Thanks so much to Vintage for letting me read We Can Do Better Than This. Edited by Amelia Abraham, this is a collection of essays about the future of LGBTQ+ rights and I would really recommend it! As usual, I didn't love every single one of these essays - there were a few I felt like skimming over - but I had so many favourites in this collection. Covering a broad spectrum and diversity of voices - every single part of the LGBTQ+ banner is represented here - I found so much of the content to be thought-provoking, illuminating and really useful (as a straight person, obviously). Some of my favourite essays were by Juliet Jacques, Tom Rasmussen, Naoise Dolan, Shura, Amrou Al-Kadhi, Juno Roche, Jonathan Anderson and Yasmin Benoit, (although I feel like I've probably forgotten others) focusing on topics like ageing as a queer person, queer fashion, asexuality and a particularly chilling account of transphobia in the UK media. 4.5 stars 🌟

This is a collection of short essays by a variety of authors; a real eclectic mix, who each have their own unique take on the key question of what we need to still do to make life better for LGBTQIA+ people. Some of the articles were littered with sources and studies, others weren’t - but each story was uniquely important and thought-provoking.

This book gives a particularly illuminating insight into elements of LGBTQIA+ struggles that are not often spoken about or seen often in popular media. Examples include the difficulties faced by disabled LGBTQIA+ people, the need to care for the ageing LGBTQIA+ population who are more likely to be alone and childless, trans fertility, and asexual and intersex awareness. Many of these articles really call into question peoples understanding of gender binaries in a much-needed way. As a cisgender person, it really shone a light onto some of the things we need to do for trans people that I personally would otherwise be quite ignorant of. As a bisexual woman, it was comforting reading about the experiences of other bisexual people and have our own unique struggles identified alongside the others as being equally valid.

Overall, this felt like exactly the right thing to read during Pride month. So often, the flag is flown in a show of allyship, there is a festival, people celebrate the increased visibility of LGBTQIA+. However, the fight for true equality continues. If you are going to read one non-fiction book during Pride month and actually wish to educate yourself on what we still need to do to make things better, then this is that book.

Thanks to @netgalley for the advance copy!

A wonderful collection of experiences and suggestions about improving LGBTQ+ rights, this is the most inclusive, intersectional collection that I've read and much the richer for that. The collection is not always an easy read as it shows how far we still have to go, sigh. I really enjoyed the mix between reflecting backwards at how far we have come alongside looking into the future. Spilt into sections covering Safety; Visibility; Dating, love and family; Health and social care; Beyond the binary; Community and organising. An inspiring and important book.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A moving anthology of essays from across the queer spectrum and the world. However, I think it's good to note that this mainly seems to be geared towards allys rather than other queer folk as I had assumed

Beautiful collection and one of the most well rounded I've read. Sometimes anthology's can be a little narrow in their perspective but this one really considered many angled of the LGBTQ+ experience, including housing, healthcare, visiblilty, safety, gender identity, love, community and so much more. I was genuinely impressed, and it also included a wide array of people to truly represent the spectrum of identities in our community.

It felt timely and well organised. I'd particularly recommend it for allies and young LGBTQ+ people but really there's something in it for a lot of people, I really saw myself in a few pieces.

