Girls Can Kiss Now Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of Jill Gutowitz's Memoir

Questions

Plot and Sequence (Questions 1–8)

(Short answer) What specific meme did Jill Gutowitz tweet that caused the FBI to visit her in 2018?
(Multiple choice) During which economic event did Jill's family lose their home?
- A) Dot-com bubble burst
- B) 2008 financial crisis
- C) COVID-19 recession
- D) 1990s recession
(Short answer) In Chapter 3, which celebrity did Perez Hilton out, and what was Gutowitz's criticism of that act?
(Multiple choice) Which celebrity couple's paparazzi photo showed them carrying a sex bench?
- A) Cara Delevingne and Michelle Rodriguez
- B) Miley Cyrus and Kaitlynn Carter
- C) Cara Delevingne and Ashley Benson
- D) Kristen Stewart and Stella Maxwell
(Short answer) How did Darcy end her intense friendship with Jill?
(Multiple choice) What Britney Spears song triggered Jill's first gay panic at a teenage tennis dinner?
- A) "I'm a Slave 4 U"
- B) "Toxic"
- C) "Piece of Me"
- D) "...Baby One More Time"
(Short answer) At what venue did Jill share a farewell kiss with Kate, and what song opened the concert?
(Multiple choice) Who is the first true love Jill meets after her abusive relationship with Brian?
- A) Darcy
- B) Maddie
- C) Emma
- D) Sam

Character Motivation (Questions 9–13)

(Short answer) Why did Jill want to become a famous actress as a teenager?
(Multiple choice) Why does Darcy demand Jill say "I love you" before closing the Uber door?
- A) She wants a genuine declaration
- B) She is testing Jill's loyalty and exerting control
- C) She is joking without any serious intent
- D) She is drunk
(Multiple choice) Why does Jill participate in "Gaylor" Taylor Swift theories?
- A) To expose Swift's sexuality
- B) To harm Swift's career
- C) To find community with other queer fans
- D) For media attention
(Short answer) What personal event does Jill trace her lifelong craving for female attention back to?
(Multiple choice) Why does Jill attend the Chateau Marmont after-party for the Emma premiere?
- A) To network
- B) To impress her girlfriend Emma and fill an existential void
- C) Because she loves the movie Emma
- D) Out of obligation

Theme and Symbol (Questions 14–17)

(Multiple choice) What does the term "yearn cage" describe in Gutowitz's framework?
- A) A physical space where lesbians meet
- B) The self-imposed prison of wanting without acting, taught by limited queer representation
- C) The desire for romantic fulfillment
- D) The fear of coming out
(Short answer) How does Gutowitz use Britney Spears's "I'm a Slave 4 U" as a "memory anchor"?
(Multiple choice) Why does Gutowitz include items like oat milk and weighted blankets in her "lesbian canon"?
- A) She believes all lesbians love them
- B) The list is fluid and subjective, reflecting a history of scarcity—making it itself queer
- C) She wants to start a trend
- D) She is mocking stereotypes
(Short answer) In Chapter 9, how does Gutowitz redefine the term "MILF" for queer women?

Synthesis (Questions 18–20)

(Multiple choice) How does Gutowitz connect her FBI interrogation meme to broader internet experiences?
- A) She argues the internet is only a source of trauma
- B) She uses it as an example of how online humor can be weaponized, reflecting the internet's dual nature as both community and threat
- C) She says the FBI was justified
- D) She claims the meme was a mistake
(Short answer) What harmful lesson does Gutowitz argue traditional lesbian film endings teach compared to heterosexual rom-coms?
(Multiple choice) In "The Beast," Gutowitz decides she no longer wants to be special. What does this decision represent?
- A) She gives up on ambition entirely
- B) She prioritizes love and genuine connection over the pursuit of fame and uniqueness
- C) She becomes depressed
- D) She embraces mediocrity

