“Are you there Judy, it’s me Robby?” That was 12-year-old me attempting to write a letter to author Judy Blume circa 1990. Too many people play it hard and fast with words like icon and legend but those two words encapsulate who Judy Blume is and the impact she has on millions and millions of teen girls, and countless young soon-to-be gay boys.
On the heels of the long-awaited film version of “Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret,” a new documentary explores the cultural impact Judy Blume and her novels have had. “Judy Blume Forever” premieres on Amazon Prime Video April 21st.
The 85-year-old award-winning author of over 25 novels has long been cherished for her frankness, her openness, and her honesty. The Deenie author talked to her readers instead of lecturing them. You would be hard-pressed to find a school library absent of Judy Blume novels.
That being said, the New York Times Best Selling author has also been a source of controversy to those old, white, straight, sexist Republicans. Blume novels always find their way onto Banned Book Lists, an issue that is extremely relevant today thanks to fascists like Florida Governor Ron DeathSantis. The film
“is the story of the woman whose trail-blazing books changed the way millions of readers understand themselves, their sexuality, and what it means to grow up.”
The film directed by Davino Pardo and Leah Wolchok “traces Blume’s journey from fearful, imaginative child to storytelling pioneer who elevated the physical and emotional lives of kids and teens, to banned writer who continues to fight back against censorship today.”Â
Appearing in the film are celebrities including Lena Dunham, Molly Ringland, and Samantha Bee who refer to Blume’s books as “timeless and timely.” Its no lie to say thatÂ
“Generations of readers have found themselves in a Judy Blume book. Her name alone launches a flood of memories for anyone who’s gripped one of her many paperbacks. For decades, Blume’s radical honesty has comforted and captivated readers – and landed her at the center of controversy for her frankness about puberty and sex.”
‘I am so disheartened at what’s happening today that we are right back in the eighties when it comes to book banning, except that it’s much worse much, much worse.’ Writer Judy Blume spoke against censorship at the screening of a documentary about her life ‘Judy Blume Forever’ pic.twitter.com/YGH5Wsgq9z
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 6, 2023
Judy Blume gets her due in the trailer for new doc Judy Blume Forever https://t.co/i4bFrtFo3B pic.twitter.com/eqCyiM1Mak
— The A.V. Club (@TheAVClub) March 8, 2023
What say you Instincters? Did your teenage self curl up with a Judy Blume book? Did you read your sister’s copy of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing under the covers with a flashlight? Sounds off in the comments below.
For me, looking back of course I gravitated to Judy Blume’s books about puberty but also about young girls coming of age. As a child I knew at age 4 I wanted to be a girl. I loved girl toys, I played doll houses with girls, I thought the Baby Alive was the greatest invention ever. In grade school I wasn’t like the other boys. I was a book worm, and Judy Blume’s books were some of my favorites, but that should hardly be surprising since the very first “novel” I ever read was about a girl who shrunk and was trapped in a doll house (hmmmm so much to unpack there…) I always identified with the female characters in her books, but then I identified with the female protagonists in every book. Even before I came to grip with my bisexuality but after I had repressed my trans identity the signs were there. How many teenage boys were reading Flowers in the Attic in 1982? Judy Blume’s books spoke to the girl inside me and I am very happy that she kyboshed that hatchet job the UK press put on her to try to make her out a TERF by expressing her absolute 100% support of trans people because when I first heard the misquote that they ran up the flagpole about her 100% supporting JKR I was devastated. I’m glad to know my faith in her was not misplaced.