Girls Can Kiss Now by Jill Gutowitz (Review by Amanda Gavigan)

Rating: 4/5 ⭐

Girls Can Kiss Now is a humorous, insightful collection of essays peering into pop culture and lesbian history with reflections by writer Jill Gutowitz. From inside and confused to feet firmly planted out of the closet Jill takes readers on a journey through her own self discovery as pop culture tiptoed into the LGBTQ Community before embracing the rainbow community we are familiar with today.

An open look at the way homosexuality was perceived within society and pop culture over the years and how people were shamed for what was as natural to them as breathing. Jill reviews particularly significant LGBTQ moments in movies, tv shows, and gossip columns, and what impact they had on her as she had searched to find her own identity. Jill Gutowitz explains how it took time and different scenarios to understand what her emotions were and how she was able to truly define herself as a result.

Told in Girls Can Kiss Now is Jill’s own experiences like being visited and watched by the FBI, her thoughts on Taylor Swift’s sexuality, and stories of her best friend and how their friendship broke through her barriers. Through her series of essays Jill examines how she began to question her own sexuality and what it meant, writing in an easy going relatable manner. With references to major events in pop culture, Jill does an excellent job highlighting her journey into self realization and the freedom to express who she is without conformity.

Girls Can Kiss Now is an excellent book for someone in the closet, exploring questions about themselves, or any pop culture history buff. With insight not normally written about in today’s culture, Jill Gutowitz explains to the reader of the inner psyche she experiences as a gay woman coming into her own. Jill explains the “longing, yearning” felt in the lesbian world in a way that anyone can relate to, and in such a way that might assist someone coming out of the closet. A humorous and insightful read.