Beyond the Binary: Thinking About Sex and Gender

by Shannon Dea

How many sexes are there? What is the relationship between sex and gender? Is gender a product of nature, or nurture, or both? In Beyond the Binary, Shannon Dea addresses these questions while introducing readers to evidence and theoretical perspectives from a range of cultures and disciplines, and from sources spanning three millennia. Dea's central emphasis is the relationship between gender, understood as a psycho-socio-cultural category, and sex, understood as a type of physiologicalclassifi cation. One of the abiding lessons conveyed within is that questions about sex and gender are not new products of modern Western culture; they have been discussed for centuries and across many traditions by some of the greatest thinkers of history. Excerpts and examples from historical and contemporary sources are included throughout, as are a number of illustrations demonstrating varied depictions of human anatomy from different cultures and contexts. Dea's pluralistic and historically-informed approach offers readers a timely background to current debates about sex and gender in the media, health sciences, and public policy.

Genres: Nonfiction, Gender, LGBT, Gender and Sexuality, School, Queer

190 pages, Paperback

Published February 29, 2016

Reviews

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Encontrei este livro pesquisando sobre não-binariedade na internet. Entretanto, ele não é sobre não-binariedade, mas sim sobre a construção da binariedade de gêneros e "sexo" e de que forma essa cisão, essa "sexualização", porque o significado da pelavra sexo é divisão, vem sendo desfeita, Contudo, apesar de não ser exatamente sobre o tema que estava procurando eu gostei muito deste livro porque me apresentou estudos de gênero, sexo e sexualidade diferentes dos que estou acostumado a ver e rever em diversos livros. Beyond The Binary, de Shannon Dea, trouxe vários insights para meus estudos e até mesmo algumas categorizações que eu poderei usar em artigos vindouros. Além de tudo isso, traz uma historiografia do uso e das classificações de gênero e sexo que nos ajudam a entender como esse fenzamento sexificado e generificado começou e por que rege a nossa sociedade dessa maneira, pensando numa forma dos construtivistas sociais que a autora aborda também neste ótimo livro.

[Terran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally finished.
It's a textbook. Feels like it was meant for a college level gender study class.
I haven't been super into it and it's hard to absorb, but if you like reading at that level it could be a good resource.

From the final chapter:
"If this volume has a moral it is that sex and gender claims and practices are never as simple as they might at first appear. While it is perhaps tempting to sort the human world into two tidy boxes - a pink one and a blue one - doing so risks effacing the real messiness of human sexuality. Entertaining a social constructivist hypothesis about sex and gender - whether we find that hypothesis ultimately convincing or not - allows us to question the inevitability of binaristic categories in a way that clears a space for the real-life untidiness of sex and gender. Perhaps, if we're lucky, it makes us just a little more humble and kind in the process."

[Jake Staples · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I could give the book 4.5 stars I would. Recommended for people who want/do argue about issues of sex/gender. Adapted from an undergraduate course the book is highly informative and also very easy to follow in terms of what is being presented. This is aided by the chapter layout, sub chapters, grey boxes with clarifications on ideas and key terms from different fields and the proposed reflection questions and further reading following each chapter. The proper citation is also helpful to those of or with more academic intentions for the discussed material.
The book follows the changes in considerations of sex/gender, proposed times when they became separated from ancient Greece to modern day. As well as considering the interaction and exclusions that are required if certain conceptions such as biological determinism are taken.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, concise review of thought on sex and gender. Great introduction for a first- or second-year university course. My only criticism is that it is perhaps too concise? I feel like this book could be twice as thick, still engaging, and still be at a loss to cover some things. One might argue as this is really intended to only be an introduction, it achieves exactly as it set out to do. But at the same time, if this is being used strictly as introductory, some of the ideological frameworks could perhaps use a few extra sentences of fleshing out. I could see how someone without much existing background in social sciences might not take away as much from this book as someone with at least passing knowledge of people like Mary Wollstonecraft, Foucault, or Bourdieu.

[Jay Kozireski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this specifically for my LGBT studies class; however I would have read it outside of my studies. It is organized in a lovely manner, easy to digest as it gives the reader the linguistic tools and philosophical framework required to understand the book from the beginning.

I would recommend that you have a small amount of basic knowledge about gender theorists and philosophy before reading, but Shannon Dea makes an effort in this book to not leave those who don’t have it behind.

For a college level read, especially one that is so heavily philosophical, it is pretty easy to get through, and held my interest much more easily than your run of the mill textbook.

[Moshe Hollander · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book, more than I thought I would.
Although it presented some truly odd ideas (those of Irigaray and that of 'neurofeminism', at least as presented in the book), I feel like it made a positive contribution to my mental framework regarding sex and gender issues. My only gripe is that it seems to deal with issues in a superficial way, which may be out of necessity and/or its target audience.

[Skyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative and understandable! The author is very educated in these topics and she demonstrates that in her writing. Highly recommend to anyone who is interested in learning about LGBTQ+ culture, especially surrounding the ideas of gender and sex.

[Leah Riehl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and much clearer than most philosophy texts.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting read and we had a lot of great discussions in my lgbtq+ studies class about it. It was just a little boring bc it’s intended for a class

[Suzanne Ondrus]

This is a great book! It is very easy to read. I loved its up to date references, such as Caitlyn Jenner. The author does an excellent job of concisely summarizing books & articles on the topic, so that one gets the point of these different scholars' contributions. I love the annotated bibliography and list of terms at the end of the book. It also has discussion questions at the end of each chapter! A great text to add to women's studies or queer studies.