SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another blog post.
Today, I'm going to do a book review on "Binge" by Tyler Oakley.
If you don't know who Tyler Oakley is, he is a Youtuber; one of my favorite one's at that.
Just in case you're wondering, no, I do not own the book. I borrowed it from my school's library and read it over Christmas break, and it was amazing!
One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to reading, though, is when chapters are super long. However, when it comes to an amazing book like Binge, I'd definitely make an exception.
There had been a few times where I thought "dang, this guy has been through a lot," specifically in chapters 7 & 13.
In chapter 7, titled "Binge," he talked about his past and how he was always a "chubby" kid.
On page 35, he said, "When things first got rough, I ate everything, and I was ashamed. I was heavy, and I felt heavy. I would wear a t-shirt in the wave pool, and while I will say now that it helped with blocking out harmful UV rays, it screamed one thing at the time: fat kid is ashamed of being fat, but still wants to splash around at Dollywood for his family's first and only vacation. I gained so much weight that gym class became my personal hell. I was reluctant to change in the locker room, and any physical activity was excruciatingly embarrassing. I felt that I had to run . The first time we had to run a mile in sixth grade, the classes I had leading up to my gym period were spent in a full-on panic. It was a timed event, and with a blast of a whistle, I immediately fell to the back of the pack with the rest of the overweight kids. We felt a collective shame as we were lapped by the fast kids with good builds. I developed an immediate and deep self-loathing when, halfway through, I couldn't run any longer. Heaving, I slowed to a walk. I heard the screams of my gym teacher, berating me for being physically unable to go on. The slowest in the class, I finished my mile at eleven minutes and one second , a time that was branded into my mind as embarrassing, pitiful, and disgusting. I hated myself."
On page 81, he said, "Coming out is a process, and no LGBTQ+ person is ever done doing it. Although it gets easier to do every time, most of the world is pretty hetero normative and assumes that people are straight by default. Well, newsflash world! I'm (spoiler!) gay.
My mom and stepdad always knew. Instead of using words such as girlfriend or wife, they'd use significant other or partner to casually let me know that it was okay if I ended up someday riding dick. Not until I was eleven did we ever acknowledge it out loud. That day, my mom and I were in line at the bank. She looked at me and asked if I was gay; I said yes grabbed a handful of free suckers at the counter and that was it. Coming out to my friends was a different story. Going into high school, I knew I was gay, but I had never told anyone outside the family. I kept it to myself for years despite how supportive my surroundings were. My school had a gay-straight alliance club, many out a proud teachers, and plenty of openly gay students, but I just wasn't ready. When I did come out to my school, it wasn't by choice and I was far from prepared."
The part where he talked about being a "cubby" kid, that's something I can relate to. I've almost always been plus-sized. I've never really had the "perfect" body.
A few of my friends and I were hanging out today and one of them said he wishes he wasn't fat. I said, "dude you're like 100 pounds. I'm probably the fattest out of all of us." After I said that, my other friend said "blame it on the food."
To some people, that may sound kind of rude, but, it wasn't rude to me because I kind of agree with it. I eat a lot and I'm sure I'm not the only one that does.
Being gay on the other hand. That's something I'm not. I'm not a part of the LGBTQ+ community but I have a few friends that are. I 10000000% support it and I don't see anything wrong with being gay, bi, etc.
Over all, I really enjoyed the book and I would 100% read it again. It's definitely a book I recommend. 10/10!
That's it for today's blog post. I know it's up a little late but I was kind of busy all week.
Come back tomorrow for another blog post where I tell you about something that really boiled my blood a few months ago.
Until tomorrow, see you!
~Brianna
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