All Boys Aren't Blue

Content Warning: Part 2, Chapter 3 and Part 2, Chapter 4 reference anti-gay slurs and bias, while the Part 2, Chapter 1 references bullying. The Introduction-Part 1 Analysis discusses racism and anti-LGBTQ+ bias, including violence, at length.

The introduction begins with a story about Johnson’s birth. The family thought the baby would be a girl, and Johnson’s aunt, upon seeing baby Johnson, declared them a girl. Moments later, upon inspecting Johnson’s genitals, the baby was declared to be a boy. Johnson wonders what life would be like if parents were simply told what genitals their child has rather if the child is a “boy” or “girl”—terms that carry many gendered assumptions. As a result of being declared a boy, Johnson has struggled their whole life to understand themself: if they are a boy, a girl, or neither.

The introduction briefly explores two of Johnson’s identities, Blackness and queerness. The memoir centers on these two identities, which Johnson says are intertwined and cannot be separated from one another. Johnson hopes that the memoir will serve as an illuminating guide for teens and young adults (particularly Black queer boys) who feel similar to Johnson. Johnson had no role models for Black queerness growing up and wishes to change that for the next generation.