The Male Gazed by Manuel Betancourt

Thursday, May 16, 2024--San Antonio

The Male Gazed by Manuel Betancourt is a memoir in essays.  I checked it out because it was on a number of lists of top books in 2023.  I don't see how it got there.  It is very boring for anyone who isn't familiar with Colombian soap operas, the "Colombian Liberace," specific TV series in the US, the details of Madonna's Vogue album, the excitement discovered by gay men from the lower east side going to Harlem to experience voguing, minute details of every season of Ru Paul's Drag Race, etc.  The author, only about 39 years old, has written it as if what has happened in his life and how he has lived his life is of great importance, so important that he had to write page-after-page of details as if everyone has had the same experiences in life as he has--not as a story, but as essays that describe exactly what happened in detail, his thrill of discovery from those experiences, etc.  Reading on a Kindle, I often thumbed through multiple pages at a time rather than waste time on details that were meaningless to me.  It's obvious that the author thinks he is very enlightened and is living a fabulous life of discovery and understanding.  I'm just glad I got this through the library and didn't waste any money on it.  I gave it 2 1/2 stars out of 5.