This is a book I want to press into the hands of anyone who thinks LGBTQ+ people are equal now, that the fight for rights is over. The essays are on a range of topics from safety to love and family, to health and housing. It’s a defiant, hopeful collection that wants better regardless of past hardships - a collection of people who seem unwilling to stop fighting for a better future.
Amelia Abraham’s introduction is arresting, enough to get your heart rate up on it’s own. The 6 sections the book is divided into show 6 different important facets of queer life and how they can be improved. The safety section is imbued with urgency, others more thoughtful, all truly boundary pushing. It’s not on a book to read in big chunks, I found the best way to read it was in small chunks over a long time, as there’s a lot to think about within its pages. We Can Do Better Than This boasts a really impressive batch of writers, across the spectrum of gender and sexuality as well as across culture. Standouts include Shrua’s piece on the intersection between misogyny and homophobia, Naoise Dolan’s aching essay on grey areas, and Shon Faye’s piece on trans influencers.
Shon’s is just one of the many pieces in this book that zeroes in on gender and trans people. Seeing the hateful rhetoric around trans people in the UK - the same hateful rhetoric that is trying to take root in Ireland - makes these essays among the most urgent in the book.
Lots of really clever points put forward in articulate and accessible ways - many of the essays are conversationally & simply written, and I expected it to be dense and academic so I was pleasantly surprised - I would have eaten this up as a teenager. But it still is a mind-expanding collection, filled with ideas that many cis, straight people won’t consider - and that’s the goddamn point.
I considered myself fairly knowledgeable on LGBTQ+ culture, history and politics but this collection serves as a reminder that I know so little about so many kinds of lived experiences. A really eye opening experience - Dynamic, arresting and urgent, it’s out now and I’d strongly recommend it to anyone.

This book contains 35 essays from different members of the LGBTQ+ community. There's so much diversity in here, with different sexualities, genders, races, backgrounds etc. This also includes accounts of people's experiences of being LGBTQ+ in different countries, including Brazil, Canada and Saudi Arabia. It opened my eyes to problems I've never even thought about before, and I've learnt a lot. I recommend this book to anyone, whether they need to be educated, or are looking for essays from people they relate to' Overall 5/5 stars, I loved it!

How can we create a better world for LGBTQ+ people? 35 extraordinary voices share their stories and visions for the future. We talk about achieving 'LGBTQ+ equality, but around the world, LGBTQ+ people are still suffering discrimination and extreme violence. How do we solve this urgent problem, allowing queer people everywhere the opportunity to thrive?

I didn't expect the collection to be able to cover so many different interesting topics and futures for LGBTQ+ people, but by keeping the essays short, the book both covers a lot and stays readable and engaging, suggesting you should go away and find out more if it's something new to you.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I must admit to being a bit ambivalent to read this book. Yes, we all know how terrible it is to be gay and living in Nigeria or Saudi Arabia, for example. “At the time of writing, homosexuality is still illegal in 69 countries and punishable by death in 6, while being trans is still criminalised in 13 UN member states.” But do we need yet another book to remind us of these dreadful statistics? Preaching to the choir, as it were.

I was immediately reminded of another recent and similar book, the superlative ‘The Pink Line: Journeys Across the World's Queer Frontiers’ by Mark Gevisser, which overcomes this problem by placing the author at the beating heart of the stories he tells. Thankfully, I am very glad to report that editor Amelia Abraham also overcomes this problem in ‘We Can Do Better Than This’.

The key is in the subtitle, ‘35 Voices on the Future of LGBTQ+ Rights’. Abraham brings together a commendably broad and eclectic range of voices, from celebrities to activists, artists, actors, drag queens and academics, et al. Each essay or contribution – the majority are not that long, which also helps the reader to digest the book more easily – is in the form of a manifesto: Outlining a specific problem or issue, and then proposing tangible and practical actions or solutions, and also how to go about implementing these from a grass-roots level.

Of course, a lot of these problems and issues relate to trans people in particular, and the permutations of modern gender specifically, from asexual to intersex and non-binary. The post-Stonewall gay world has become incredibly complex and fraught with all kinds of intersections of race and gender politics.

Abraham points out that far too little research has been conducted in this regard. What is also striking is how many of these problems and issues cross the narrow divide of being solely ‘gay’ issues, and instead permeate society in general. Interestingly, the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated intersectionality as a key driver of social change. Adam Eli writes in ‘Doing Better’:

In September 2019, the Queer Liberation March team began planning for Pride 2020. Those plans, along with much more, were instantly shoved aside in March 2020 when – BOOM – the entire world shut down due to Covid-19. Then, on 25 May, George Floyd was killed by the police. Like many others, I watched as protests against systemic racism and police brutality erupted in every state of America, and as thousands of people in Paris, London, Berlin and across the world. With official NYC Pride events cancelled, queer people took to the streets to support Black lives and Black queer lives, and there were at least four big rallies at the Stonewall Inn itself.

