Details

ISBN-10: 1558617477
ISBN-13: 9781558617476
Publisher: Feminist Press
Publish Date: 08/16/2011
Dimensions: 7.40" L, 5.20" W, 0.50" H

Tango: My Childhood, Backwards and in High Heels

Paperback

Price: $16.95

Overview

Hailed as “the greatest cabaret artist of [their] generation,” Mx. Justin Vivian Bond makes a brilliant literary debut with this candid and hilarious queer coming-of-age tale (The New Yorker).

Bond recalls in vivid detail how it looked and felt to first discover Mom’s lipstick (Iced Watermelon by Revlon). Growing up haunted by their awareness of being “different,” Bond began to foster intimate friendships with girls, and to feel increasingly at risk with boys. But when the bully next door wanted to meet in secret, Bond couldn’t resist. Their trysts went on for years, making Bond acutely aware of how sexual power and vulnerability can intertwine. With inimitable style, Bond raises issues about LBGTQ adolescence, parenting trans/queer children, and bullying, all while being utterly entertaining.

“Like Bond, the memoir is droll, pensive and filled with zingers teetering between funny and ferocious.” The New York Times

“Reading Tango is like listening to your favorite eccentric cousin or auntie tell you hair-dressing tales of innocence lost and found, friendships forged of adversity, and bullies bewildered by their own perversity. Justin Vivian spins a one-of-a-kind story that you won’t be able to put down.” Kate Bornstein, author of Gender Outlaw

“Tango is a raw nerve touching an electric soul, a beautiful book, written with honesty, pain, and joy from one of our great modern day shamans.” –Sandra Bernhard, actress

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Reviews
"[A] witty and touching memoir. . . [A] frank discussion of the ways in which [V] felt compelled to suppress [V's] emotions, [V's] sexuality, and [V's] true identity growing up. [V] suffered a great deal, and yet [V's] tone is never self-pitying." –New Yorker

"A story that is personal, yet undeniably universal at the same time." –Lambda Literary

"Bond's fabulosity is matched by a trenchant wit, and [V's] over-the-top stories are smartly edged with politics, sexual or otherwise." –New York Times

"A brief yet remarkably candid memoir of growing up different. . . Poignant and funny. . ." –Kirkus

"Thank you, Justin, for your courage in writing the truth of what you went through as a transgender child in this society. Thank you, also, for your sense of humor. This book is very important, and fun to read as well." –Yoko Ono, artist

"When I say Justin Vivian Bond is a true original, what I mean is, Justin doesn't resemble anyone else on the face of the planet. When I say Justin Bond is touched by genius, I mean exactly that." –Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours

"Tango is a raw nerve touching an electric soul, a beautiful book, written with honesty, pain, and joy from one of our great modern day shamans." –Sandra Bernhard, comedian

"Justin Vivian Bond is a lightning rod, a solid steel structure in heels that attracts burning chaos and disciplines it into orderly submission. Am I allowed to say that Justin is God?" –Rufus Wainwright, musician

"Tango should be in the hands of every child who can read, and of
every adult who cares about that child." –Michael Warner, author of The Trouble with Normal

"Reading Tango is like listening to your favorite eccentric cousin or auntie tell you hair-raising tales of innocence lost and found, friendships forged of adversity, and bullies bewildered by their own perversity. Justin spins a one-of-a-kind story that you won't be able to put down." –Kate Bornstein, author of Gender Outlaw

More Reviews

Details

ISBN-10: 1558617477
ISBN-13: 9781558617476
Publisher: Feminist Press
Publish Date: 08/16/2011
Dimensions: 7.40" L, 5.20" W, 0.50" H
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