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Understanding Gender Identity: Explore the True Meaning of Pronouns and Gender Dysphoria, and Learn to Be a More Authentic You
If you're questioning your gender identity, you're not alone. Many people have struggled with understanding their gender and finding a place where they belong. This book provides a safe, inclusive, and informative space to explore and understand your gender identity. In this book, readers will discover:
-How individuals experience gender, including non-binary and gender non-conforming identities.
-The spectrum of sexuality.
-How to respect an individual's chosen pronouns and practical advice for navigating language respectfully and inclusively.
-The debunking of false stereotypes burdening the trans community.
-The challenges of gender dysphoria and ways to overcome those challenges.
-10 things you don’t ever say to a transgender person.
-Tips to help keep yourself safe amongst people or things that may threaten your well-being.
-The difference between gender identity vs. gender expression.
-Ways to handle relationships with friends, family, work, community, and educators.
"Understanding Gender Identity" offers a roadmap to help you navigate your journey of self-discovery with confidence and clarity.
-How individuals experience gender, including non-binary and gender non-conforming identities.
-The spectrum of sexuality.
-How to respect an individual's chosen pronouns and practical advice for navigating language respectfully and inclusively.
-The debunking of false stereotypes burdening the trans community.
-The challenges of gender dysphoria and ways to overcome those challenges.
-10 things you don’t ever say to a transgender person.
-Tips to help keep yourself safe amongst people or things that may threaten your well-being.
-The difference between gender identity vs. gender expression.
-Ways to handle relationships with friends, family, work, community, and educators.
"Understanding Gender Identity" offers a roadmap to help you navigate your journey of self-discovery with confidence and clarity.
- GenresLGBTNonfiction
166 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 9, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 13, 2023
4,5 stars, rounded up to 5.
Short version:
In the last chapter, Braxton wrote: “Promise me that you won’t try and go through this alone”. And I think that summarizes perfectly the book and the intent of the book. The book, covering many topics which I will comment on separately below, provides the first steps within a trans journey. Although, I believe this book is useful for everyone; whether you are transgender yourself, questioning or cisgender. The care with how Braxton introduced and handled all the topics was excellent, and it made me fly through the book. The flow and linking between topics was also well done; on multiple occasions, there were references to what was said in other chapters. It was a clear book with a logical start and an encouraging ending. I highly recommend this book to everyone with questions.
Long version:
The introduction gives us a good idea about how the writing style will be: raw but gentle. It is very clear that the Author went through a lot of pain, which many transgender people can probably recognize, and the idea of this book immediately becomes noticeable: to help people and hopefully lessen the struggle.
Chapter one dives into the meaning of gender. What is gender? How is it different from sex? It gives a nice overview of everything related to gender identity and gender expression. Through examples, all the differences are made clear. Absolute shout out to the sentence “[…] I couldn’t blame people for making assumptions they learned in childhood or for learning too slowly.” (p. 6). I sometimes have the feeling that people tend to forget this; our society is built on how we are raised, and that doesn’t change within a snap of our fingers.
Continuing in chapter two is the exploration of sex and sexuality. Personally, I found it saddened to read that we should see sex (with any meaning of the word) as something between romantic partners and doctors. I think if we want to change the taboo around the topic, we have to talk about it with more people; make it normal. It doesn’t need to be put away as something shameful. And that’s why I was rather surprised with how open and direct this chapter was written. Especially with the topic of chromosomal differences and intersex people. This can be something confusing if you have never heard or read about it. There was only one part I did not necessarily agree with, and that was the last part about having “[…] to be open about yourself for others to understand and love you […]” (p. 33). I understand the reasoning behind it, I truly do, but you actually do not own anyone anything. Only share that what you want to share.
In chapter three, about pronouns, I really appreciated how it was repeated several times to stay friendly and kind when people make mistakes. Because, yes, it says more about the person talking to you, than it does about you as a person. Is it difficult because it can trigger dysphoria, also yes. But if a person keeps making mistakes after being corrected over and over again, you might want to consider if you actually want this person around. “It is not your responsibility to make other people respect your identity.” (p.49).
