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bootman 's review for:
Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality
by Helen Joyce
When I first started this new book from Helen Joyce, I’ll be honest and say that I was very unimpressed by the first few chapters and thought it was just going to be another “anti-woke” cash grab. With that being said, once the book got past the initial biological stuff and into the conversations around ideology, ethical inquiry, and other topics, it got much better. Personally, I think Joyce did an incredible job discussing topics such as children struggling with these issues, the nuanced conversation around sports, and how people are getting fired or “cancelled” for simply wanting to have a conversation or express their opinions. I saw plenty of people labeling this book transphobic from the second it was released, and the reality from my experience is that people so quick to slap a label like that on a book are the least likely to read the said book cover to cover.
By the time I finished the book, I walked away not thinking Helen Joyce is transphobic or bigoted in any way. It sounds like she respects transgendered people but finds it important that we have some of these difficult conversations. That being said, I don’t agree with all of Joyce’s opinions, such as the panic over sexual predators, but that’s alright. We don’t have to agree with 100% of what someone says in order to have a conversation with them or listen to their opinions. This is a good book, and I hope people read it in order to further the conversations around this subject rather than using it as a way to argue for “their side”.
By the time I finished the book, I walked away not thinking Helen Joyce is transphobic or bigoted in any way. It sounds like she respects transgendered people but finds it important that we have some of these difficult conversations. That being said, I don’t agree with all of Joyce’s opinions, such as the panic over sexual predators, but that’s alright. We don’t have to agree with 100% of what someone says in order to have a conversation with them or listen to their opinions. This is a good book, and I hope people read it in order to further the conversations around this subject rather than using it as a way to argue for “their side”.