What comes across strongly in this book is the role of activism from both an individual and a community level. “Knowing we need to do better and actually doing better are two very different things,” points out Eli.

Not everyone’s stories and struggles are the same. However, a queer person can always relate to another queer person on at least a basic level because all queer people were born into a predominantly straight world. … I believe that because queer people are able to identify with each other in this way, we have an obligation to stand up for each other.

Edited by Amelia Abraham, We Can Do Better Than This is an anthology of 35 LGBTQ+ people sharing their stories, experiences, and visions for a world where we have true LGBTQ+ liberation.

As is common with anthologies, there are a mix of well-known voices - including Beth Ditto, Olly Alexander, Mykki Blanco, Owen Jones, Juliet Jacques, and Travis Alabanza - and LGBTQ+ people whose work I wasn't familiar with before now.

What I like about this collection is that it goes beyond the UK and US, which are often the sole focus when discussing LGBTQ+ issues. By featuring essays about life in Bangladesh, Brazil, Russia, Uganda, and more We Can Do Better Than This provides a global perspective.

The inclusion of asexual and intersex people also broadens the scope and highlights the experiences of people who are regularly relegated to the + in LGBTQ+, with very little representation beyond that.

We Can Do Better Than This asks us to consider the difference between LGBTQ+ assimilation and queer liberation. It calls on us to fight for queer liberation because assimilation leaves far too many LGBTQ+ people behind.

These essays aren't always an easy read, subject-wise, but that is what makes them essential reading. Some of the topics covered include; asexual visibility, the difficulties with accessing trans healthcare, the need to end forced surgery on intersex children and people, the rise of transphobia in the UK media, the state of LGBTQ+ mental health services, the importance of inclusive sex education in schools, and why community care is vital for both LGBTQ+ young people and LGBTQ+ older people.

We Can Do Better Than This is an impressive, engaging, and important anthology. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to learn more about global LGBTQ+ communities and experiences.

The standout essays for me are Ace of Clubs by Yasmin Benoit, Transphobia and the UK Media by Juliet Jacques, Know Thyself, Or Don't by Naoise Dolan, Happily Ever After Isn't Accessible to Me by Andrew Gurza, The End of Forced Intersex Surgeries by Hanne Gaby Odiele, Queering Sex Ed by Sasha Kazantseva, Breaking Through: Centering the Needs of Homeless LGBTQ+ Youth by Carl Siciliano, Pronouns as Portal Magic by Bobbi Salvör Menuez, 'Everyone's Trans, Now What?' by Travis Alabanza, Ceaseless Struggles, Infinite Possibilities: Finding Liberation in Queer History by Matthew Riemer, Global Grassroots Funding by Leticia Opio, and Doing Better by Adam Eli.

It took me a while to read this book. Not because the writing was bad in any way, but because I wanted to allow myself the luxury of time to read each essay and to fully let their meaning sink in. Some are short - only a few pages at most - others are longer, more complex discussions about sexuality and gender, both as concepts and how they exist in certain mediums, like sport. Nevertheless, this is a great collection by a whole variety of queer individuals - from activists to actors to artists. Their personal experiences are woven into the words they write, presenting powerful voices for change that all of us can get behind. 'We Can Do Better Than This' is required reading this Pride month, whether you need to educate yourself more or whether you just want to know you're not on your own.

