Unprotected, a memoir, by Billy Porter

[Ulysses]

Unprotected, a memoir
By Billy Porter
Abrams Press, 2021
Five stars

Wrapped in sass and camp, this fairly straightforward biographical narrative transcends the genre with its intensely personal, almost performative style. It is about the constant battle to succeed as an actor/singer/dancer in a world deeply tainted by racism and homophobia; but it is also the story of a Black gay man struggling against the religiously-based homophobia of his own community.

Porter’s memoir is funny, heart-breaking, triumphal, and intensely confessional. What struck me, over and over, is his amazing generosity, his gratitude to everyone who helped and encouraged and loved him as he fought his way through they years to the pinnacle of pride and success he has (finally) achieved. Porter is always quick to express his rage and outrage at injustice and institutionalized prejudice; but equally quick to forgive and uplift.

The style of writing is completely Porter’s own style, inimitable and unforgettable. Like Porter himself, his memoir is a product of the world we live in right now, and a brilliant document of this moment, for good and for ill, in our nation’s painfully slow evolution toward the light.