Hello and welcome back to Queeries, your favorite gay blog! For this week’s post I want to take a step away from the more personal posts about my own identity. Don’t worry, there will be more of that to come in the near future, but I wanted to have a little fun this week and talk about one of my favorite books from recently.
One day last semester, I went to the nearby Barnes and Noble with my friends Kate and Kenny. We were in a section with lots of queer books, and Kate picked one up to show me. It was The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang. She said it was probably her favorite graphic novel, and her description of it immediately had me interested.
I have been wanting to read more books (especially queer ones) and I love graphic novels with all my heart. After hearing much praise from Kate about the general queerness and genderqueerness in this one, I decided to get it. And oh my god, am I so glad that I did because I fell in love with this book and I think I can even go so far as to say that it changed my life a little bit.
Let me give you a brief overview of The Prince and the Dressmaker while avoiding too many spoilers, because I want to encourage you to read this book, especially if you’re queer, and even more so if you’re genderqueer.
Our lovable main character is Frances, an amazing young seamstress in Paris who dreams of becoming a well-known designer and dressmaker. She gets hired by Prince Sebastian after he sees her dress designs that defy the traditional fashion of the time. Why you may ask? Because he has a secret.
While his parents are focused on finding him a bride, Sebastian loves dressing up in gorgeous dresses, heels, and a wig to take on Paris as Lady Crystallia at night. He is able to do so with Frances’ help, but keeping his secret also means keeping the designer of Lady Crystallia’s dresses a secret from the world. Frances must figure out how she can protect her friend but still pursue her dreams of greatness.
This book was so incredible to read because of the ambiguity of Sebastian’s gender. They give me genderfluid vibes, which is probably why I love them so much as a character. At the beginning of the novel, Sebastian tells Frances, “Some days I look at myself in the mirror and I think, ‘That’s me, Prince Sebastian! I wear boy clothes and look like my father. Other days it doesn’t feel right at all. Those days I feel like I’m actually… a princess.”
Beyond Sebastian’s ambiguous gender, Frances’ sexuality is a little ambiguous as well. Spoiler warning: you could probably guess based on the cover but, Frances and Sebastian start falling for each other. Except, Frances starts realizing she is falling in love with Sebastian when they are dressed as Lady Crystallia. Ack it’s just so lovely.
I think reading this book was the first time I got to see someone with an ambiguous gender in some form of art or media. And especially with Sebastian seemingly being genderfluid (like me!!) I just… ahhhh. I didn’t realize how much that representation would mean to me. I just love this book so dearly and it makes my heart so happy.
If you’re genderqueer, absolutely go read this book when you get the chance. But regardless of how you identify, seek out some type of media that shows someone like you represented on the page or on the screen. If you’re not used to seeing part of yourself in other characters, I think you’ll probably have the same ecstatic reaction that I did.
With that, I’ll end this week’s post. I love you very much and I’m very proud of who you are!
With love,
PJ
Photo Credits: