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Book Lover

Misguided

Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2019

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Imagine a group of researchers studied a group of primates and they came to the following conclusions:
Some of the subjects were larger and heavier than others
Some of the subjects seemed intensely interested in defending their territory; others didn't seem to care
Some of the subjects spent significant time caring for the young; others offered minimal support
Some of the subjects attempted to have intercourse with multiple partners; others only maintained one relationship
Some of the subjects were forced out of the group after reaching a certain age; others were allowed to stay

If the researchers just charted behavior there might not be appear to be much rhyme or reason as to why certain behaviors occurred. But if they noted behavior in relation to sex then suddenly those actions become much clearer: Males for the most part have a certain behavior pattern; females have another and understanding that sheds great light on the actions of the individuals.

I read this book because I was writing an article about trans women competing against cis women in sports and this book was recommended to me. It has a large section (30 pages) devoted to this topic and I was interested in reading it and that is the topic that I have a lot of expertise on. Here's one line from the book: " Researchers discuss the scientific evidence that women, on average, perform better in endurance sports than men." (pg 129). Ah - come again? Last I checked the Olympics has many events that test endurance and elite women don't beat men in those competitions (the idea that women 'might' be better at ultra-endurance than man comes from their smaller size and greater stores of bodyfat). He also states: "there has never been a concerted effort to recruit significant numbers of women to try out for the NHL, NFL, PGA, or NBA" He then notes the time Mark Cuban offered a tryout to one of the best female players ever and he follows up with "what if other owners had done likewise at the same time?" (pg 132) as if to imply that if only more women were invited to play on these teams we would be seeing so many more of them on TV - as if the millions of dollars and huge fan base and excessive TV time that athletes receive isn't enough motivation to succeed.

His basic position is: there are some women that are stronger than some men; thus making the claim that men are stronger than women untrue; thus it is sexist to separate sports into male and female categories, it should just be "best player plays". He believes this would cause an increase in female participation and success in sports. I believe the exact opposite would occur.

Humans express sexual dimorphism, it is a basic fact. It isn't sexist to say that as a man I can't bear children, it just true. It isn't sexist to say that on average, or at maximal potential, men are stronger or better at sports than women. Certainly both should be treated equally under the law; but that doesn't mean we are the same. Men and women are not clones that happen to have slightly altered exteriors. I would hope a veterinarian would treat a cat and a dog with the same love and respect and would not show preferential favoritism to one over the other. I would also hope that the Vet would understand that the physiology of those two animals is different and they might require different treatment; so to I would hope that people understand that men and women are not the same and that sex does indeed matter in some instances.

Certainly it is an admirable goal to eradicate either blatant Sexism or unintentional sexism, but in that process we can't forget who we are or where we come from. Sex, and gender, are a fundamental part in almost any animal's life, and they play an important part in understanding who we are and how we behave. To ignore that is to miss a significant piece of the human puzzle.

Rin

but they are still good stories to hear

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2018

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Bought it for a class. It's okay. I don't really support their arguments. I feel that their arguments should have been based around more generalizable data rather than relying so heavily on anecdotal evidence, but they are still good stories to hear. I can understand Davis's argument on transgender and intersex issues but to completely get rid of the idea of gender and sex altogether is a bit much. We still need it for medical reasons. Davis says it's not necessary but boy is it important to know how much of a hormone to properly inject into someone. It should be more of a one-on-one discussion with the patient to disclose/conceal their gender identity and preferences. Likewise, gender is an identity and to take it away completely is taking a big part of someone away. It's okay to do feminine stereotypical activities if that's how you identify and feel most comfortable and vice versa or step out of the boundaries completely. This is why we have terminology for different identities. Davis's arguments are all interesting, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

H. Hewett

Eye-opening and fascinating

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2017

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There are many things in Davis' book to think about. What struck me most was: 1) becoming aware of the prevalence of sex-classification - all of the forms and sources of identification which ask or label us as M or F - which there really isn't a good reason to collect; 2) how we have historically compressed a range of human sexual identity down to an either/or choice which is not always applicable; 3) that "separate and equal" rarely is, and that the strategy of accommodation continues to reinforce binary sexual identity and sexism; 4) that we all suffer when we force people into boxes.

Marzie

A thought-provoking read about the gender continuum

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2017

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I received a copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an excellent and thought-provoking discussion about the failings of a binary system to meet the needs of transgender, intersex and non gender-conforming individuals. By examining the effects of mandating binary gender identification on documents like drivers licenses, bus passes, college applications, FAFSAs, or in places like restrooms, or in sports participation, people with complex gender identity are placed in difficult (if not impossible) and sometimes even dangerous situations.

From the absurd unfairness of sex-marked bus passes to the unfairly personal demands of birth sex-mandated bathrooms, from women's colleges to sex-segregated sports, Beyond Trans takes us on a journey that probably just scratches the surface of what any transgendered, or non-gender conforming person has to endure.

One example Fogg Davis presents for our consideration is that of Coy, a five year old transgender girl who would like to use a girls bathroom in her elementary school. Told she can't or to use a teacher's bathroom, her family sues and wins. Now let's fast forward to puberty. To forestall development of secondary sex characteristics until legal adulthood, Coy's parents may allow her pediatrician to prescribe hormone blockers. (This will allow her to decide at age 18 what she wants to do about surgery, hormonal treatments, etc.) Now fast forward to age 18. In addition to making all these important personal medical decisions, imagine Coy wants to apply to a historic women's college like Smith or Mt Holyoke. Coy has lived 13 of her 18 years, virtually all of her life she will clearly recollect, as a female. Will she be admitted? Some schools might still refuse her. Some institutions like Mt Holyoke have sought to embrace individuals "identifying as female," albeit with a long list of clarifiers. But is this enough? (Indeed, this particular case made me contemplate just how long we expect someone to be female to be female and how ridiculously unfair it is.)

Just the idea that often someone has to complete radical surgery to be able to get "certified" as a sex different from that on their original birth certificates gives me pause. Having known a transgender woman who chose not to complete full transition surgery because she just isn't sure she wants more surgery, I just can't accept how unfair the situation is. Do we really need to know if she's 100% female because she has no trace of male genitalia? SMH. The argument for biometric identification on drivers licenses, metro passes and other documents in lieu of sex markers sounds like a good one to me, even with its potential risks. But, based on dinner table debates of the entire topic, many sadly have a long way to go before relinquishing their binary world view.

This is a slender volume of 192 pages of which only about 52% is discussion. An appendix offers a thorough Gender Audit for institutions. I happily bought a copy of the book to be able to share it.