Wrongfully stereotypes are dealt with in chapter four. This was a good chapter, the only thing I would have liked to see was a bit more attention to the fact what medical transitioning means for young trans kids. There is this persisting idea that minors also have access to surgeries, although I do not really believe that they would read this book, it might still be a good thing to have included that this never happens. Are puberty blockers a thing? Yes, but they are not harmful, so they should be available for questioning teens.
This is a more general comment, but I missed it in chapter four the most, was the referring to scientific research. I have an academic background, in sociology to be precise, so I recognized most texts that was being talked about. But I truly believe that chapter four could be much stronger if there had been made more references to scientific research. Again, I kind of missed this throughout the whole book, but it was the most obvious in chapter four.
With chapter five being about relationships: families, friends and everything else, I knew that this would be a tough chapter. And it was, and I thank you for it, actually. Thank you for being honest. Thank you for being honest that there are consequences you cannot control. But also thank you for reminding the reader multiple times that it is not your fault when people decide to walk out on you when you want to live your authentic life. If people only would stay with you as you continue to lie to yourself, please remember that you are better off without those people. How incredibly difficult that might be. But remember, there is help and there are people who care.
Chapter six is a good and solid chapter about gender dysphoria. It gave a good overview of what gender dysphoria is and what the potential triggers could be, but also what you can do about it: medical treatments and nonmedical treatments. The only thing that I missed a bit in the beginning was a small note that gender dysphoria is not necessary to be trans. There are transgender people out there that have no gender dysphoria. This does not make them any less transgender.
Building on chapter six, chapter seven dives into the mental health aspect and potential struggles of dealing with gender dysphoria. Again, a solid chapter, especially about what you can do yourself to help your mental health. Although I would have liked to see more time spent on the assistance of therapists. (And I would have started with that, but honestly, now I’m just nitpicking.) The reason I mention this, is because, yes it’s going to depend heavily on where you live how true this is, but often you actually need a referral from a psychiatrist if you want to access medical transition treatment. Again, this is not the case everywhere, and not for every medical treatment, but I believe this is a missed opportunity to acknowledge that.
Chapter 8 has the best advice in the entire book:
“Promise me that you won’t try and go through this alone.” (p. 151)
If you could only take one thing from the book, please let it be this. You are not alone, there is help. There are people who care and who are willing to help.
All by all, this is an excellent book. It is obvious that a lot of time, effort, and love was put into this book. It is also a really accessible book that’s easy to read. I recommend it to everyone who is questioning their gender, starting their journey, or anyone who simply is eager to learn more about what transgender people deal with. Thank you for writing this.
Short version:
In the last chapter, Braxton wrote: “Promise me that you won’t try and go through this alone”. And I think that summarizes perfectly the book and the intent of the book. The book, covering many topics which I will comment on separately below, provides the first steps within a trans journey. Although, I believe this book is useful for everyone; whether you are transgender yourself, questioning or cisgender. The care with how Braxton introduced and handled all the topics was excellent, and it made me fly through the book. The flow and linking between topics was also well done; on multiple occasions, there were references to what was said in other chapters. It was a clear book with a logical start and an encouraging ending. I highly recommend this book to everyone with questions.
Long version:
The introduction gives us a good idea about how the writing style will be: raw but gentle. It is very clear that the Author went through a lot of pain, which many transgender people can probably recognize, and the idea of this book immediately becomes noticeable: to help people and hopefully lessen the struggle.
Chapter one dives into the meaning of gender. What is gender? How is it different from sex? It gives a nice overview of everything related to gender identity and gender expression. Through examples, all the differences are made clear. Absolute shout out to the sentence “[…] I couldn’t blame people for making assumptions they learned in childhood or for learning too slowly.” (p. 6). I sometimes have the feeling that people tend to forget this; our society is built on how we are raised, and that doesn’t change within a snap of our fingers.
Continuing in chapter two is the exploration of sex and sexuality. Personally, I found it saddened to read that we should see sex (with any meaning of the word) as something between romantic partners and doctors. I think if we want to change the taboo around the topic, we have to talk about it with more people; make it normal. It doesn’t need to be put away as something shameful. And that’s why I was rather surprised with how open and direct this chapter was written. Especially with the topic of chromosomal differences and intersex people. This can be something confusing if you have never heard or read about it. There was only one part I did not necessarily agree with, and that was the last part about having “[…] to be open about yourself for others to understand and love you […]” (p. 33). I understand the reasoning behind it, I truly do, but you actually do not own anyone anything. Only share that what you want to share.
In chapter three, about pronouns, I really appreciated how it was repeated several times to stay friendly and kind when people make mistakes. Because, yes, it says more about the person talking to you, than it does about you as a person. Is it difficult because it can trigger dysphoria, also yes. But if a person keeps making mistakes after being corrected over and over again, you might want to consider if you actually want this person around. “It is not your responsibility to make other people respect your identity.” (p.49).
Wrongfully stereotypes are dealt with in chapter four. This was a good chapter, the only thing I would have liked to see was a bit more attention to the fact what medical transitioning means for young trans kids. There is this persisting idea that minors also have access to surgeries, although I do not really believe that they would read this book, it might still be a good thing to have included that this never happens. Are puberty blockers a thing? Yes, but they are not harmful, so they should be available for questioning teens.
This is a more general comment, but I missed it in chapter four the most, was the referring to scientific research. I have an academic background, in sociology to be precise, so I recognized most texts that was being talked about. But I truly believe that chapter four could be much stronger if there had been made more references to scientific research. Again, I kind of missed this throughout the whole book, but it was the most obvious in chapter four.
With chapter five being about relationships: families, friends and everything else, I knew that this would be a tough chapter. And it was, and I thank you for it, actually. Thank you for being honest. Thank you for being honest that there are consequences you cannot control. But also thank you for reminding the reader multiple times that it is not your fault when people decide to walk out on you when you want to live your authentic life. If people only would stay with you as you continue to lie to yourself, please remember that you are better off without those people. How incredibly difficult that might be. But remember, there is help and there are people who care.
Chapter six is a good and solid chapter about gender dysphoria. It gave a good overview of what gender dysphoria is and what the potential triggers could be, but also what you can do about it: medical treatments and nonmedical treatments. The only thing that I missed a bit in the beginning was a small note that gender dysphoria is not necessary to be trans. There are transgender people out there that have no gender dysphoria. This does not make them any less transgender.
Building on chapter six, chapter seven dives into the mental health aspect and potential struggles of dealing with gender dysphoria. Again, a solid chapter, especially about what you can do yourself to help your mental health. Although I would have liked to see more time spent on the assistance of therapists. (And I would have started with that, but honestly, now I’m just nitpicking.) The reason I mention this, is because, yes it’s going to depend heavily on where you live how true this is, but often you actually need a referral from a psychiatrist if you want to access medical transition treatment. Again, this is not the case everywhere, and not for every medical treatment, but I believe this is a missed opportunity to acknowledge that.
Chapter 8 has the best advice in the entire book:
“Promise me that you won’t try and go through this alone.” (p. 151)
If you could only take one thing from the book, please let it be this. You are not alone, there is help. There are people who care and who are willing to help.
All by all, this is an excellent book. It is obvious that a lot of time, effort, and love was put into this book. It is also a really accessible book that’s easy to read. I recommend it to everyone who is questioning their gender, starting their journey, or anyone who simply is eager to learn more about what transgender people deal with. Thank you for writing this.
March 29, 2024
Well paced, heartfelt & informative
Braxton Phoenix Stock comes from a place of personal experience writing ‘Understanding Gender Identity’, as a trans-man. This background informs the text with a pleasant passion that makes it easy to read. It also includes general review sections at the end of chapters and indexes of terms. These touches makes it a pretty good learning resource.
I’m happy with my own born gender, but I am also writing a series that includes several trans characters, and I wanted to make sure I was writing from a place of understanding. This seemed like an ideal vehicle for that, and I was right.
