Book was okay, easy to read what you want of it. Overall formulaic questions, some of the interviewees were insightful.

Maybe 3.5 stars. The beginning of the book was very inspiring and then it just petered out. Not sure if it was because it began to feel repetitive or because I didn't recognize so many of the younger people.

An excellent account of poplar LGBTQ icons and leaders. Being queer is an advantage, and this book is sure to inspire.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to review!

In this book, Andrew Gelwicks interviews over 50 influential queer people of the world; from Boy George to Troye Sivan, from Margaret Cho to Adam Rippon.

I loved how this book introduced me to many people I hadn’t heard of, or hadn’t realized the impact of before starting this book. So many things are possible because of the people in these pages, even if you never think about why or how something came to be.

I also loved how each interview ends with a note of hope for the future. I also really appreciate how this book is all about how being queer has helped these people instead of hindering them, when often the latter is more of the case or more of what you hear about.

However this isn’t a book you can binge in one sitting, otherwise the interviews tend to feel repetitive as he asks different people the same questions. I also felt like some interviews were very short and I just wanted a little more depth from them.


All in all, I’m very glad I read this. It introduced me to so many people that I want to research more on, and it was so nice hearing about these peoples experiences in their own words. I’d recommend this if you love nonfiction, especially queer nonfiction.

“I realized I could gradually assemble a community of individuals who, although they may not have lived my exact story, nor I theirs, understand what it is meant to be judged as different”

The Queer Advantage is a collection of interviews with 50 LGBTQ+ leaders. I enjoyed this book, as it shows the advantages of being queer and how these leaders became successful because of it rather than in spite of it. I would have liked it more if there were less interviews and each one was a little more in-depth.

I have to admit one of my main reasons for entering a giveaway for this book is my admiration of George Takei.

This collection of ethnographic interviews is wonderful. I truly appreciate that Gelwicks reached out to diverse Americans in his network–including disabled people, who are nearly always left out of conversations. I knew almost all of these names, so they're pretty popular figures! We need more people taking up projects like this, collecting experiences.