ And it always seems like books written by media writers/Twitter personalities include one chapter which is essentially just a list， however humorous）。 All that being said， these are pretty small quibbles and I will highly recommend this book to others my age and even queer young adults seeking queer， pop culture focused content。 I really enjoy her voice and sense of humor and her focus in this book， and would love to read more from her in the future。 Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Laura
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I received an advance copy from the publisher via Netgalley for review purposes。 This in no way influences my review; all words， thoughts， and opinions are my own。I regret to say I am DNFing at 37%。 This collection of essays was working really well for me and I related very strongly as a 90s millennial lesbian。 But this book is coming out in March 2022 and I struggle to continue reading a book where an author explicitly states they like HP without any examination of the harm the author has done， I received an advance copy from the publisher via Netgalley for review purposes。 This in no way influences my review; all words， thoughts， and opinions are my own。I regret to say I am DNFing at 37%。 This collection of essays was working really well for me and I related very strongly as a 90s millennial lesbian。 But this book is coming out in March 2022 and I struggle to continue reading a book where an author explicitly states they like HP without any examination of the harm the author has done， especially thinking this is coming from a Jewish author and JKR is known for the antisemitic tropes from that series。 I may be being too harsh， but this is my line in the sand; YMMV。 I really enjoyed this examination of intersections of lesbian identity， growing up， and pop culture， and I’m very sad not to be finishing this book， but that small bit felt like a slap in the face… 。。。more
Yesenia
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Jill Gutowitz hit a few home runs with her collection of essays - legitimately had me laughing out loud and mhm-ing along。 As a queer woman， there were parts that deeply resonated with me。 As a queer *Latina* from a low-income background， a few stories fell flat for me （especially ones where Gutowitz brought ~humor~ into being "rich poor" or tried to call herself out for being privileged）。 However， Gutowitz's writing is just so approachable and funny that I genuinely enjoyed it overall and the m Jill Gutowitz hit a few home runs with her collection of essays - legitimately had me laughing out loud and mhm-ing along。 As a queer woman， there were parts that deeply resonated with me。 As a queer *Latina* from a low-income background， a few stories fell flat for me （especially ones where Gutowitz brought ~humor~ into being "rich poor" or tried to call herself out for being privileged）。 However， Gutowitz's writing is just so approachable and funny that I genuinely enjoyed it overall and the minor annoyances were easy to overlook。I would highly recommend this book to my queer women friends who enjoy millennial ~internet~ humor。 If that vibe isn't your thing， this book will probably grate your nerves。 Regardless， check it out for the potential laughs and stories - my favorite essays were "Britney Spears's Blackout - No， Not That One"， "Crush Me At the Forum"， "I Know This Now"， "The Current Lesbian Canon， As It Stands"， "Clueless at the Chateau Marmont"， and "The Beast"。Thank you to Simon and Schuster & NetGalley for the ARC！ 。。。more
Rachel León
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This collection of essays by the very funny Jill Gutowitz is a delightful read。 Most of the essays deal with pop culture and lesbian representation in the media， but occasionally heavier topics emerge， such as rape。 Near the end， it got a bit repetitive （one story rehashed through a different lens， but was essentially the same story） but it made me laugh out loud several times， so overall， I really enjoyed it。
Krista
，
This book works best when the author is describing events in her own life or making tongue-in-cheek lists about what constitutes lesbian canon。 Her emotions come across clearly and sincerely。 Slightly les successful are the times when she constructs a meta historical narrative of queer life that seems incomplete at best。 On balance， her earnestness and honesty make for an interesting set of essays for readers of Grace Perry。NetGalley provided me with an arc in exchange for an honest review。
Jen
，
Pop culture has been， is， and likely always will be， an endlessly source from which to discuss as it continually evolves over time; it forms a collective experience of reference points that helps many to frame their lives and Jill Gutowitz’s Girls Can Kiss Now: Essays explores how pop culture has shaped her and the representation of queerness in the media。To read this， and other book reviews， visit my website: http://makinggoodstories。wordpress。com/。Written in a voice and style that is highly re Pop culture has been， is， and likely always will be， an endlessly source from which to discuss as it continually evolves over time; it forms a collective experience of reference points that helps many to frame their lives and Jill Gutowitz’s Girls Can Kiss Now: Essays explores how pop culture has shaped her and the representation of queerness in the media。To read this， and other book reviews， visit my website: http://makinggoodstories。wordpress。com/。Written in a voice and style that is highly relatable， conversational in tone， and likely familiar to fellow millennial women， these essays were entertaining as they were filled with humorous asides and capitalization of words or phrases to place emphasis and it offered a nostalgic experience as it takes a look back at cultural touchstones that shaped her formative years and experiences。 For those who are around the same age as Gutowitz， such as myself， the references she makes will be familiar （though I’m not a Taylor Swift fan and have paid little to no attention to her media coverage so the more detailed passages around Swift weren’t overly engaging for me） and she does a good job of providing an explanation for readers who may not be as familiar with the content – or have been alive for their heyday – and how it’s relevant to what’s being discussed。 