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Gender: What Everyone Needs to Know
The term "gender" was first distinguished from "sex" in the 1950s, when psychologists began to discuss the idea of "gender roles"--behaviors and responsibilities given to people by a society rather than flowing from their biology. Over the last two decades, transgender people have expanded our understanding of gender even further, introducing to the mainstream the concept of "gender identity," an individual's understanding of their own gender. Along the way, there have been numerous debates and controversies (i.e., what is the influence of biology on gender, how does the media impact gender and gender roles, and do transgender people reinforce gender stereotypes or help to free us from them?).
In an easy-to-read format that includes questions and short responses, Gender: What Everyone Needs to KnowR guides the reader through basic definitions; the history of gender as a concept; the role of biology, psychology, and culture on gender; and gender norms over time and across the globe.
In an easy-to-read format that includes questions and short responses, Gender: What Everyone Needs to KnowR guides the reader through basic definitions; the history of gender as a concept; the role of biology, psychology, and culture on gender; and gender norms over time and across the globe.
6 pages, Audio CD
Published February 9, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 25, 2025
This book is informative on some topics and easy to read. My main complaint about it is that its subtitle, "What Everyone Needs to Know," advertises a focus on the facts and theories that explain them, but the author cannot seem to resist adding some preaching. For example, after explaining common reactions to gender nonconforming people, the author adds, "No one should suffer just for being who they are, and confusion should allow for curiosity and growth, never assault."
I often agreed with the author's moralizing conclusions, but I found them off-putting because they were a distraction from what I wanted: information. I wanted to understand gender. I didn't want to be told how to feel about it.
But more important than the occasional overt moralizing was the bias that framed and selected the facts. For example, the author takes great pains to deny that almost anything meaningful can be said about the connection between testosterone and behavior (quotations below). To an extent, I appreciate the caution. It is a truism of the study of human beings that it's very hard to be certain about many things because of biological and psychological complexity. Still, medicine and psychology manage to produce a lot of well-educated guesses about how humans work, and those guesses are worth knowing about. I had the strong sense that the author doesn't want to tell us.
On the other hand, in discussing the use of gender-neutral language in some Swedish preschools, the author cites two apparent benefits (children are less likely to make assumptions based on gender stereotypes and are more likely to have friends of another gender) and concludes, "approaches to child-rearing that intentionally break down stereotypes can benefit all children." This seems like a very different standard of evidence than was applied in questions about testosterone and behavior. Is it really so clear that the children are benefiting on the whole? Are we sure that there are no negative consequences? Even if many or most children benefit, is it clear that "all" children benefit, as the author claims? Is it clear that children outside the Swedish context can benefit? Is it clear that the difference in children's behavior is due to the gender-neutral language of the schools and not because of the other kinds of things that are likely to go on at a school that is disposed to adopt gender-neutral language?
Given the discrimination and hardship that transgender people have experienced, I can respect the urge for activism, and I can understand the urge to rally behind semi-proven practices and to be suspicious of any research results that could lead to the reinforcement of prejudice. But a big downside of letting these perspectives enter into a book that is supposed to be informative is that it undermines the reader's trust in the information. I didn't feel like I was getting the full story about things because the author had an axe to grind.
Another example of the author's bias is that the author dedicates considerably more space and detail to discussing the history of Trans Studies than to the history Women's, Men's, and Gender Studies combined, even though there have been whole Women's Studies PROGRAMS since 1970 and the first ESSAY in Trans Studies wasn't published until 1992. (For all I could tell there still is no program in Trans Studies.) The author lists book after book from Trans Studies but doesn't mention any for Women's, Men's, and Gender Studies. Perhaps the idea is to redress the long neglect of Trans Studies by giving it more pride of place. But the fact that trans people have suffered great injustice does not make the history of Trans Studies more interesting or important to know about than the history of Women's, Men's, and Gender Studies.
That said, if you're in the mood to be accompanied on your journey through gender by a friendly voice, you may find the author's voice friendly. But if you're looking to be fascinated by information and theories, you might find the author's approach frustrating.
Quotations about testosterone (mentioned above):
"It would be difficult to design an experiment to measure hormones' effects on our thoughts and behaviors because we would need to randomly assign certain people, starting before birth, to receive specific hormones, and others to receive different hormones. We would also have to control for social factors that likely influence the way men and women think and behave."