Answer Key

Plot and Sequence

Answer: She tweeted a Game of Thrones meme about Brett Kavanaugh's Senate confirmation. Explanation: This meme, reported by Republican users, triggered the FBI interrogation described in Chapter 1.
Answer: B (2008 financial crisis). Explanation: In Chapter 2, the 2007–2008 financial crisis bankrupted Jill's family and forced them to move.
Answer: He outed Lance Bass. Gutowitz criticized this as harmful "outing 2.0" that invaded privacy. Explanation: Chapter 3 examines Perez Hilton's campaign to out Bass and his blame of Samantha Ronson for Lindsay Lohan's addiction.
Answer: C (Cara Delevingne and Ashley Benson). Explanation: Chapter 4 includes this photo as one of the ten most important Sapphic paparazzi images.
Answer: Darcy ghosted her. Explanation: In Chapter 5, after a toxic buildup of unspoken feelings, Darcy cut off contact entirely.
Answer: A ("I'm a Slave 4 U"). Explanation: In Chapter 7, Brooke's comment about going down on Britney while watching this song sparked Jill's first gay panic.
Answer: The Forum; "All Good." Explanation: In Chapter 8, the Pop Star's opening song "All Good" became a permanent emotional marker of that kiss.
Answer: C (Emma). Explanation: In Chapter 10, Jill's older self tells her younger self she will meet Emma, her first real true love.

Character Motivation

Answer: She believed fame would help her escape her repressed sexuality and her family's financial collapse. Explanation: Chapter 2 explains that she lacked passion for acting itself; what she really wanted was the escape fame promised.
Answer: B (She is testing Jill's loyalty and exerting control). Explanation: In Chapter 5, Darcy demands the declaration as a "joke" but clearly leverages control over Jill's emotions.
Answer: C (To find community with other queer fans). Explanation: In Chapter 3, Gutowitz concludes her Gaylor analysis seeks connection and harmlessness, unlike Perez Hilton's outing.
Answer: Her mother's revelation that Jill was accidentally malnourished as an infant. Explanation: In Chapter 9, Gutowitz interprets this as the origin of her craving for female attention.
Answer: B (To impress her girlfriend Emma and fill an existential void). Explanation: Chapter 13 reveals Jill expected the Hollywood status to fill her emptiness, but it left her feeling hollow.

Theme and Symbol

Answer: B (The self-imposed prison of wanting without acting, taught by limited queer representation). Explanation: In Chapter 5, Gutowitz coins "yearn cage" to describe the damaging pattern reinforced by lesbian film tropes.
Answer: The song permanently captures her moment of gay panic at the tennis dinner, anchoring that identity crisis in memory. Explanation: Chapter 7 meditates on pop music's power to anchor memories, with this song acting as a lifelong trigger for self-reflection.
Answer: B (The list is fluid and subjective, reflecting a history of scarcity—making it itself queer). Explanation: In Chapter 12, Gutowitz argues that the canon's constant change mirrors queer identity's malleability.
Answer: She redefines it to emphasize safety, care, and reclaiming shame, rather than male fantasy. Explanation: Chapter 9 critiques the male-centric MILF culture and offers a queer reclamation focused on safety and care.

Synthesis

Answer: B (She uses it as an example of how online humor can be weaponized, reflecting the internet's dual nature as both community and threat). Explanation: Chapter 1 contrasts the FBI's overreaction to her meme with their inaction on an actual domestic terrorist's threats.
Answer: That queer people should yearn but never act, because lesbian movies often end in tragedy or ambiguity while heterosexual rom-coms get happy endings. Explanation: In Chapter 5, Gutowitz argues this teaches queer people to romanticize suffering rather than pursue fulfillment.
Answer: B (She prioritizes love and genuine connection over the pursuit of fame and uniqueness). Explanation: In Chapter 14, after a depressive episode in quarantine, Jill realizes love is more fulfilling than fame and tells Emma she just wants to be with her.

For more resources, check our book summary, questions and answers, and ending explained.