The 2000s Made Me Gay: Essays on Pop Culture
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- Create Date：2021-08-26 07:51:03
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Grace Perry
- ISBN：1250760143
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Summary
From The Onion and Reductress contributor， this collection of essays is a hilarious nostalgic trip through beloved 2000s media， interweaving cultural criticism and personal narrative to examine how a very straight decade forged a very queer woman
"If you came of age at the intersection of Mean Girls and The L Word: Read this book。” ―Sarah Pappalardo， editor in chief and co-founder of Reductress
Today’s gay youth have dozens of queer peer heroes， both fictional and real， but Grace Perry did not have that luxury。 Instead， she had to search for queerness in the teen cultural phenomena that the early aughts had to offer: in Lindsay Lohan’s fall from grace， Gossip Girl， Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl，” country-era Taylor Swift， and Seth Cohen jumping on a coffee cart。 And， for better or worse， these touch points shaped her identity， and she came out on the other side， as she puts it， gay as hell。
Join Grace on a journey back through the pop culture moments of the early 2000’s， before the cataclysmic shift in LGBTQ representation and acceptance―a time not so long ago， that people seem to forget。
"If you came of age at the intersection of Mean Girls and The L Word: Read this book。” ―Sarah Pappalardo， editor in chief and co-founder of Reductress
Today’s gay youth have dozens of queer peer heroes， both fictional and real， but Grace Perry did not have that luxury。 Instead， she had to search for queerness in the teen cultural phenomena that the early aughts had to offer: in Lindsay Lohan’s fall from grace， Gossip Girl， Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl，” country-era Taylor Swift， and Seth Cohen jumping on a coffee cart。 And， for better or worse， these touch points shaped her identity， and she came out on the other side， as she puts it， gay as hell。
Join Grace on a journey back through the pop culture moments of the early 2000’s， before the cataclysmic shift in LGBTQ representation and acceptance―a time not so long ago， that people seem to forget。
Reviews
Heather
，
3。5 stars
Dennis Holland
，
The 2000s didn’t make me gay。 As a GenX gay， it could be argued Madonna， Wham！ and ‘My Two Dads’ made me gay。 Perhaps I’m just self centered and obsessed but I mostly enjoyed this enlightening discussion of 00s pop culture and it’s impact on Perry’s life because it allowed me time to reflect on the pop culture that shaped my own。
Emily
，
These essays made me cackle like a mad woman and cry like a baby sometimes within one chapter。 As a queer millennial who was molded by the glee era （incidentally it is for better or worse， my favorite show） and taylor swift alike， I really feel like this author gets me in a way no other author has been able to capture on a page （or on audio I guess， since I listened to this on audible）。These essays felt like exchanging memories with a friend， whispers in the dark telling me that I was never alon These essays made me cackle like a mad woman and cry like a baby sometimes within one chapter。 As a queer millennial who was molded by the glee era （incidentally it is for better or worse， my favorite show） and taylor swift alike， I really feel like this author gets me in a way no other author has been able to capture on a page （or on audio I guess， since I listened to this on audible）。These essays felt like exchanging memories with a friend， whispers in the dark telling me that I was never alone because Perry felt a lot of the same things I felt and feel about my past and my future。 I loved this book。Also special mention to the fact that Moulin Rouge - my favorite movie， was mentioned a bunch of times。 If my love for that movie at an early age wasn't a huge clue to my queerness， I don't know what is。 。。。more
Tristans_everything
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I found some of the stories interesting （as I can see by all the yellow tabs I have for interesting lol）
Kevin Krein
，
part personal memoir on perry's coming to terms with her own sexual identity， part reflection on the pop culture of the very late 90s and throughout the 2000s that， retrospectively， probably helped her along or at least was there on her journey， there are parts of this that were interesting， or at least thoughtful， but it was， in all honesty， a bit of a rough read in terms of her literary/writerly voice。 part personal memoir on perry's coming to terms with her own sexual identity， part reflection on the pop culture of the very late 90s and throughout the 2000s that， retrospectively， probably helped her along or at least was there on her journey， there are parts of this that were interesting， or at least thoughtful， but it was， in all honesty， a bit of a rough read in terms of her literary/writerly voice。 。。。more
Emilia
，
