Funny Gyal
My Fight Against Homophobia in Jamaica
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ+ Young Adult — 2022 Finalist
“Instead of remaining silent, she chose to speak out … That’s the power of one person.” — Barack Obama
The inspiring story of Angeline Jackson, who stood up to Jamaica’s oppression of queer youth to demand recognition and justice.
When Angeline Jackson was a child, she wondered if there was something wrong with her for wanting to kiss the other girls. But as her sexuality blossomed in her teens, she knew she wouldn’t “grow out of it” and that her attraction to girls wasn’t against God. In fact, she discovered that same-sex relationships were depicted in the Bible, which she read devoutly, even if the tight-knit evangelical Christian community she grew up in believed any sexual relationship outside of marriage between a man and woman was a sin, and her society, Jamaica, criminalized homosexual sex.
Angeline’s story begins with her traumatic experience of “corrective rape” when she is lured by an online predator, then traces her childhood through her sexual and spiritual awakening as a teen — falling in love, breaking up, coming out, and then being forced into conversion therapy.
Sometimes dark, always threadbare and honest, Funny Gyal chronicles how Angeline’s faith deepens as a teenager, despite her parents’ conservative values and the strict Christian Jamaican society in which she lives, giving her the courage to challenge gender violence, rape culture, and oppression.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Author and activist Angeline Jackson’s tough, compassionate memoir details her fight against prejudice and abuse in a culture that won’t accept her. Born and raised in Jamaica, Jackson had a supportive, strongly Christian family. But once she was old enough to know she wanted to kiss girls, she began learning firsthand just how powerfully homophobic Jamaican culture is, enduring horrors like “corrective rape,” conversion therapy, and rejections from family and friends. Jackson is a straightforward storyteller who makes her fear, confusion, and rage vividly clear. And she does a beautiful job articulating the pride and gratitude that come with finding love and support in her community. Funny Gyal is a story of a woman embracing love as a weapon against hate.