Book Review: Leaving the Confederate closet: A southern lesbian’s journey

Abstract

nant. Another contribution Garbes makes is her presentation of some aspects of pregnancy and birth such as placenta, breastmilk, and fetal cells with a sense of awe. While a strength of the book is that Garbes inserts anecdotes from people in her life alongside some research about pregnancy and the postpartum period, one weakness is that because the majority of the book centers on her own pregnancy and motherhood, some of the other experiences she references are not thoroughly analyzed. An essential component of this book is Garbes’ attention to systems of oppression and inequalities and how they impact experiences with pregnancy and postpartum. By presenting these constructions, Garbes calls the reader to action without making them feel like their parental struggles are personal failures. In the introduction and first chapter, Garbes explains how the terms used during pregnancy and motherhood are gendered and expresses her desire to be inclusive due to her experiences as a woman of color. However, Garbes continues to use gendered language and states, “we are all born from female bodies...” (p. 31). Presenting pregnancy as a womanly experience can isolate gender minority individuals who already face higher discrimination, fear, and stigmatization in reproductive healthcare (e.g., Besse et al., 2020; Brandt et al., 2019). For some, the pregnancy and birth process are empowering while for others, it is triggering. As there is no correct way to be pregnant or a parent, there is also no correct way to approach these topics but choosing inclusive language such as birthing parent or chestfeeding may have helped the author with her stated goal of inclusivity. People who are parents, pregnant, or trying to conceive and who want a sociocultural and scientific perspective of pregnancy and the postpartum period may find this to be a useful text. Because this book stems from Garbes’ interest in unanswered questions throughout her pregnancy journey, others who think similarly may appreciate her research and responses to those shared curiosities.