We Can Do Better Than This is a timely collection of short essays portraying a variety of voices within the wide spectrum of the LGBTQIA+ community. It is a must read for both allies and queer folks, as it is our responsibility to learn more about ‘the other letters’ if we want to create a welcoming, friendly and supportive community, which offers everyone the unconditional acceptance we would like to receive. The book also brilliantly explores realities outside the UK and US, including voices from Brazil, Uganda, Russia and Bangladesh, giving anglophone readers a glimpse of the extreme hardship and danger siblings around the world have to face in order to live their truth. These experiences are a painful reminder not to give any hard-fought rights for granted and to recognise these privileges, treating them as a springboard to keep fighting and help others who are currently more disadvantaged.

I was particularly excited about this collection because I knew the work of some of its contributors including Travis Alabanza, Fox Fisher, madison moore, Juno Rocher and Amrou Al-Kadhi. I was really moved by the personal experiences they shared in their essays, which one cannot always get to know when simply following their public profiles. I also appreciated the representation of the Asexual community through Yasmin Benoit, who makes a brilliant overall summary of the main issues around aces invisibility and their eagerness to belong. The pace of the collection makes it a very smooth, yet intense read. The essays are just the right length for their authors to express their points eloquently while allowing the reader to jump from one article to the next, curious to learn more.

It was also interesting to read about the issue of representation, a common theme mentioned by most of the contributors. The weight and power of capitalism and mainstream culture are taking a toll throughout the community. They are preventing rightful representation of the non-binary and intersex communities in everyday life, elite sports and official recognition in the health and public administration systems. They are imposing a misleading media representation of trans people, divided between trending #TransformationTuesdays with Instagram accounts used as personal fundraising platforms, and media coverage in which LGBTQIA+ opponents are the only ones ‘able to frame the discussions’. The struggle continues in entertainment programmes, where most queer people’s plotlines are only revolving around how they can be more queer instead of living everyday lives like the everyday people they are, and also includes the problematic closure of physical queer spaces, making it more difficult for LGBTQIA+ folks to safely meet new people. The common wish seems to be an acknowledgment of the importance of a realistic representation, aimed both at the community and at the general public, which goes beyond portraying stereotypical views of what being queer means.

The main message of this collection I am taking away with me is that all members of the community are equally valid and worthy of respect, visibility, human rights and love. We are living in a tricky time in which attacks and hurtful remarks are coming from both inside and outside the community, and many energies are wasted in shame, anger, and pointless debates to defend our existence. The message of unity and the reminder of the importance of education among the different queer groups and across different countries, makes this work a tough summary of the present time and a hopeful action plan for the future.

We Can Do Better Than This is an anthology of 35 LGBTQ+ people talking about their stories and what they envision for the future. Some of the contributors include Olly Alexander, Naoise Dolan, Peppermint and Juliet Jacques.

This is a tough read that covers such a wide range of topics in relation to LGBTQ+ rights and people, looking at discrimination, mental health, medical care, rallies, stigma, homelessness and so much more. We Can Do Better Than this looks at the misrepresentation and the treatment of LGBTQ+ people in the mass media, especially trans and non-binary individuals. This anthology focuses on realistic solutions and goals that can be put into action to improve how life is for LGBTQ+ people, and these solutions are important and worth listening to.

I appreciated how there was asexual and intersex representation in this anthology as I find that their stories are normally left out of LGBTQ+ literature and their experiences and visions are so important to read and learn from. We Can Do Better Than This covers a wide breadth of experiences, covering topics across the UK and USA as well as Russia, Brazil, Bangladesh, Uganda and more.

As with any anthology some stories are stronger than others, but they were all important and brought a new perspective to the collection. The book is engaging and really readable due to the essays being short, even if the topics that are covered are devastating and hard.

Overall, this is such an important book that included diverse voices from the LGBTQ+ community from all around the world. This is a book that everyone should read.