One aspect of the experience I had not considered is the way that figuring out constructive ways to correct other people’s understanding of your gender can be a major source of anxiety. This is done partially with costume and expression, but then there are times it has to happen by literal correction that must be done with utmost delicacy. And I am remotely cringing; it must be a uniquely unpleasant experience every single time. That’s worth bearing in mind when writing such a character. And now I also understand why the trans people I’ve known have had no problems being bold and making noise. That’s a survival skill. Also good to know.
I’m not ignorant of the basics here, though. I’ve spent a good part of my life in queer spaces, and I’ve known a few trans people, and even more people who play with gender expression in various ways. It was welcome, then, to see the global historical cultural understanding of gender taking such a prevalent place in the introduction chapter.
I was fully prepared to sit through another history lesson about how the west figured out a bunch of stuff the south and the east already knew in various places, so that was a pleasant surprise. In fact, the opening chapters largely skipped this history and went straight for some of the (honestly more interesting) hard evidence regarding brain scans on the culture/gender side, and intersex genetic variations on the biological side. For a nonfiction book written in a breezy conversational style, at least the author has a good sense of what information is interesting to include. The endnotes are there, and welcome, but they are not linked/footnotes in the text right on the Kindle edition. This is a minor critique.
Another minor critique; in the opening chapters, jumping from sex to sexuality made sense in semantic sense, but it would have been better to to have sexuality as a separate chapter. Biological sex has a lot of physical basis, but sexuality is very mental and fluid. It can change from one part of the day to the other in a way that gender and sex generally do not. It’s also not influenced by group-think and society like gender expression. And, finally, it’s the thing that love and affection tends to be tangled up with. It’s a distinct, third thing, that is tied to the performance of gender and the experience of sex like a stool balances on three legs.
That would have been a better use of the third chapter. Regarding pronouns, that chapter could have been summarized, “Don’t be rude, and if you aren’t sure either ask or use a nonspecific one. If you get it wrong just fix it, and stop whining.” But perhaps I’m just tired of people acting like pronouns are somehow difficult.
Also I must point out that ‘dude’ was originally nongendered ie ‘the next one in line, or the proximal people in the crowd’, and the unnecessary creation of ‘dudette’ is such a recent change as to be irrelevant… but I may be on the losing side of that debate at this point, and I can hardly count that as a factual mistake. I just like ‘dude’… a situational pronoun! So novel and useful!
A fair part the later half of the book is devoted towards dispelling the various lies that our civilization tends to plant in people that makes it hard for them to exist as people with different expressions, and preparing young trans people for the stress they will inevitably experience in their relationships with friends and family. This was not useful to me, but I’ve got some grey hairs & I am not trans. I can see the value of it, especially accompanied by frequent suggestions of various community resources. The personal experiences sprinkled throughout were of more interest, and they did keep my interest through this section.
The final sections are devoted to discussions to gender dysphoria, treatments, and maintaining your positivity after the transition. Once again, I’m not the target audience but the information was presented in a clear and well organized fashion. All in all, a perfectly well formed and presented book on the topic, that both covers all the bases and doesn’t overstay its welcome. Well done.
Braxton Phoenix Stock comes from a place of personal experience writing ‘Understanding Gender Identity’, as a trans-man. This background informs the text with a pleasant passion that makes it easy to read. It also includes general review sections at the end of chapters and indexes of terms. These touches makes it a pretty good learning resource.
I’m happy with my own born gender, but I am also writing a series that includes several trans characters, and I wanted to make sure I was writing from a place of understanding. This seemed like an ideal vehicle for that, and I was right.
One aspect of the experience I had not considered is the way that figuring out constructive ways to correct other people’s understanding of your gender can be a major source of anxiety. This is done partially with costume and expression, but then there are times it has to happen by literal correction that must be done with utmost delicacy. And I am remotely cringing; it must be a uniquely unpleasant experience every single time. That’s worth bearing in mind when writing such a character. And now I also understand why the trans people I’ve known have had no problems being bold and making noise. That’s a survival skill. Also good to know.
