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kalkn's review
4.0
Terrifying to see the lack of common sense in the therapists, doctors, and politicians in protecting our children from life changing hormones and surgeries to the body. Unbelievable that an accepted field of "research" and "science" is build on the foundation created by child molesters. Terrifying that the state and governments can take children away on a whim instead of letting parents raise their children.
kawaiilotus's review
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
This book brings up some very serious issues, but Walsh has an amazing ability to weave comedy in effortlessly.
My only gripe was that it was basically the documentary but in book form, so as someone who had seen the documentary, it did get a bit repetitive. If you have access to the documentary, great, I definitely liked watching it more than reading it. However, if you only have access to the book, this is a great alternative and gets the point across just as well.
I think the issues brought up in this book are very important to consider, especially as they become more relevant in society. This book does an amazing job at providing many different perspectives in the form of all the interviews Walsh conducted. It definitely gave me a “bigger picture” view on the topic, and I think I came away from reading this as a more knowledgeable person.
My only gripe was that it was basically the documentary but in book form, so as someone who had seen the documentary, it did get a bit repetitive. If you have access to the documentary, great, I definitely liked watching it more than reading it. However, if you only have access to the book, this is a great alternative and gets the point across just as well.
I think the issues brought up in this book are very important to consider, especially as they become more relevant in society. This book does an amazing job at providing many different perspectives in the form of all the interviews Walsh conducted. It definitely gave me a “bigger picture” view on the topic, and I think I came away from reading this as a more knowledgeable person.
alexandrabree's review
5.0
Love this book? Also help support “Posie Parker” aka Kellie Jean and get a “woman: adult human female” shirt/hoodie/mug.
I really hope Matt Walsh and the DW release a shirt/hoodie/mug that says “man : adult human male”
I ALSO hope they do WIAW 2 or extended cuts of the first documentary too.
Great documentary, great book 10/10. So many messages that people need to hear, only downside is those that need to hear it most refuse to listen (hello 1 star humans).
Had it on pre order and binge read it until completion.
I really hope Matt Walsh and the DW release a shirt/hoodie/mug that says “man : adult human male”
I ALSO hope they do WIAW 2 or extended cuts of the first documentary too.
Great documentary, great book 10/10. So many messages that people need to hear, only downside is those that need to hear it most refuse to listen (hello 1 star humans).
Had it on pre order and binge read it until completion.
anastasiabookgirl's review
sad
medium-paced
Completely full of shit. From page one, it's obvious Matt Walsh started with a conclusion and sought data to confirm his point.
bookishblond's review against another edition
3.0
I added this book to my to-read list after watching Walsh's documentary of the same name earlier this summer. The book is almost a play-by-play of the documentary, with a few exceptions (notably, Dr. Debra Soh was interviewed for the film, but not mentioned in the book). The book serves the purpose of covering Walsh's shoddy journalism, providing much-needed footnotes and references. Walsh is smug, almost insufferably so at times, and fails to cover many areas of this topic. For example, Walsh does not interview any feminists for his project.
Thank god for pirated ebooks. I would not give this odious man any money.
Thank god for pirated ebooks. I would not give this odious man any money.
jamesrawillis's review
1.0
While Walsh alleges to set out to "answer the question of a generation," he manages to write 256 pages of content only to answer it through confirmation bias in less than a paragraph near the end of the book. The rest is pretty much a reductive history on the development of gender studies by only talking about Alfred Kinsey and John Money, as described by Dr. Miriam Grossman. The fact that his year long search for a definition of woman was accomplished by talking to two trans person that agreed with Walsh's perspective is laughable.
For someone, like Walsh, to agree with notions of objective truth, to write a whole section on Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD) as if it were real should inform anyone reading this book of its veracity. ROGD is not a real diagnosis, and the limited data on this has yet to be based on people suffering from this alleged problem, but rather from parents expressing their confusion on their children's development and expressed identity. It's absurd.
Put another way, if, as Walsh states, "transgender doctors aren't exactly the best source on theology," (pg. 18), then I suppose it's safe to say that radio hosts, political commentators, and self described devout Catholics aren't the best source on gender ideology, transgenderism, mental health diagnoses, or what it means to be a woman for that matter. Surely Walsh can appreciate that the logic would cut both ways.
Walsh writes in a very clear and direct way, and the book is easy to follow. This is a pus. But I find his refusal to respect pronouns and the insistent to analogize gender to animalism to be offensive. He is obviously hostile towards trans people throughout the book. In some ways, I would say that the content of the book does not at all align the title, as there is very little discussion on what it really means to be a woman, or how to define a woman, but rather a hostile tirade against what he views as the tyranny of gender ideology and its alleged impact on trying to turn men into women, and women into men, albeit as impossible as it is, to him.
