Description:
Emily Jenkins isn't ashamed of her insecurities, but she isn't throwing away her preconceptions, either. Tongue First can be reassuring to anyone who has felt embarrassed about disrobing in public or wonders about being more adventurous, as Jenkins unleashes her wit on topics from sensory deprivation to tattoos to afternoon naps. All sorts of things get tasted in this book: scary things, exciting things, fun things, banal things. Somehow, Jenkins portrays them as all OK--or, at least, just as OK as anything else. This catalog of emotions and experiences categorizes body decoration as celebration, explores what people do to control rebellious bodies (or to flout the convention that says they should), shows how getting a tattoo isn't all that different from the search for the perfect shade of red lipstick, and gives us a good look at the inside of Jenkins's head (and, in the chapter in which she shaves it, the outside as well). Her catty wit can sometimes occlude her message; when she slams an outré practice, then demonstrates that it's just like what ordinary people do, the reader may well ask if Jenkins is kidding or making social commentary, particularly since her criticisms rarely get more judgmental than a resounding "not for me, thanks." --Cheryl Trooskin
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