Reviews - At 30, I Realized I Had No Gender: Life Lessons from a 50-Year-Old After Two Decades of Self-Discovery

198 reviews for:

At 30, I Realized I Had No Gender: Life Lessons from a 50-Year-Old After Two Decades of Self-Discovery

Shou Arai

3.35 AVERAGE

ximajs's review against another edition

3.5

informative lighthearted reflective

jaimc's review against another edition

2.5

funny informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

eli_like_a_lie's review against another edition

2.25

informative slow-paced

anxiousoldsea's review against another edition

5.0

funny informative fast-paced

coniferouscoleoptera's review against another edition

3.25

informative reflective slow-paced

This was quite interesting! For one thing, it talks about a lot of things that very few books address, especially in comic format. Also, some of the cultural commentary is specific to Japan, so some things are quite unique to Japanese culture, while others are more broadly relatable.

I knew nothing about the artist before picking this up, and have not seen the documentary, although I'm interested in doing so now! I still don't quite understand the distinction between how this comic uses the terms "intersex" versus "nonbinary," although it seems like the author is specifically referring to a medical diagnosis that altered his understanding of his biological gender, which in turn lead him to adjust his gender presentation. (I'm using he/him here since he does so in the book.) However, it seems like the Japanese language, and possibly culture, makes different distinctions between intersex and nonbinary than what I'm used to in the US...?

At any rate, I think this is worth a read for people who want to explore the different forms gender presentation can take, and laugh along at the creator's amusingly specific insecurities about topics like facial hair and aging.