If you are expecting a nuanced assessment, similar to David Gilmore's Manhood in the Making: Cultural Concepts of Masculinity, well think again, because you will see no deep dive into notions of gender in this book, or any real semblance of discourse on why sex and gender are different, or the same. To him, it's genetics, and that's sufficient to say that these two words mean and refer to the same exact thing. I think I'll take my advice from a professor of anthropology who has actually studied this rather than a conservative talk show host.
There are two takeaways that I think are valid, but achieved in more meaningful ways done elsewhere, and by more qualified people.
First, I think it's worth saying "hey, maybe my five year old should be allowed to explore their identity, whatever that may be, safely before we start throwing medications and diagnoses at them." That's fair, but poorly expressed in this book.
Second, the LGBTQIA+ community has many more nuanced attitudes towards what it means to be any of the aforementioned identities. Simply interviewing two trans people that happens to disagree with what Walsh feels is the normal narrative and then declaring that as objective fact flies directly in the face of that nuance.
If you want to know the answer to the question of the book, what is a woman just skip to page 216 where you can soak up all of the confirmation bias you want.
For someone, like Walsh, to agree with notions of objective truth, to write a whole section on Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD) as if it were real should inform anyone reading this book of its veracity. ROGD is not a real diagnosis, and the limited data on this has yet to be based on people suffering from this alleged problem, but rather from parents expressing their confusion on their children's development and expressed identity. It's absurd.
Put another way, if, as Walsh states, "transgender doctors aren't exactly the best source on theology," (pg. 18), then I suppose it's safe to say that radio hosts, political commentators, and self described devout Catholics aren't the best source on gender ideology, transgenderism, mental health diagnoses, or what it means to be a woman for that matter. Surely Walsh can appreciate that the logic would cut both ways.
Walsh writes in a very clear and direct way, and the book is easy to follow. This is a pus. But I find his refusal to respect pronouns and the insistent to analogize gender to animalism to be offensive. He is obviously hostile towards trans people throughout the book. In some ways, I would say that the content of the book does not at all align the title, as there is very little discussion on what it really means to be a woman, or how to define a woman, but rather a hostile tirade against what he views as the tyranny of gender ideology and its alleged impact on trying to turn men into women, and women into men, albeit as impossible as it is, to him.
If you are expecting a nuanced assessment, similar to David Gilmore's Manhood in the Making: Cultural Concepts of Masculinity, well think again, because you will see no deep dive into notions of gender in this book, or any real semblance of discourse on why sex and gender are different, or the same. To him, it's genetics, and that's sufficient to say that these two words mean and refer to the same exact thing. I think I'll take my advice from a professor of anthropology who has actually studied this rather than a conservative talk show host.
There are two takeaways that I think are valid, but achieved in more meaningful ways done elsewhere, and by more qualified people.
First, I think it's worth saying "hey, maybe my five year old should be allowed to explore their identity, whatever that may be, safely before we start throwing medications and diagnoses at them." That's fair, but poorly expressed in this book.
Second, the LGBTQIA+ community has many more nuanced attitudes towards what it means to be any of the aforementioned identities. Simply interviewing two trans people that happens to disagree with what Walsh feels is the normal narrative and then declaring that as objective fact flies directly in the face of that nuance.
If you want to know the answer to the question of the book, what is a woman just skip to page 216 where you can soak up all of the confirmation bias you want.
leslieloo's review
4.0
I don't agree with everything Matt stands for, but I'm glad he took a stand against this issue. However, I don't exactly like some of the language he uses in this book because it can be divisive. I feel like he should have added a bit more compassion for those who are pro-trans. I'm sorry, but they're confused. They're lost, but they need compassion.
I have absolutely nothing against the trans community. I love them and I hope they see their true identity. But this ideology is getting out of control. It's even being taught in schools and parents aren't allowed to know about that.
If you are trans, or part of the LGBTQ community, just know that we are not against you, but against the ideology. It has caused so much confusion.
I'm praying that we would all be united despite our differences.
I have absolutely nothing against the trans community. I love them and I hope they see their true identity. But this ideology is getting out of control. It's even being taught in schools and parents aren't allowed to know about that.
If you are trans, or part of the LGBTQ community, just know that we are not against you, but against the ideology. It has caused so much confusion.
I'm praying that we would all be united despite our differences.