I’m not ignorant of the basics here, though. I’ve spent a good part of my life in queer spaces, and I’ve known a few trans people, and even more people who play with gender expression in various ways. It was welcome, then, to see the global historical cultural understanding of gender taking such a prevalent place in the introduction chapter.
I was fully prepared to sit through another history lesson about how the west figured out a bunch of stuff the south and the east already knew in various places, so that was a pleasant surprise. In fact, the opening chapters largely skipped this history and went straight for some of the (honestly more interesting) hard evidence regarding brain scans on the culture/gender side, and intersex genetic variations on the biological side. For a nonfiction book written in a breezy conversational style, at least the author has a good sense of what information is interesting to include. The endnotes are there, and welcome, but they are not linked/footnotes in the text right on the Kindle edition. This is a minor critique.
Another minor critique; in the opening chapters, jumping from sex to sexuality made sense in semantic sense, but it would have been better to to have sexuality as a separate chapter. Biological sex has a lot of physical basis, but sexuality is very mental and fluid. It can change from one part of the day to the other in a way that gender and sex generally do not. It’s also not influenced by group-think and society like gender expression. And, finally, it’s the thing that love and affection tends to be tangled up with. It’s a distinct, third thing, that is tied to the performance of gender and the experience of sex like a stool balances on three legs.
That would have been a better use of the third chapter. Regarding pronouns, that chapter could have been summarized, “Don’t be rude, and if you aren’t sure either ask or use a nonspecific one. If you get it wrong just fix it, and stop whining.” But perhaps I’m just tired of people acting like pronouns are somehow difficult.
Also I must point out that ‘dude’ was originally nongendered ie ‘the next one in line, or the proximal people in the crowd’, and the unnecessary creation of ‘dudette’ is such a recent change as to be irrelevant… but I may be on the losing side of that debate at this point, and I can hardly count that as a factual mistake. I just like ‘dude’… a situational pronoun! So novel and useful!
A fair part the later half of the book is devoted towards dispelling the various lies that our civilization tends to plant in people that makes it hard for them to exist as people with different expressions, and preparing young trans people for the stress they will inevitably experience in their relationships with friends and family. This was not useful to me, but I’ve got some grey hairs & I am not trans. I can see the value of it, especially accompanied by frequent suggestions of various community resources. The personal experiences sprinkled throughout were of more interest, and they did keep my interest through this section.
The final sections are devoted to discussions to gender dysphoria, treatments, and maintaining your positivity after the transition. Once again, I’m not the target audience but the information was presented in a clear and well organized fashion. All in all, a perfectly well formed and presented book on the topic, that both covers all the bases and doesn’t overstay its welcome. Well done.
September 4, 2023
In many countries around the world, the number of people self identifying with pronouns other than he/him or she/her is on the increase. While there are many cultures which, for centuries, have embraced genders outside the binary male and female, for other societies there is still more that can be better understood.
Understanding Gender Identity is an informative guide which aims to provide clarity on the terms used to describe different gender identities, penned by transgender author Braxton ("Brax") Stock. In the opening chapter, Stock provides his story of growing up in a female body "[there] was a nagging reminder that something was different about me," Stock says, "Something felt seriously wrong...My body was perfect and healthy. But it wasn’t me." Stock's is a story that many of his book's readership will relate to, and one which continues to pop up at differing occasions throughout the book.
Most of Understanding Gender Identity is dedicated to explaining the key terms used within the transgender community and debunking some of the myths that surround it. Tone of voice is pleasant, coming from someone who has direct experience to some, if not all, of the challenges faced by those within this growing community. In places the intended audience becomes a little disjointed and blurred, flicking between content targeted at LGBTIQA+ allies (such as "what do to if you use the wrong pronoun") to sections aimed for those self-identifying as outside male/female pronouns (witnessed particularly strongly in chapters on gender dysphoria). There was also a full page prompt mid-way through the book to remind readers to review Understanding Gender Identity online, which serves as a bit of a distraction, especially when the reminder also exists at the end of the book.
