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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
medium-paced
A very irritating read. I only read this because I know it's a controversial book and I wanted to know exactly what "gender critical" people are reading and saying. I didn't pay for this book.
The book opens with one sided interviews with parents insisting that they know their adult children better than they know themselves, and continuing to misgender them. I'm not surprised that most left as soon as they were able, transitioned, and cut ties after their parents refused to treat them with empathy and compassionate. We do not hear the child's side.
Shrier also does not appear to challenge these parents or ask them to explain themselves or these events. Shrier does not interrogate her own points or those of the people she quotes. Conjecture is presented as fact, and it's all so easily disproved.
There are very basic facts that are incorrect and a fundamental misunderstanding of not just trans issues but the Internet, online cultures, and Shrier seems to conflate anime with furry art? Which is laughably inaccurate and also worrying.
There were also many sections that simply made me uneasy as she insists that tomboys no longer exists (they do) and no one is a lesbian anymore (they are). Again, a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to be trans and an insistence on stating opinions as facts.
The danger with this book is that it preys on people's fears, particularly parents. Trans people are already a minority that are at risk of abuse and all this book does it compound the issue.
If you genuinely want to understand trans people then there are many other much better books out there. I suggest Shon Faye's book The Trans Issue which is out in September, or The Gender Games by Juno Dawson, Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon, or Gender Explorers by Juno Roche.
The book opens with one sided interviews with parents insisting that they know their adult children better than they know themselves, and continuing to misgender them. I'm not surprised that most left as soon as they were able, transitioned, and cut ties after their parents refused to treat them with empathy and compassionate. We do not hear the child's side.
Shrier also does not appear to challenge these parents or ask them to explain themselves or these events. Shrier does not interrogate her own points or those of the people she quotes. Conjecture is presented as fact, and it's all so easily disproved.
There are very basic facts that are incorrect and a fundamental misunderstanding of not just trans issues but the Internet, online cultures, and Shrier seems to conflate anime with furry art? Which is laughably inaccurate and also worrying.
There were also many sections that simply made me uneasy as she insists that tomboys no longer exists (they do) and no one is a lesbian anymore (they are). Again, a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to be trans and an insistence on stating opinions as facts.
The danger with this book is that it preys on people's fears, particularly parents. Trans people are already a minority that are at risk of abuse and all this book does it compound the issue.
If you genuinely want to understand trans people then there are many other much better books out there. I suggest Shon Faye's book The Trans Issue which is out in September, or The Gender Games by Juno Dawson, Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon, or Gender Explorers by Juno Roche.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Medical content
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
informative
fast-paced
What a disgusting book. Shrier pushes fringe scientific theories and turns the suicide of a transgender woman into a chance to misgender her and make jokes about it. Burn in hell Shrier
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I heard this author interviewed on The Daily Wire last fall, and when the book repeatedly came up in other podcasts, blogs, and conversations in subsequent months, I knew it was something I needed to read, even if the subject matter may be difficult to stomach.
In Irreversible Damage, journalist Abigail Shrier explores the shocking spike in transgender identification among girls over the past decade. Whereas gender dysphoria was once a rare affliction, it is now startlingly commonplace, with the transition of young girls to boys becoming not just accepted, but glamorized and encouraged by everyone from teens to media and, sadly, even medical professionals. Presenting detailed statistics and stories from real families, Shrier draws comparisons to similar past crazes, such as previously seen with eating disorders and self-harm, and she examines the various factors contributing to this contagion such as transgender-related curricula in public schools; high-profile trans influencers online; and new social mores that embrace perception over reality. After unpacking the psychological and biological science involved in both the transgender craze and actual experience of the transformation from female to male, she sounds the alarm on the numerous dangers involved in letting adolescent girls transition.
Shrier was obviously aware that her message might not be well received, and she is clear that this book is NOT about adults who have suffered a lifetime of gender dysphoria and associated stigma. (For more on that aspect of this topic, I would highly recommend Preston Sprinke’s Embodied.) Shrier does not deny the existence of this affliction or invalidate the pain of trans adults’ experience. This book is strictly about the transgender phenomenon among adolescent girls and the negative long-term ramifications for these girls in particular, and for society at large.
Shrier addresses trans activism and related controversies head-on, providing well-reasoned critiques of the gender-affirming model of care being adopted within the contemporary medical community. Heartbreaking stories from parents, detransitioned young women, and skeptical doctors reveal how this phenomenon is harming the broader perception of women, of same-sex attracted individuals, and even adult trans-identified individuals, but most of all, the impressionable young girls themselves.
I was right in assuming this would be a difficult read, but it was a necessary one. I had no idea how prevalent this issue was, and I found Shrier’s analysis to be both honest and compassionate, and effective in its goal of helping parents understand how much is at risk for entire generation of girls. It’s been a while since a book has shaken me quite like this one, but I beseech all parents to PLEASE read it, if not for answers for how to solve this problem, at least an awareness of its existence.
My Rating: 5 Stars.
This review first appeared on my personal blog, https://kendranicole.net/may-2021-quick-lit-nonfiction-reads/
Please visit my site for more book reviews: https://kendranicole.net/category/book-corner/
In Irreversible Damage, journalist Abigail Shrier explores the shocking spike in transgender identification among girls over the past decade. Whereas gender dysphoria was once a rare affliction, it is now startlingly commonplace, with the transition of young girls to boys becoming not just accepted, but glamorized and encouraged by everyone from teens to media and, sadly, even medical professionals. Presenting detailed statistics and stories from real families, Shrier draws comparisons to similar past crazes, such as previously seen with eating disorders and self-harm, and she examines the various factors contributing to this contagion such as transgender-related curricula in public schools; high-profile trans influencers online; and new social mores that embrace perception over reality. After unpacking the psychological and biological science involved in both the transgender craze and actual experience of the transformation from female to male, she sounds the alarm on the numerous dangers involved in letting adolescent girls transition.
Shrier was obviously aware that her message might not be well received, and she is clear that this book is NOT about adults who have suffered a lifetime of gender dysphoria and associated stigma. (For more on that aspect of this topic, I would highly recommend Preston Sprinke’s Embodied.) Shrier does not deny the existence of this affliction or invalidate the pain of trans adults’ experience. This book is strictly about the transgender phenomenon among adolescent girls and the negative long-term ramifications for these girls in particular, and for society at large.
Shrier addresses trans activism and related controversies head-on, providing well-reasoned critiques of the gender-affirming model of care being adopted within the contemporary medical community. Heartbreaking stories from parents, detransitioned young women, and skeptical doctors reveal how this phenomenon is harming the broader perception of women, of same-sex attracted individuals, and even adult trans-identified individuals, but most of all, the impressionable young girls themselves.
I was right in assuming this would be a difficult read, but it was a necessary one. I had no idea how prevalent this issue was, and I found Shrier’s analysis to be both honest and compassionate, and effective in its goal of helping parents understand how much is at risk for entire generation of girls. It’s been a while since a book has shaken me quite like this one, but I beseech all parents to PLEASE read it, if not for answers for how to solve this problem, at least an awareness of its existence.
My Rating: 5 Stars.
This review first appeared on my personal blog, https://kendranicole.net/may-2021-quick-lit-nonfiction-reads/
Please visit my site for more book reviews: https://kendranicole.net/category/book-corner/
informative
reflective
slow-paced
No, I didn’t read this. How dare someone say that an individuals LIVED EXPERIENCE is a craze. How about being thankful that society has made space for someone to be their truest self. This rhetoric is harmful and hateful! DO NOT READ!!!
informative
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Self harm, Medical trauma