4.5 stars

Such an important book amplifying diverse and intersectional voices within the LGBTQ+ community around the globe..
I learned so much from these stories, particularly about how persecuted members of this community are in certain areas of the world. There were some familiar names amongst the participants that I really enjoyed reading their experiences, and also those who I was so moved by reading their writing that I did further research on them and committed to the causes they mentioned.

We Can Do Better Than This: 35 Voices on the Future of LGBTQ+ Rights is a collection of short essays by various contributors that set out the present and future of areas such as healthcare, community, and visibility for LGBTQ+ people. Covering topics across the UK and USA but also Uganda, Russia, Bangladesh, Brazil, and more, the book manages to get a great breadth of material from people doing work or who have personal experience in these areas. It opens with essays on the topic of 'safety', highlighting the dangers faced by many people in the present day, and then does on to cover visibility, dating, love and family, health and social care, going beyond the binary, and community and organising.

What is particularly impressive the range both of topics covered and of people involved, with famous names in various areas contributing to the collection. Everyone is going to have essays that particularly speak to them—I personally found Juliet Jacques' look at transphobia and the UK media particularly powerful as it charted the history of the UK media's treatment of trans people, which obviously is a pressing and depressing subject. A lot of the international essays taught me about what is happening in other countries, and it's good to get that balance alongside the UK-focused contributions. I also liked Yasmin Benoit's look at asexual visibility, especially non-white asexual people, Amelia Abraham's essay on gendered sporting frameworks and how they need updating, and Travis Alabanza's imagining of a trans future without surveillance.

I didn't expect the collection to be able to cover so many different interesting topics and futures for LGBTQ+ people, but by keeping the essays short, the book both covers a lot and stays readable and engaging, suggesting you should go away and find out more if it's something new to you. It serves as a reminder that globally there is still a lot to do and also that by imagining futures and setting out the change that needs to happen, more people can be drawn into being a part of making that change.

We Can Do Better Than This is a deservedly tough read, and the sheer scope of subjects delved into is dizzying; far from sticking to the typical topics, this collection delivers candid conversations tackling all the taboos and then some. The thirty-five pieces that make up We Can Do Better Than This touch on politics online and offline, all forms of discrimination faced by queer folk, the harm done to LGBTQ+ mental health, rallies against forced intersex surgery, righteous frustration regarding the ridiculous wait times and relentless hoops to jump through to access gender-affirming healthcare, disability and queer dating, the stubborn, senseless stigma around PrEP and HIV positivity, the harrowing rates of poverty-induced homelessness among LGBTQ+ youth, the community-specific care owed to LGBTQ+ elders, binary-breaking in fashion and sports, and so much more.

While the misrepresentation of and misinformation about marginalized identities and how these tie into the myriad mythologies that exist about LGBTQ+ individuals in the mainstream are well-documented interlinking issues, many of the essays in We Can Do Better Than This track a telling exposition of the treatment of trans and non-binary folk by mass media that are traced back to the high standards and stifling homogeneity expected of trans people. The commentary on the insidious capitalism of queer influencer culture (and, by association, the co-option of social justice by corporations) and the popularity of trans content creation documenting physical transitions (and the power these influencers find on different platforms and among diverse audiences) were particularly interesting and informative investigative takes. Providing so much more than a litany of long-established problems, We Can Do Better Than This pinpoints and promotes realistic and actionable solutions for the LGBTQ+ plights that plague the world over, and these are well worth listening to.

Personally, I was really thrilled with the asexual representation (Yasmin Benoit's 'Ace of Clubs' was an A+ addition) made space for, and I found Shura's relatable ruminations on safety, KPop star Holland's poignant story, Naoise Dolan's co-morbid conjectures about autism and fluidity, and Olly Alexander's probing into the link between the shame that swallows queer people up and our sexualities to resound quite a lot. I'd emphatically recommend We Can Do Better Than This to anyone under the umbrella (or allied) on the lookout for some exemplary, edifying and all-accommodating LGBTQ+ non-fiction.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage for kindly passing on this arc! 💫