- Publisher: ŠKUC
- Author: Alenka Spacal
- Original title: Mavrična maškarada
“Mavrična maškarada (Rainbow Masquerade, 2013) is a modern fable in picture-book form in which anthropomorphized animals are preparing for a party where they will play with their genders; that is, they will apply the concept gender performativity: some will dress up as different genders, some as their own, some will perform multiple genders at the same time. The protagonist of the book, a tortoise, is not sure what sex/ gender they are, so they set off to meet other animals and find out. In a series of en- counters, the tortoise meets a rabbit who is afraid of genders, but who likes putting on his mother’s clothes, a snail called Hermi (Herman/Hermina) who switches between genders according to how they feel, two ladybirds (presumably in a lesbian relation- ship), two squirrels (one butch, one femme), and others. The animals tell the tortoise about their experiences of gender and encourage them to find the gender they will feel at ease with. Above all, they present gender as something fluid. As any fable, Mavrič- na maškarada has a moral: after some perplexity, the tortoise finally appreciates that genders are best played with.
Spacal made a conscious decision to avoid LGBTQ+ signifiers at the textual level, but the illustrations include an abundance of LGBTQ+ symbols such as rainbows, masks, feathers, monocles, crowns, LGBTQ+ books, and the book employs feminist/queer concepts in a crossover fashion. Readers with an awareness of gender performativity, feminism, sexual identities, camp and kitsch will clearly recognize them in the text and especially in the illustrations, whereas children will focus on the tortoise’s adven- ture of finding out what their sex/gender is.”
Andrej Zavrl, International LGBTQ + Literature for Children and Young Adults
Alenka Spacal
Alenka Spacal is a writer, illustrator, and storytell- er. She was born in 1975 in Ljubljana. She received her BA and MA in Philosophy and PhD in Sociology from the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. As a freelance artist, she publishes her work at Bajalka, the Institute for Publishing and the Art of Storytell- ing. She writes and illustrates original picture books. The author writes about gender issues for adults and children. Up to date, she has published four picture books in the Slovenian language: Mavrična maš- karada (The Rainbow Masquerade, 2013), Kako ti je ime? (What’s Your Name?, 2018), Modre ptičje misli (Blue Bird Wisdoms, 2019) and Fižolčica beži pred fižolovo juho, 2019. Her last picture book was also published in Eng- lish: Little Beanie Belle Runs from the Bean Soup, 2019. The illustration from the picture book The Rainbow Masquerade was chosen as the cover of the International LGBTQ + Literature for Children and Young Adults. Alenka Spacal narrates her stories to children through her original illustrations. Her works are exhibited in exhibitions both in Slovenia and abroad.
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