"Female guinea pigs given testosterone attempted to mount other guinea pigs, a behavior typical of males, and castrated male guinea pigs positioned themselves to be mounted, a behavior typical of females. It is difficult to say what this change in behavior means exactly. Does it have to do with sexuality, gender, or something else? We have no way to know."
"Another complex human behavior is aggression, which is often linked in our minds to testosterone. However, studies attempting to link testosterone and aggression have produced extremely varied results. What we do know is that it is not simply a matter of increased testosterone levels leading to increased aggression."
I often agreed with the author's moralizing conclusions, but I found them off-putting because they were a distraction from what I wanted: information. I wanted to understand gender. I didn't want to be told how to feel about it.
But more important than the occasional overt moralizing was the bias that framed and selected the facts. For example, the author takes great pains to deny that almost anything meaningful can be said about the connection between testosterone and behavior (quotations below). To an extent, I appreciate the caution. It is a truism of the study of human beings that it's very hard to be certain about many things because of biological and psychological complexity. Still, medicine and psychology manage to produce a lot of well-educated guesses about how humans work, and those guesses are worth knowing about. I had the strong sense that the author doesn't want to tell us.
On the other hand, in discussing the use of gender-neutral language in some Swedish preschools, the author cites two apparent benefits (children are less likely to make assumptions based on gender stereotypes and are more likely to have friends of another gender) and concludes, "approaches to child-rearing that intentionally break down stereotypes can benefit all children." This seems like a very different standard of evidence than was applied in questions about testosterone and behavior. Is it really so clear that the children are benefiting on the whole? Are we sure that there are no negative consequences? Even if many or most children benefit, is it clear that "all" children benefit, as the author claims? Is it clear that children outside the Swedish context can benefit? Is it clear that the difference in children's behavior is due to the gender-neutral language of the schools and not because of the other kinds of things that are likely to go on at a school that is disposed to adopt gender-neutral language?
Given the discrimination and hardship that transgender people have experienced, I can respect the urge for activism, and I can understand the urge to rally behind semi-proven practices and to be suspicious of any research results that could lead to the reinforcement of prejudice. But a big downside of letting these perspectives enter into a book that is supposed to be informative is that it undermines the reader's trust in the information. I didn't feel like I was getting the full story about things because the author had an axe to grind.
Another example of the author's bias is that the author dedicates considerably more space and detail to discussing the history of Trans Studies than to the history Women's, Men's, and Gender Studies combined, even though there have been whole Women's Studies PROGRAMS since 1970 and the first ESSAY in Trans Studies wasn't published until 1992. (For all I could tell there still is no program in Trans Studies.) The author lists book after book from Trans Studies but doesn't mention any for Women's, Men's, and Gender Studies. Perhaps the idea is to redress the long neglect of Trans Studies by giving it more pride of place. But the fact that trans people have suffered great injustice does not make the history of Trans Studies more interesting or important to know about than the history of Women's, Men's, and Gender Studies.
That said, if you're in the mood to be accompanied on your journey through gender by a friendly voice, you may find the author's voice friendly. But if you're looking to be fascinated by information and theories, you might find the author's approach frustrating.
Quotations about testosterone (mentioned above):
"It would be difficult to design an experiment to measure hormones' effects on our thoughts and behaviors because we would need to randomly assign certain people, starting before birth, to receive specific hormones, and others to receive different hormones. We would also have to control for social factors that likely influence the way men and women think and behave."
"Female guinea pigs given testosterone attempted to mount other guinea pigs, a behavior typical of males, and castrated male guinea pigs positioned themselves to be mounted, a behavior typical of females. It is difficult to say what this change in behavior means exactly. Does it have to do with sexuality, gender, or something else? We have no way to know."
"Another complex human behavior is aggression, which is often linked in our minds to testosterone. However, studies attempting to link testosterone and aggression have produced extremely varied results. What we do know is that it is not simply a matter of increased testosterone levels leading to increased aggression."
April 23, 2024
I openly admit that the new frontier in gender studies and gender identity is perplexing to me. There is so much I don't understand and cannot identify with, which is why I decided to listen to this book. I would call this book an introduction to or an overview of a subject that is expanding rapidly. It is one the hottest and most controversial topics of the 21st century thus far.
Separating sex from gender is challenging for a lot of people, especially straight folks. The author does a good job of explaining the differences, but she goes much further to explore the biology and psychology behind sex and gender. She also dips into the political and social ramifications of coming to terms with gender fluidity, along with the many challenges that people with nontraditional gender identification face every day. She even touches on the complications with language in addressing gender fluid people, which is an issue I have had to confront in my own head. I loved her examples of how all of us tend to use plural pronouns to refer to individuals and that we need to get over it!
Even after listening to this book, I am still confused about many aspects of gender identity. I'm probably not as sympathetic to those who embrace gender fluidity as I could be, but finishing this book was a start. I still have to do a whole lot of processing, but I at least realize we aren't talking about a fad here. The author makes it clear that gender fluidity has been around for a very long time. It's here to stay, but more in the open now than ever.
Separating sex from gender is challenging for a lot of people, especially straight folks. The author does a good job of explaining the differences, but she goes much further to explore the biology and psychology behind sex and gender. She also dips into the political and social ramifications of coming to terms with gender fluidity, along with the many challenges that people with nontraditional gender identification face every day. She even touches on the complications with language in addressing gender fluid people, which is an issue I have had to confront in my own head. I loved her examples of how all of us tend to use plural pronouns to refer to individuals and that we need to get over it!
Even after listening to this book, I am still confused about many aspects of gender identity. I'm probably not as sympathetic to those who embrace gender fluidity as I could be, but finishing this book was a start. I still have to do a whole lot of processing, but I at least realize we aren't talking about a fad here. The author makes it clear that gender fluidity has been around for a very long time. It's here to stay, but more in the open now than ever.
June 14, 2021
This is by far one of my favorite books and I highly recommend this book to everyone as it talks about such a diverse amount of topics when it comes to gender. This includes gender norms, expression, roles, identify, gender non-conformity, transness, sexism and even how sexism affects men in a negative light. This book talks about all of these topics in such a digestible way, however there is a bit of discussion on the academic fields of gender which I personally found very interesting but I don't think it's "necessary" when it comes to gender. It also includes the vast history of gender which I think is extremely essential when discussing gender in any sense.
October 5, 2023
Really enjoyed the modern historical context given and the explanation of how we have come to be more progressive in many ways, but there’s a regression resurging that threatens to undo a collective future to return to toxic patriarchal and capitalistic systems of oppression based on an appeal to old ways of being, lack of education and openness to the experience of others. One of my favourite references in this book was to Judith Butlers Gender Politick, which affirms marginalized and minority rights are human rights, and we at a point of history that we need to protect the rights of all humans.
February 22, 2021
GENDER is both hugely informative and extremely readable. It packs a great deal of information into 166 pages--yet nothing about the text seems dense or dull. The authors use a very straightforward, down-to-earth style that is at once intelligent and very accessible.
This is not a cultural critique, an academic examination, or an argument of any kind. It is a thorough, helpful, intelligent guide to the many aspects of gender. I strongly recommend it for anyone who wants to be better informed on the subject.
Scott Edelstein
This is not a cultural critique, an academic examination, or an argument of any kind. It is a thorough, helpful, intelligent guide to the many aspects of gender. I strongly recommend it for anyone who wants to be better informed on the subject.
Scott Edelstein
February 22, 2022
Overall really good info. It was weird at one point they quoted Charlemagne of all people (I mean, yeah the quote fit, but the guy committed genocide against non-Christians).
I also listened to the audiobook and have to warn fellow linguaphiles that the narrator absolutely butchers French and German pronunciation. But still, worth reading.
I also listened to the audiobook and have to warn fellow linguaphiles that the narrator absolutely butchers French and German pronunciation. But still, worth reading.
February 7, 2023
3.5 stars. Informative and interesting book. I enjoyed some chapters more than others. I found a few topics to be a little lacking, relying more heavily on broad generalizations rather than specific examples or research. Overall a great, eye-opening book that puts forth lots of well thought out research. Definitely worth the read.
May 20, 2022
The book covers a wide array of topics, but is an excellent intro into the subject matter. I learned a lot about gender, hormones, and various gender identities, Norms, and the history of gender. If the topic is interesting to you, and you need a good place to start, I think this would be it.
May 23, 2022
A book that's ahead of its time. A book that I will continue to encourage people to read.
August 17, 2022
4.5⭐️
October 9, 2023
Straightforward. A good place to start if you are not already well read on the topic or need to check your own biases.
December 19, 2023
General overview of gender. Informative and interesting. Makes me want to read more about trans and nonbinary identities.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews