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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
sad
medium-paced
I heavily debated not sharing this one because it almost feels too much like promoting it, but I thought it was important to share. I did not intend to read a book by a TERF but I did zero research and just picked it up from the library because the title caught my eye. unfortunately I don’t read the reviews on the back of books or else I would have realized it’s endorsed by some of my least favorite public figures lol. But nonetheless, I stuck it out. I finally finished and I’ll say this:
I was challenged. I don’t agree with a huge chunk of what she said, but I can’t deny that many of her points really struck me. Does she come off as an asshole in her writing? Absolutely. but credit where credit is due; the book made me think. Soh has a long background in sexology and does a good job making the content accessible to everyday readers. Each chapter she breaks down popular leftists ideas about sex and gender and explains why she believes they are myths. Although Soh self identifies as a liberal, her work on sex and gender have earned her a strong conservative following. To take with that what you will.
I don’t recommend this book to anyone, especially not if you’re trans or non-binary; but if you are more left leaning and want a book on sex and gender that will challenge your current beliefs, go for it. Just be prepared to get really pissed off in the process.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
slow-paced
I don’t usually write reviews with this level of detail, but I have a lot of opinions on this book and for once feel mildly qualified to express these concerns. There were many instances where I could almost agree with what Soh was saying, only for her to either completely contradict it or lose me in some other way. While I only have a lowly Bachelor’s in science (biomedical science to be exact) as opposed to her PhD, I felt the was she spoke of analysis of studies etc to be potentially misleading for those of a lay person (see below for more specifics). My gripes with book include but are not limited to:
-Her supposed love and passion for science and the scientific method, but having switched from a career as a research scientist to a journalist despite the fact that she preaches being unbiased, and journalism is inherently biased
-The hypocrisy in Soh expressing she believed that homosexuality was integral to a person before it was scientifically proven, without offering that same courtesy to the lived experience of many non-binary people
-Similarly supports the gender reaffirmation surgery of binary transgender people, but does not believe the same for non-binary people
-She condemns the removal of nuance from arguments and discussions surrounding gender while simultaneously reinforcing the caricatures of left leaning arguments (the left wants to abolish gender, thinks that gender is 100% environmental/a social construct, believe that there is no difference between transgender women and cisgender women)
-Believes that the person conducting the research does not affect the outcomes of the research, when the analysis of data will always be affected by the individuals inherent biases (no matter how hard that person struggles to stay unbiased)
-The use of the “Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria” paper, which uses a study of parents recounting their view on their children’s experiences without talking to any of those children
-I also work in two different primary schools, and I can assure you that at least in the UK, the amount gender is a topic for discussion as well as the confusion of children about gender in primary schools has been greatly over exaggerated in this book, at least in my experience
-Again at least in the UK, you must be over 18 to medically transition as well as having been socially transitioned for at least 6 months, and meet some other criteria. The waiting times for hormones, and even more so for top and bottom surgery, are very long through the NHS, though they are shorter through private hospitals (an option that most people in the UK would have to be hard-pressed and fairly well-off to even consider taking), and it has recently been made extremely hard to get puberty blockers in the UK for gender dysphoric children
Despite all this, I do still agree with Soh’s opinion that science needs to remain a place where personal biases are challenged and debate and review is always possible and encouraged, even if I don’t agree that she always upholds this belief throughout the book, whether that is conscious of subconscious. I also would like to look into a couple of issues brought up in this book from a scientific perspective, since I don’t have enough evidence to form a solid opinion on the matters. I also appreciate Soh addressing some more conservative opinions on transgender issues and where they are wrong. For these reasons, I’m giving this book an extra star, but I believe on the whole that even if Soh is correct on all points of science throughout this entire book, it still doesn’t justify the need people on her side of the argument feel to invalidate the feelings of so many non-binary people. Why does it matter to them if someone feels more comfortable being referred to with pronouns that aren’t he/him or she/her, or more comfortable not being referred to as a man or a woman? Soh seems to think that the rate of detransition is set to rocket in the upcoming years, and all I can say to that is we’ll see.
