Growing Up Queer

Mary Robertson...make[s] a reader want to...just enjoy the teens she meets. Theres life in them, deep introspection and philosophical thought, as well as acceptance covered slightly with the scabs of perseverance. Their voices are real and need no explaining. They offer hope. ~Washington Blade

Illuminating...Robertson examine[s] how youth today form queer identities.This accessibly written inquiry will be of interest to queer readers, sociologists, and gender studies enthusiasts alike. ~Publishers Weekly

A rational and thoughtful examination of the evolving nature of the LGBTQ identification process in children and adolescents. … a groundbreaking and timely book that reveals the complicated and ambivalent nature of the identification process. Robertson argues that queer identity is not solely about gender and/or sexual identity, but is instead an intersectional bouillabaisse of race, class, ability, and more. Growing Up Queer also looks at the heartbreaking social inequality of queerness, where society accepts some kinds of LGBTQ identification but still rejects others it does not find palatable or sufficiently socially compliant. By using their own words, Robertson gives voice to their stories from their own point of view. This is a refreshing yet deep examination of the process of identification, how it has evolved, and future prospects for change and inclusion. ~The Advocate

Robertson shows the mechanisms through which binary conceptions of gender are reinforced, and she examines the intersectional effects of race, class and ability … The book’s main strength lies in rich ethnography and detailed accounts of young people. The methodological discussions are especially nuanced, and the rich histories add to our understanding of what it means to grow up queer today ~Choice

Robertson, rather artfully, nestles her work into the empty space in LGBTQ youth research; how youth become gendered, how they become sexual, and how they come to embrace the identity language that fits them with the most precision. Robertson not only adds to the existing research, but also weaves in and out of it, highlighting its relevance, but also indicates where it proves to be archaic. ~Journal of Youth and Adolescence

With clarity and rich detail, Robertson tells the story of growing up queer and the community organizations and institutions that buoy today's LGBT youth. It is a deeply engaging account of both the dignities and indignities of becoming queer, leaving us with a more complicated portrait of youth resilience and risk. ~Amy L. Best, Author of Fast-Food Kids: French Fries, Lunch Lines and Social Ties

This book works well as an introduction to queer theory, and what is meant by queer as an anti-identification. Growing Up Queer would serve well for both advanced undergraduate and introductory graduate courses focusing on queer theory, gender and sexuality, and qualitative methods. The text also works well in demonstrating young people’s agentic role in constructing their own gender and sexual subjectivities while also demonstrating processes of socialization, paying mind to how gender and sexuality are also done to us, not simply who we are. ~Gender & Society

Whereas a wide swath of scholarly and mainstream attention to LGBTQ youth has emphasized either their vulnerability or their resilience, Robertson challenges this binary by serving as a conduit for queer youth’s voices and experiences that reflect much more complicated realities. ~American Journal of Sociology