Regardless of what age you are when it happens, first ‘coming out’ or even navigating queer life as a seasoned professional down the line can be confusing as fuck. It can bring all kinds of new question marks and conundrums. But what if there was a guide to help you through it all? Rosie’s debut book, Girlfriend Material: An Honest Guide to Dating Women and Owning Your Identity (Bloomsbury, May 2026), offers an open, inclusive and accessible guide to dating women, understanding your sexuality and embracing your identity without shame or rigid labels.
At this point in the summer, the queer situationships have usually got a bit messy, our bank accounts are a little low, and we’re feeling overwhelmed yet elated by our plan-filled diaries, waiting for a quiet moment to reset. Or perhaps you’re having a wonderfully chilled August, keeping cool, and keeping calm. Whatever your vibe, here’s a queer non-fiction book we think could appeal to anyone reading this, because it helps to answer some of the questions about the queer women’s plight that we’ve never really got before the world of the hyperconnected internet, now that being queer is cool, without learning about things in hindsight, having dragged ourselves through it.
If you’re questioning your sexuality, figuring out who you are, or just want to brush up on your charisma, your pulling skills, or expand your queer friend circle, this is the funny, heartwarming, and practical guide you’ve been waiting for.
What’s Girlfriend Material about?
From her own lived experience, combined and compared with other voices from her community, Rosie takes us on a journey through the trials and tribulations of queer dating, sex, and reconciling the relationship with yourself that will have you primed to make meaningful connections with other people in the queer community, and that doesn’t just mean romantic. Like the big sister we never had, she walks us through how to find social groups and opportunities to connect and create our own queer social circles when you don’t know where to begin, while also providing sage advice on how to stay true to yourself and who you are in the process, be it drinking and dancing, arts and crafts, political book clubs, or running. Whatever it is, this book will help you develop a plan of action to find your people, and find yourself.
It goes further to help you understand the phenomenon of sapphic dating: a whirlwind to navigate, even for those several years into the matrix, those who probably have some best friends who are also exes.
What stands out about Girlfriend Material?
It’s a genuine, down-to-earth exploration of all the things that come to a head when you come out and immerse yourself in the complicated world of dating women. What’s particularly special about this book is that the title implies it may simply be a book about dating and getting a girlfriend. But it goes far beyond that. In different steps throughout the book, Rosie constantly emphasises staying true to oneself, while also setting healthy boundaries and prioritising effective communication about needs, rather than chasing the unobtainable or going for what’s not right for you. As queer people, we often lack healthy blueprints or role models who teach us those lessons at the early ages when we need them most. From good, healthy and fun sex, to monitoring your own regulatory system, to identifying red and green flags and navigating the grey areas of all these queer experiences, Rosie Turner offers the perfect helping hand, providing structure that guides us through it all. A real highlight, is that she teaches you how to actually flirt with women, and how to tell when they might be flirting with you, which may actually be one of the greatest mysteries on Earth.
The verdict?
This book is perfect for anyone who is new to the queer scene, has just come out, or is perhaps finding themself again after a break-up, or hitting the same dating patterns and needs to change shit up. If you need to brush up on how to meet new people, with some hot and healthy tips on navigating the trials and tribulations of the lesbian dating pool, this is the perfect novel for you. Some tips on flirting below…
An extract from Girlfriend Material:
“Throwing her head back or tilting to one side to expose her neck is a subtle but powerful sign of attraction. For many women, this gesture happens naturally because the neck is a sensitive area rich in pheromone release, which plays a key role in subconscious attraction cues… When you notice a woman tilting her neck or throwing her head back during a conversation or glance, it’s often her body’s way of signalling interest and openness, even before words come into play.”
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Our star rating:
Girlfriend Material is available to buy at bookshop.org. For more sapphic book recs, visit our books pages here.
Nonchalant x
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Lauren is a writer and editor based in Lewisham, covering all things queer culture, books, travel, arts and lifestyle. She also writes about hospitality and foodservice, sustainability, business and tech, and was previously a features editor for New Statesman Media Group.
