First pregnancy can be a fraught, uncomfortable experience for any woman, but for resolutely butch lesbian Teek Thomasson, it is exceptionally challenging. Teek identifies as...

First pregnancy can be a fraught, uncomfortable experience for any woman, but for resolutely butch lesbian Teek Thomasson, it is exceptionally challenging.

Teek identifies as a masculine woman in a world bent on associating pregnancy with a cult of uber-femininity. Teek wonders, "Can butches even get pregnant?"

Of course, as she and her pragmatic femme girlfriend Vee discover, they can. But what happens when they do? Written and illustrated by A.K. Summers, and based on her own pregnancy, Pregnant Butch strives to depict this increasingly common, but still underrepresented experience of queer pregnancy with humor and complexity--from the question of whether suspenders count as legitimate maternity wear to the strains created by different views of pregnancy within a couple and finally to a culturally critical and compassionate interrogation of gender in pregnancy.

Offering smart, ambitious art, this graphic memoir is a must-read for would-be pregnant butches and anyone interested in the intersection of birth and gender, as well as a perfect queer baby shower gift and conversation starter for those who always assumed they "got" being pregnant.

Author: A. K. Summers
Publisher: Soft Skull
Published: 03/18/2014
Pages: 128
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 10.00h x 7.00w x 0.44d
ISBN: 9781593765408
Audience: Young Adult


Award: Lambda Literary Awards - Finalist


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 01/13/2014

About the Author
Yvonne Bynoe has written and lectured extensively on politics, culture and economics and how those topics are often framed by popular culture. Bynoe is the author of the books, The Encyclopedia of Rap and Hip Hop Culture, which that chronicles the history of the genre, Stand & Deliver: Political Activism, Leadership and Hip Hop Culture, and Who's Your Mama?