All Boys Aren't Blue - George M Johnson

“All Boys Aren’t Blue” is a coming of age memoir written as a set of autobiographical sketches containing advice and commentary. This is not a book about trans, nor is it a book not about trans – but more of that possible paradox in a while. The writer, George Matthew Johnson is an American writer and self-proclaimed activist with, as of 2026, a number of published books, of which this was the first. It is about being black and queer and American. Johnson might not think much of that last, but it is very American. If you’re not born in the USA, and in the light of recent political developments, you may right now have a very evolved sense of the U.S.A, placing it somewhere on the spectrum between “dominant civilization of our time” and “declining super-power working out its societal hang-ups to nobody’s benefit”. Johnson’s book can’t help being caught up in that matrix. Although the world is not short of American sexuality and gender memoirs one more, written primarily for young adults, is welcome. It is a necessary book and since its publication in 2020 has, I trust, done a lot of good in consciousness-raising amongst that target audience. It is not condescending in style, not written-down at all, and seems at times so tailored to a particular culture to make you wonder if it was written by committee, or even AI with a very liberal brief. Actually, I think it was probably informed by a lot of editorial attention – anyway it does its job well enough. It is not a book about trans because George Matthew, having flirted actively with their feminine side early on, finally elects to be a male queer. It is a book about trans in the sense that the MTF transition and life of at least one of his friends gets quality attention in one of the chapters. While we’re on the subject of gender-identity George Matthew closes this account of his early life firmly identifying as a male, and, as is common with such life-accounting, does not spend much of his telling time on the female dimension of the current gender-debate – FTM transitioning, lesbianism or, for that matter, gender-refusal or non-binary identifications. It is a very binary book, and George Matthew is keen to be very categorical about his decisions and experiences. Click on the link to read the whole review and reflection on my site