Reviews

This is a balanced, fascinating, and clearly written summary of how science has approached the study of women and concepts related to female health and evolution historically and into the present day. Where there are debates that still exist, Saini does a good job giving an even hand to these debates, being clear about what we do and do not know. At the same time, she makes it very clear where debate does not exist, but where assumptions were made due to broader social norms or indeed just individual researcher bias. This book highlights that in many respects science is social and scientists are human, and we need to be cautious and recognise when we are simplifying complex scientific through biases and heuristics that may be based less on evidence and more on what we choose to study, who we choose to study, and which data we decide to believe. I am sometimes cautious about reading books that could be construed as feminist, not because I am not a feminist, but because I have read some really awful, hysterical books that would be categorised as such. This is a well-researched book that focuses on gender in medicine and scientific research, rather than a book that seeks to advocate for a particular view.

My main complaint about the book is that it is somewhat repetitive and yet omits quite a lot. I especially would have liked to see more discussion about how science has largely neglected the study of certain conditions and a more thorough discussion of why including women in studies is still, even now, put into the 'too hard' basket because of our endocrine systems. She touches on these things but does not go into them in depth, whilst she seems to return to the same themes again and again. Still, overall this book exceeded my expectations, and I would recommend it for anyone who is interested in science, history, or skepticism.

charlottekook's review against another edition

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5.0

brilliant, so informative & clear. i learnt a lot & was surprised by a lot too.

riri8's review against another edition

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3.0

This started really well and then the more I read the more it felt like information dumping. There was a lot of statistics and research and I didn’t really feel like there was enough interpretation or analysis of what was presented.

cheetoburrito's review against another edition

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challenging informative inspiring mysterious medium-paced

4.0

laurenlethbridge's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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