A review by iraxl
x+y: A Mathematician's Manifesto for Rethinking Gender by Eugenia Cheng

informative medium-paced

5.0

Listened to go the first half of the audiobook, and didn't feel like I needed to listen to the second half. Wish I had read this earlier - would not have hated math as much. On the gender front - very much agree with the framing that the author ended up with, and didn't feel the need to get into the second part of the book. 

I thought the second half would not be that interesting, but pushed through. Found the tactics that the author calls out pretty useful. And relatable, thanks to the "ungendered" approach that the author takes. 

Also my opinion is that the book may fail to make an impact (which the author kind of acknowledges, but for different reasons). The unemotional, "mathematical" approach they propose is very unlikely to get the at ention that the rest of the inflammatory writings on the subject usually do. Though I do earnestly hope it has more of an impact on the post-lean-in thinking about gender conformity and societal labels of success.