The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
Jun. 7th, 2018 01:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sasha_feathercomic, published by First Second, 2018.
This review is cross-posted at Goodreads.
Very cute and a good story. Recommended for: cross-dressing, fashion, a teenage girl with talent and ambition, and a happy ending.
There is not a lot of exploration of identity in this book. Sebastien is not confused about who he is. There is no questioning of sexuality. The romantic angle of the book seemed unecessary to me but your mileage may vary. I struggle whether to classify this book as queer. Sebastien is a cross-dresser, but he does not have queer community; he does not question his gender or sexuality; he does not think much about identity categories. He says that he's "a prince who likes dresses." When the dressmaker and the prince go on something that feels like a date? This happens when Sebastien is dressed in boy clothes. This story is mostly told in pictures rather than words, so that can be difficult to convey. But I would have liked more exploration of Sebastien's gender thoughts and feelings.
Content notes: there is an outing in this book (Sebastien is publicly outed to his parents and everyone) which some readers may find upsetting. It also denies Sebastien, as a character, the opportunity to come out on his own.
This book is good for what it is, and what it tries to do, and the art is lovely. I'd be curious to hear what others think of this book, particularly people who are cross-dressers themselves.
This review is cross-posted at Goodreads.
Very cute and a good story. Recommended for: cross-dressing, fashion, a teenage girl with talent and ambition, and a happy ending.
There is not a lot of exploration of identity in this book. Sebastien is not confused about who he is. There is no questioning of sexuality. The romantic angle of the book seemed unecessary to me but your mileage may vary. I struggle whether to classify this book as queer. Sebastien is a cross-dresser, but he does not have queer community; he does not question his gender or sexuality; he does not think much about identity categories. He says that he's "a prince who likes dresses." When the dressmaker and the prince go on something that feels like a date? This happens when Sebastien is dressed in boy clothes. This story is mostly told in pictures rather than words, so that can be difficult to convey. But I would have liked more exploration of Sebastien's gender thoughts and feelings.
Content notes: there is an outing in this book (Sebastien is publicly outed to his parents and everyone) which some readers may find upsetting. It also denies Sebastien, as a character, the opportunity to come out on his own.
This book is good for what it is, and what it tries to do, and the art is lovely. I'd be curious to hear what others think of this book, particularly people who are cross-dressers themselves.
