A Year Straight

September 19, 2011
One night, Elena Azzoni was being crowned queen of the lesbian pageant, Miss Lez. Months later, she was twisted into literal and psychological knots in yoga class, stunned by a sneaking attraction to her male yoga teacher. This dramatic turnaround made her question not only her own identity but her place in the lesbian community. Conflicted but resolute, she explores dating men. Mishaps abound; she dumps men who don’t meet her standards, is dumped in turn and finally finds Mr. Right. Unfortunately, what could have been a searching and personal exploration of the fluidity of sexuality and identity becomes a shallow account of one-night stands devoid of introspection. Azzoni chooses to cast herself as unconvincingly naive and hapless and clings to outmoded gender stereotypes. Repetitive, rife with lazy generalities, this is a half-hearted attempt to turn a shift in sexual interest into a life journey.

October 15, 2011
A 30-something comedic actress explores her sexual orientation. Attracted to women from a young age, as an adult, Azzoni found herself not only a card-carrying member of the Brooklyn lesbian community, but, after claiming the Miss Lez beauty-pageant title, its veritable poster child. "I couldn't have been gayer," she writes. "I cat-sat, drank herbal tea, and in high school played field hockey. I'd been both vegan and vegetarian. I was a food co-op member. I drove a stick shift. As a kid I undressed Barbie and Skipper and made them kiss and touch boobs. I was even allergic to nuts." Consequently, the author was shocked when, one day in yoga class, the embrace of her yoga instructor left her breathless with desire for him. That brief encounter ignited Azzoni's curiosity to become intimately involved with men. In often-hilarious detail, the author recounts her daring voyage into the dizzying cosmos of hetero dating. What sets this account apart from the typical mildly ironic coming-of-age chick-lit memoir is Azzoni's bald examination of how acting on this "newfound man-lust" would rock not only her sense of self but her station in the gay community: "What if I were truly attracted to men?" she writes. "Would I still have a place in my world? Could I betray the very people who had cheered me on as Miss Lez? I was reluctant to forfeit the rewards of coming out in the first place." Readers will appreciate the candor of the author's admission to fearing that her attraction to men might drive her back into the closet with the very friends who, like her, had struggled to get out of it. Frank, funny and revealing of relations between--and among--the sexes.

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