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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
The quality of this book is pretty uneven. There are several typos throughout, and some of the anecdotes included didn't feel particularly relevant. I guess you could say that the parts about the author trying to find a good school for her kids are serving that "I'm just like you" narrative. I found them pretty boring, and even though the author is pretty aware of her privilege, the fact that she got at least one kid in private school and the family was living in an expensive part of NYC was grating.
The parts about the author's experience as an intersex woman and advocating for other intersex people were most compelling. Even if they weren't always written the best, I had a lot of emotional reactions reading about the ways she was treated by doctors and, apparently, whole "parent's rights" advocacy groups that want unnecessary surgeries on infants to continue.
The parts about the author's experience as an intersex woman and advocating for other intersex people were most compelling. Even if they weren't always written the best, I had a lot of emotional reactions reading about the ways she was treated by doctors and, apparently, whole "parent's rights" advocacy groups that want unnecessary surgeries on infants to continue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma
Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Alcohol, War
Intersexism
Intersex- a child who is born with an underdeveloped XY chromosome.
I had heard of Intersex throughout my life. Now, I realize this was in large part due to the work of people like Kimberly Zieselman. She was born Intersex but only told she had underdeveloped female reproductive organs and needed a hysterectomy at 15. It wasn’t until decades later that she came to understand that lie and how unnecessary surgeries, in the name of “normal” , dangerously effected children without their consent. She has since then worked tirelessly to fight for consent, education of and support of Intersex. This falls within the already existing human right regarding forced child sex organ surgery.
The bravery Kimberly displays throughout her journey is absolutely inspiring! XOXY is a story of hope and empowerment, not because there isn’t a life threatening challenge at every turn, but because Kimberly has chosen to focus on the positive surrounding what once was a taboo condition. I am humbled and in awe of the heroes portrayed in XOXY!
I had heard of Intersex throughout my life. Now, I realize this was in large part due to the work of people like Kimberly Zieselman. She was born Intersex but only told she had underdeveloped female reproductive organs and needed a hysterectomy at 15. It wasn’t until decades later that she came to understand that lie and how unnecessary surgeries, in the name of “normal” , dangerously effected children without their consent. She has since then worked tirelessly to fight for consent, education of and support of Intersex. This falls within the already existing human right regarding forced child sex organ surgery.
The bravery Kimberly displays throughout her journey is absolutely inspiring! XOXY is a story of hope and empowerment, not because there isn’t a life threatening challenge at every turn, but because Kimberly has chosen to focus on the positive surrounding what once was a taboo condition. I am humbled and in awe of the heroes portrayed in XOXY!
informative
medium-paced
Kimberly is an inspiration to the future of intersex people. While I hope she continues to advocate, I also hope she gets the rest she needs to be able to come back fighting stronger than ever.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
relaxing
slow-paced
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
Like, it was fun. As someone who already had a very base level knowledge of intersex medicine and politics, still had interesting pieces. Not the most compelling memoir, but impressive how quickly and deeply the author got involved in activism, and interesting to see what felt like a pretty quick progression despite jumping back and forth in time.
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
Important topic, but not a great book if I'm being honest. I enjoyed the beginning, maybe the first third before I noticed I was skimming, and it got worse from there. Reads like "and then, and then, and then", a string of events without a compelling narrative. A rather wandering read that was altogether far too long for what was conveyed.
The personal reflections that were present at the start got more and more buried in the "and thens" of it all. If I mostly wanted a rundown on the timeline of progress toward gaining visibility (and some measure of redress) for Intersex individuals, a (short) article would have served better. Then there were the side-tracks about adoption and finding appropriate schooling for a daughter's IEP, and while I have no doubt a memoir writer could make a compelling and effective tale out of all of it together, in the hands of this writer it felt unfocused, the through-line unclear.
Lastly, there was an element of "my experience unexpectedly becoming an activist", riding out the ups and downs and many frustrations of the advocacy work. That was expected and would have been welcome... but these all felt like 101-level conclusions and, in the mix with other drawbacks, it came across as repetitive and largely uninteresting.
The personal reflections that were present at the start got more and more buried in the "and thens" of it all. If I mostly wanted a rundown on the timeline of progress toward gaining visibility (and some measure of redress) for Intersex individuals, a (short) article would have served better. Then there were the side-tracks about adoption and finding appropriate schooling for a daughter's IEP, and while I have no doubt a memoir writer could make a compelling and effective tale out of all of it together, in the hands of this writer it felt unfocused, the through-line unclear.
Lastly, there was an element of "my experience unexpectedly becoming an activist", riding out the ups and downs and many frustrations of the advocacy work. That was expected and would have been welcome... but these all felt like 101-level conclusions and, in the mix with other drawbacks, it came across as repetitive and largely uninteresting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Gaslighting
Moderate: Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia
Minor: Infidelity
Disassociation
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Wonderful and insightful book that has taught me a lot. I read this for a challenge and I’m really glad I did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma
Moderate: Infertility, Misogyny
Minor: Homophobia, Transphobia, Lesbophobia