-Her supposed love and passion for science and the scientific method, but having switched from a career as a research scientist to a journalist despite the fact that she preaches being unbiased, and journalism is inherently biased
-The hypocrisy in Soh expressing she believed that homosexuality was integral to a person before it was scientifically proven, without offering that same courtesy to the lived experience of many non-binary people
-Similarly supports the gender reaffirmation surgery of binary transgender people, but does not believe the same for non-binary people
-She condemns the removal of nuance from arguments and discussions surrounding gender while simultaneously reinforcing the caricatures of left leaning arguments (the left wants to abolish gender, thinks that gender is 100% environmental/a social construct, believe that there is no difference between transgender women and cisgender women)
-Believes that the person conducting the research does not affect the outcomes of the research, when the analysis of data will always be affected by the individuals inherent biases (no matter how hard that person struggles to stay unbiased)
-The use of the “Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria” paper, which uses a study of parents recounting their view on their children’s experiences without talking to any of those children
-I also work in two different primary schools, and I can assure you that at least in the UK, the amount gender is a topic for discussion as well as the confusion of children about gender in primary schools has been greatly over exaggerated in this book, at least in my experience
-Again at least in the UK, you must be over 18 to medically transition as well as having been socially transitioned for at least 6 months, and meet some other criteria. The waiting times for hormones, and even more so for top and bottom surgery, are very long through the NHS, though they are shorter through private hospitals (an option that most people in the UK would have to be hard-pressed and fairly well-off to even consider taking), and it has recently been made extremely hard to get puberty blockers in the UK for gender dysphoric children
Despite all this, I do still agree with Soh’s opinion that science needs to remain a place where personal biases are challenged and debate and review is always possible and encouraged, even if I don’t agree that she always upholds this belief throughout the book, whether that is conscious of subconscious. I also would like to look into a couple of issues brought up in this book from a scientific perspective, since I don’t have enough evidence to form a solid opinion on the matters. I also appreciate Soh addressing some more conservative opinions on transgender issues and where they are wrong. For these reasons, I’m giving this book an extra star, but I believe on the whole that even if Soh is correct on all points of science throughout this entire book, it still doesn’t justify the need people on her side of the argument feel to invalidate the feelings of so many non-binary people. Why does it matter to them if someone feels more comfortable being referred to with pronouns that aren’t he/him or she/her, or more comfortable not being referred to as a man or a woman? Soh seems to think that the rate of detransition is set to rocket in the upcoming years, and all I can say to that is we’ll see.
At a time when basic tenets of biology are being threatened by overzealous activists in the name of political correctness, it has become increasingly hard to find rational voices. Dr. Soh is one of them. She reaffirms biological facts and addresses new and emerging science to arm readers against nonsense.
Mandatory reading into today's political climate where known science is being re-written and erased because the woke mob complains on twitter.
An absolutely fascinating, heavily sourced scientific study on why gender and sex are biology, not a thing you flippantly declare. Debra Soh is courageous and admirable for having written this book. Put it on your TBR list immediately
An absolutely fascinating, heavily sourced scientific study on why gender and sex are biology, not a thing you flippantly declare. Debra Soh is courageous and admirable for having written this book. Put it on your TBR list immediately
challenging
informative
medium-paced
informative
fast-paced
informative
medium-paced
I didn't get very deep into this book. The author is a sex researcher, and in the first few minutes of this book, establishes that this book will follow an antitrans narrative. I'm interested in hearing what she has to say, but now is not the right time for me to listen to this book and learn about her interpretations of study results. in the first few minutes, she talks about being silenced on trans issues despite what science finds and seems to be leading up to talking about trans people and gender identity as not being real. I don't know if she later talks about studies that counter what she has interpreted or talks about the experiences of individuals. I plan to come back to this book later on. Based on the tone, though, I suspect this book will be filled with anecdotal evidence, weird parallels, and claims that have only explored a small fraction of this topic without considering other factors and evidence. I suspect this will be a transphobic tirade that shares some true things about gender, but mostly asserts one way of experiencing gender as being the only way. Like expecting that all women want to carry a baby or something of that sort. I also will not be surprised if this book includes strange tangents into fields of study this author is not connected to, but decided to speak like an expert in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia