News and Events => Opinions & Editorials => Topic started by: Shana A on August 16, 2008, 01:09:22 PM Return to Full Version
Title: Book Review: The Riddle of Gender
Post by: Shana A on August 16, 2008, 01:09:22 PM
Post by: Shana A on August 16, 2008, 01:09:22 PM
Book Review: The Riddle of Gender
Filed by: Serena Freewomyn
August 16, 2008 12:00 PM
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/08/book_review_the_riddle_of_gender.php (http://www.bilerico.com/2008/08/book_review_the_riddle_of_gender.php)
Just when you think you've got the mystery of sex and gender all figured out, a new study or a book comes along that throws a monkey wrench into the equation, and you've got to start all over again. Deborah Rudacille's book The Riddle of Gender does exactly that. Rudacille was inspired to write the book when her friend told her that he wanted to transition from female to male. Rudacille didn't know very much about what transgender meant, but she wanted to support her friend. So she started to interview everyone she could in order to better understand what her friend was going through.
The book opens with different scientific explanations for why people are born transgender or intersex. I tend to lean on the side of social construction - I believe tat the majority of our gender traits are learned behavior. But after I read The Riddle of Gender, I began to understand that there are a lot of things that are hardwired into our DNA. Rudacille never settles the nature/nurture debate, but she does argue that nature loves diversity and that transgender and intersex babies are a part of that diversity.
Filed by: Serena Freewomyn
August 16, 2008 12:00 PM
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/08/book_review_the_riddle_of_gender.php (http://www.bilerico.com/2008/08/book_review_the_riddle_of_gender.php)
Just when you think you've got the mystery of sex and gender all figured out, a new study or a book comes along that throws a monkey wrench into the equation, and you've got to start all over again. Deborah Rudacille's book The Riddle of Gender does exactly that. Rudacille was inspired to write the book when her friend told her that he wanted to transition from female to male. Rudacille didn't know very much about what transgender meant, but she wanted to support her friend. So she started to interview everyone she could in order to better understand what her friend was going through.
The book opens with different scientific explanations for why people are born transgender or intersex. I tend to lean on the side of social construction - I believe tat the majority of our gender traits are learned behavior. But after I read The Riddle of Gender, I began to understand that there are a lot of things that are hardwired into our DNA. Rudacille never settles the nature/nurture debate, but she does argue that nature loves diversity and that transgender and intersex babies are a part of that diversity.
Title: Re: Book Review: The Riddle of Gender
Post by: NicholeW. on August 16, 2008, 01:31:11 PM
Post by: NicholeW. on August 16, 2008, 01:31:11 PM
A very good book.
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