i was born at the tail end of the millenial era， but this book once again confirmed i at least lived much of the millenial experience—or at the very least the gay millennial experience。 the only sign of me possibly falling into gen z territory was the lack of "oh my god santana and brittany！！！" in the final chapter， which， valid considering grace perry was 19 when glee happened and already starting to come out。 i， on the other hand， am integrally formed by santana and brittany。finally i'd like t i was born at the tail end of the millenial era， but this book once again confirmed i at least lived much of the millenial experience—or at the very least the gay millennial experience。 the only sign of me possibly falling into gen z territory was the lack of "oh my god santana and brittany！！！" in the final chapter， which， valid considering grace perry was 19 when glee happened and already starting to come out。 i， on the other hand， am integrally formed by santana and brittany。finally i'd like to point out that regina george is in fact a lesbian and i feel very strongly about grace perry having an understandably different opinion yet not including my specific opinion in her own booktl;dr amazing and relatable content that i highly recommend any （late） millenial read 。。。more
Emma Ratshin
，
i’ve never related more intensely to another human being in my entire life。 grace perry let’s get coffee we’ve GOT to talk
Samantha K
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Fun， easy readFunny book， enjoyable to read， but not *so* funny or *so* enjoyable。 Writing feels clunky at times。 Would read another book by her
Ash
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I’m just enough older than the author that our pop culture touchstones aren’t really the same。 I was already in college when The O。C。 aired （and think it’s a terrible show）。 Same with most Disney channel movies。 I mostly skimmed it。
Teddy
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dbf @ p128
Philip
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Kind of like a Millennial update of Vito Russo's The Celluloid Closet - I dug it - especially the pieces on the impact of shows like The L Word and Glee in advocating for more queer representation in TV。 Perry's essays are well-written， albeit they are prone to wandering and overthinking which diluted the impact for me a bit。 Nevertheless， worth checking out！ Kind of like a Millennial update of Vito Russo's The Celluloid Closet - I dug it - especially the pieces on the impact of shows like The L Word and Glee in advocating for more queer representation in TV。 Perry's essays are well-written， albeit they are prone to wandering and overthinking which diluted the impact for me a bit。 Nevertheless， worth checking out！ 。。。more
Grey
，
Really just so fun to read criticism from a contemporary， organized by queer appearances in the media。 If you watched tv or listened to music from the late 90s through the early 10s， you’d probably get a kick out of this book。
Shaouais
，
I really enjoyed this collection and identified with a lot of the pop culture references and analysis despite being a younger millenial。 A lot of it of course I didn't identify with or understand （for instance， I never watched Dawson's Creek although other members of my household did） but overall the essays are thoughtful and entertaining regardless。 I really enjoyed this collection and identified with a lot of the pop culture references and analysis despite being a younger millenial。 A lot of it of course I didn't identify with or understand （for instance， I never watched Dawson's Creek although other members of my household did） but overall the essays are thoughtful and entertaining regardless。 。。。more
Stephanie Arizpe Strobel
，
Dude…。。LOLI’ll write a real review on this later after I recover from reading the phrases ‘aughts’ and ‘baby gay’ too many timesok here's the review and if the author reads this I am very sorry for my opinion but I'm still willing to give your other/future writing a chance :/I was really excited for this book because I check every box that this book is meant for。 Setting a high expectation was my mistake， so that's on me。 That being said， how could a book be so fitting， so perfect， but miss the Dude…。。LOLI’ll write a real review on this later after I recover from reading the phrases ‘aughts’ and ‘baby gay’ too many timesok here's the review and if the author reads this I am very sorry for my opinion but I'm still willing to give your other/future writing a chance :/I was really excited for this book because I check every box that this book is meant for。 Setting a high expectation was my mistake， so that's on me。 That being said， how could a book be so fitting， so perfect， but miss the mark and end up being SO exclusionary？ It felt like the book was written by the author， FOR the author， which isn’t really a bad thing， but it sucks for me as a reader。The other thing about this is that it just felt so all over the place; there were bits of memoir sprinkled in where it didn’t really make sense。 I would have loved to have learned more about the author that could’ve maybe contextualized her social commentary a little better。 It was so out of order that I didn’t feel like I was able to make any sort of connection with the author and that made me lose interest quickly。 I also have a bone to pick with how often the word ‘aughts’ and the phrase ‘baby gay’ was thrown around， but I can probably forgive that。I had a great childhood， but maybe I wasn’t privileged enough to understand this one – I grew up without cable until I was like 8ish， and even when we had it we never had what was considered premium channels like MTV or whatever channel The L Word and Gossip Girl comes on。 I never watched Glee or Dawson’s Creek， never cared about Taylor Swift， and I Kissed a Girl never sent me spiraling into a bisexual existential crisis。 The author writes a LOT about all of these， just FYI。 At one point she even says， ‘For queer millennial women， The L Word is our Star Wars’。。。I think tf NOT！ I’m aware of how incredibly salty this makes me sound， but I did just fine without those things -- it just seems like unless you check those boxes， you’re not gonna get much out of this book。 Maybe for the above reasons， I never grew up seeking representation in media in the same way the author thirsted for。 But also， I’m not white， and my racial identity became obvious to me way sooner than my gender or sexuality identity， so instead of scouring the TV for gay white girls， I just wanted to see a brown girl on the screen for once （I finally got what I wanted when Gotta Kick It Up！ debuted on the Disney Channel with America Ferrera when I was 9， lol）。 The highlighted essay that I mostly really liked was the American Bitch/American Butch essay， and I liked the Mean Girls and Harry Potter essays to an extent （at some point both essays just turned into rambling） but everything else felt like it was an inside joke I was absolutely not allowed in on。 I also felt like the author spent too much time clinging to gay/lesbian stereotypes and it stopped being funny （we don't need to be joked at for the 10th time about how you were obviously gay because you wore turtlenecks and corduroys）。 And then she spent so much time playing on stereotypes just to denounce the one gay girl stereotype that I actually think is really funny -- the U Haul Lesbian。 Idk。 Maybe this will resonate more with you。 I think you ‘aught’ to find that out for yourself。 Glad this one was a library book because it’s going back ASAP！ 。。。more
Anne-Marie
，
It was not as queer as I was hoping， but an interesting look at media that existed in my periphery。
Mills College Library
，
306。7663 P4632 2021
Catherine
，
The 2000s Made Me Gay feels like a memoir written by an ambitious high schooler in the midst of taking AP Lang。 It's dated， not in the way the title implies， and most often acts more as a recounting of recent history than an essay collection rife with revelations。 The essays themselves are repetitive and over-explained。 Perry writes like I talk， in endless tangents。 It had me constantly checking to see how many pages I had left。 Unfortunately， while I thought this would be a fun read， it is cate The 2000s Made Me Gay feels like a memoir written by an ambitious high schooler in the midst of taking AP Lang。 It's dated， not in the way the title implies， and most often acts more as a recounting of recent history than an essay collection rife with revelations。 The essays themselves are repetitive and over-explained。 Perry writes like I talk， in endless tangents。 It had me constantly checking to see how many pages I had left。 Unfortunately， while I thought this would be a fun read， it is catered towards a very specific audience that I am not a part of。 If you are a millennial lesbian， this will probably be comforting though。 Disclaimer: I won this book thru a Goodreads giveaway。 。。。more
Alex
，
The 2000s Made zone Gay - yes， same。 End review。 Just kidding but wow us queer folk love looking back and reminiscing on all of the “so gay in retrospect” moments。 The ones that really resonated with me？ Taylor Swift， so gay。 Disney Channel movies like Cadet Kelly and Double Teamed， so gay。 2000s me？ Also gay。
Courtney Rose
，
This book is so relatable it feels like I wrote it myself。 I will immediately let you know that this book will not be a fun read for anyone who is probably outside of the 28-35 age range。 It feels like such a specific book for people who had the similar experiences in the early 2000s that I don’t know if those who are a bit older/a bit younger will have watched the shows Perry discusses and there are a LOT of references in this collection。 If you’ve never watched The OC and have no idea who Seth This book is so relatable it feels like I wrote it myself。 I will immediately let you know that this book will not be a fun read for anyone who is probably outside of the 28-35 age range。 It feels like such a specific book for people who had the similar experiences in the early 2000s that I don’t know if those who are a bit older/a bit younger will have watched the shows Perry discusses and there are a LOT of references in this collection。 If you’ve never watched The OC and have no idea who Seth Cohen is， for example， this is probably not the book for you。 That being said， the description of the book on the jacket is 100% true to what the book is， so you should know what you’re getting into before even turning to the first page。 Personally， I absolutely adore this collection because I relate to it so much。 Grace and I are both queer women from the Midwest who consumed a lot of media when we were in our early teens to twenties， so this felt like reading messages from a friend。 There is a chapter that discusses The Real World Chicago， which I distinctly remember watching every single week and going downtown to see the house where they were living as it was being filmed。 So many things Perry talks about apply straight to my adolescence， from my crush on Seth Cohen to how much Mean Girls really fit my high school experience， all the way to the series Glee， which looking back is problematic at best， but then was a beacon for we closeted gay kids looking to see someone who was like us on TV。 This is absolutely a memoir/coming of age book in which Grace’s journey through her sexuality is benchmarked by important pieces of media in her life。 It is not just a collection of essays but a lot of memoir， so make sure you’re aware of that before you jump in thinking it only covers pop culture。Big fan of this one。 I Hope Grace releases another collection like this one day。 Blog / Twitter / Instagram 。。。more
jess
，
3。5 ⭐️ | fell off a bit at the end for me， which was disappointing after the first few essays had me laughing out loud。 this is a VERY millennial collection that left even me， a ‘96 cusper， feeling a little alienated at times。 still， worth the read！ there was a lot of relatability in perry’s experience as a queer person that transcends age。
Megan
，
This is a great dive into how pop culture evolved to include lgbtq characters and themes， parallel to the author’s journey with their queer identity as a tween and adolescent。 I’m nine years older than the author but I’m technically still a millennial and I related strongly to these essays （even if I never watched the OC）。 It is a book about how the media you consume teaches you things about yourself and about how society perceives you， for better or for worse。 There is a chapter about Katy Perr This is a great dive into how pop culture evolved to include lgbtq characters and themes， parallel to the author’s journey with their queer identity as a tween and adolescent。 I’m nine years older than the author but I’m technically still a millennial and I related strongly to these essays （even if I never watched the OC）。 It is a book about how the media you consume teaches you things about yourself and about how society perceives you， for better or for worse。 There is a chapter about Katy Perry and I Kissed a Girl that hit me in a particular way; the author talks about being a teen and hearing the song and how it set her self acceptance back a few steps。 I have a very strong memory related to this song myself: I was teaching middle school when the song was popular and one day my seventh graders and I got into a serious discussion about the song。 I vehemently condemned the song and insisted that no one should feel like kissing girls was something they needed to feel ashamed about， or that it was risqué or something only to do as a joke; which led to further discussion about what is normal and acceptable and whether normal was something we all even want to be。 The following year several girls in that class came out to me。 Reading Perry’s essay made me a little emotional; I know it wasn’t only that conversation that helped my students figure out their identities， but I’m glad I did my best to counteract any harmful messages that may have otherwise been communicated。 。。。more
Emily
，
Great read！ Very relatable as a queer 31yo。
Alex
，
made me cry at points， revealed a point of weakness in my perception of my own sexuality and identity， and， most importantly， perfect post breakup reading。
Tea
，
3。5 but rounding up！
Sophia M
，
I adored this book and will be wholeheartedly recommending it to all my friends。
Rachel
，
the essays revolved around highly specific pop culture moments， so my enjoyment of each one was dependant on whether i had seen that particular piece of media， so a lot of them fell a bit flat for me。 i also wish the author had integrated a bit more of her personal life into the essays as i found that when she did it was very engaging。to absolutely nobody’s surprise， my favourite essays were the ones based on harry potter， disney， taylor swift， and glee。
Patsy
，
3。5 It was witty， clever， and relatable for1989 babies， like Grace and myself。 However I found it a bit white feminism-y， and some of her takes were out of touch and felt privileged。 But other than that， I was able to enjoy it。 I laughed a lot， I liked her writing style， and it was a nice little time machine to hop into。
Katie Schmidt
，
An absolute blast of a reading experience。 If a book can get you to genuinely laugh out loud in line to get your oil changed， it’s a damn funny book。 This is a damn funny book that is also whip smart and has a ton of genuine heart and worthwhile insight。 I loved it。
Allison
，
As an older gen z， I related to this book in a lot of ways， but I also had a lot of very different experiences with these same works。 I appreciated Perry's stories and relationships with the characters and I will continue to reflect on how media shaped my understanding of my sexuality in the weeks and months。 As an older gen z， I related to this book in a lot of ways， but I also had a lot of very different experiences with these same works。 I appreciated Perry's stories and relationships with the characters and I will continue to reflect on how media shaped my understanding of my sexuality in the weeks and months。 。。。more
Gillian
，