There’s an vulnerability in the frank openness of the personal stories told to aid in the broader points made in these essays， which use pop culture references as launching off points for discussion about queerness， specifically for women more generally and especially in relation to herself， and how it has been portrayed in media， and changed， over the past few decades。 Though not necessarily told in chronological order， the essays were primarily compiled as such， and the introduction also outlines a fairly linear progression of decades that track the evolution of lesbian eras from Gutowitz’s perspective， so it was a little strange to jump around in time within some of the essays and be provided a repetition of some previously shared information; perhaps the expectation I formed from the introduction set me up to expect a more linear chronology than was offered as well as more consistently balanced spread within the essays of personal and pop culture moments explored。Overall， I’d give it a 3。5 out of 5 stars。*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Cindi
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Thank you to the author， publisher and Net Galley for providing a free ebook ARC copy of this title in exchange for my review。 This book was actually offered by the publisher， not one that I specifically requested。I don't think this is a 'bad' book at all， and I'm sure many will enjoy reading it。 The writing was clear and enjoyable to read。 It just wasn't the book for me。 There was not a single commonality for me in this book - I'm much older， have different interests， did not know of the celebr Thank you to the author， publisher and Net Galley for providing a free ebook ARC copy of this title in exchange for my review。 This book was actually offered by the publisher， not one that I specifically requested。I don't think this is a 'bad' book at all， and I'm sure many will enjoy reading it。 The writing was clear and enjoyable to read。 It just wasn't the book for me。 There was not a single commonality for me in this book - I'm much older， have different interests， did not know of the celebrities that were mentioned， I'm not a social media user， I'm heterosexual - seriously， just about nothing to relate to for me。 That doesn't mean it's a bad book， but it's hard to really get into the essays for me when I really don't understand any of the elements， such as listed above。This also makes it a very hard book for me to rate， because though I didn't personally enjoy it， I'm sure others will， and the writing was good。 I'm not sure why the book was offered to me in the first place。 。。。more
Andrew
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Gutowitz had me internally shrieking and outwardly howling with laughter with her analysis of the early-to-late aughts gay pop culture and how it influenced her own coming of age。 The era of Lindsay Lohan， MySpace， and Gossip Girl comes blasting from the past in full technicolor and transitions seamlessly into the modern sapphic world of cottagecore， Swifties， and the lesbian canon。 Moving， personal， and an absolute riot。 If you loved Grace Perry's The 2000's Made Me Gay， you need this book。 Gutowitz had me internally shrieking and outwardly howling with laughter with her analysis of the early-to-late aughts gay pop culture and how it influenced her own coming of age。 The era of Lindsay Lohan， MySpace， and Gossip Girl comes blasting from the past in full technicolor and transitions seamlessly into the modern sapphic world of cottagecore， Swifties， and the lesbian canon。 Moving， personal， and an absolute riot。 If you loved Grace Perry's The 2000's Made Me Gay， you need this book。 。。。more
Katherine
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My friends and I have been @jillboard fans for a WHILE。 She seems to have a lot of same interests of pop culture as us， and we often send her tweets back and forth in lieu of our own reactions， because she says them better than we could。I knew I would love this book because I knew I enjoyed Jill's writing - but I didn't know （obviously） the autobiographical details she'd write about。 Turns out - they're relatable too！Her writing style scratches my brain in a soothing way （is that weird to say？ w My friends and I have been @jillboard fans for a WHILE。 She seems to have a lot of same interests of pop culture as us， and we often send her tweets back and forth in lieu of our own reactions， because she says them better than we could。I knew I would love this book because I knew I enjoyed Jill's writing - but I didn't know （obviously） the autobiographical details she'd write about。 Turns out - they're relatable too！Her writing style scratches my brain in a soothing way （is that weird to say？ whatever， I think the kids on TikTok say it） in that it's very conversational， and written like I write when I send paragraphs upon paragraphs of emails or texts to pals。 The details of her life that she shares are sometimes heartbreaking， sometimes hilarious， and perpetually relatable， and I'm so glad I read this book。 If you're a person - maybe a millennial， maybe pop culture-obsessed - you will more than likely enjoy this too。 。。。more
Leah
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2021 had me branching out in terms of my reading， and here that meant essays。 While I wasn't exactly the target audience （Swifties， this one's for you！）， I delighted in the millennial pop culture references and really enjoyed many of the essays - particularly the opener involving a Game of Thrones tweet and a visit from the FBI。 I'll admit I was expecting something a little more laugh-out-loud funny based on other early reviews， but I liked this one and quickly got through it （a word of warning 2021 had me branching out in terms of my reading， and here that meant essays。 While I wasn't exactly the target audience （Swifties， this one's for you！）， I delighted in the millennial pop culture references and really enjoyed many of the essays - particularly the opener involving a Game of Thrones tweet and a visit from the FBI。 I'll admit I was expecting something a little more laugh-out-loud funny based on other early reviews， but I liked this one and quickly got through it （a word of warning though， there's one essay where the author comes to terms with sexual assault from a partner）。 And Perez Hilton is absolute trash。 。。。more
Sophia M
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