As someone who sits in the LGBTIQA+ ally camp I find books like these to be highly educational and nearly always well thought through and considered. Understanding Gender Identity is all about supporting peers and educating allies in a gentle but meaningful way. It is a taboo-busting book that educates as well as empowers the LGBTIQA+ community.
AEB Reviews
Understanding Gender Identity is an informative guide which aims to provide clarity on the terms used to describe different gender identities, penned by transgender author Braxton ("Brax") Stock. In the opening chapter, Stock provides his story of growing up in a female body "[there] was a nagging reminder that something was different about me," Stock says, "Something felt seriously wrong...My body was perfect and healthy. But it wasn’t me." Stock's is a story that many of his book's readership will relate to, and one which continues to pop up at differing occasions throughout the book.
Most of Understanding Gender Identity is dedicated to explaining the key terms used within the transgender community and debunking some of the myths that surround it. Tone of voice is pleasant, coming from someone who has direct experience to some, if not all, of the challenges faced by those within this growing community. In places the intended audience becomes a little disjointed and blurred, flicking between content targeted at LGBTIQA+ allies (such as "what do to if you use the wrong pronoun") to sections aimed for those self-identifying as outside male/female pronouns (witnessed particularly strongly in chapters on gender dysphoria). There was also a full page prompt mid-way through the book to remind readers to review Understanding Gender Identity online, which serves as a bit of a distraction, especially when the reminder also exists at the end of the book.
As someone who sits in the LGBTIQA+ ally camp I find books like these to be highly educational and nearly always well thought through and considered. Understanding Gender Identity is all about supporting peers and educating allies in a gentle but meaningful way. It is a taboo-busting book that educates as well as empowers the LGBTIQA+ community.
AEB Reviews
January 11, 2024
I was drawn to this book as the mother of two LGBTQ+ adult children, one who is trans. I like to read different perspectives and find ways I can better support my children in their journey. This book has it all. It is as beneficial for allies and education and it is for the LGBTQ+ community. The author did their research and provides studies, resources, and helplines. They also share their personal experience in a open and supportive way. I particularly liked the focus on mental health and tools provided to address issues along those lines. I think this book should be required reading and be available in every school and public library.
March 3, 2024
I read this book because two people in my life are embarking on their transgender journey. I found this book really enlightening. I’m so pleased I’ve read it. I would imagine if you are someone questioning your gender, this book would help you feel more able to find your way.
December 20, 2025
starts out ok, then somewhere in the middle, it gets into "law of attraction" bullshit, which will get trans people to blame themselves when things go wrong, utter shit. To call this advice for people who are desperate is malpractice. Awful.
November 14, 2023
fantastic read
This book gives you insight on what gender identity is and their true meaning. The author did a wonderful job educating those who needs the information. Well done! Definitely worth a read.
This book gives you insight on what gender identity is and their true meaning. The author did a wonderful job educating those who needs the information. Well done! Definitely worth a read.
July 2, 2024
Good intro into the topic
May 11, 2024
A vital book for our evolution
I found this book essential in order to understand all the misinformation roaming our social discourse. It is a vital book for anyone who wishes to be educated on Gender identity . Clearly written , informative , and compassionate . A+
I found this book essential in order to understand all the misinformation roaming our social discourse. It is a vital book for anyone who wishes to be educated on Gender identity . Clearly written , informative , and compassionate . A+
November 11, 2023
Helpful Resource on Understanding Gender Identity!
This book is great for understanding and accepting your identity, especially if you are LGBTQ+. It is written from the personal experience of a transgender person. The book focuses on gender identity and helps humanize the transgender perspective. It talks about debunking stereotypes matter-of-factly. However, it does not go into the science or genetics of gender much. Some people still think there are only two biological genders, so covering that would have been informative. Overall though, this book does a nice job using real stories to increase empathy and support for transgender individuals figuring out who they are. It is a helpful resource for coping and embracing your true self.
This book is great for understanding and accepting your identity, especially if you are LGBTQ+. It is written from the personal experience of a transgender person. The book focuses on gender identity and helps humanize the transgender perspective. It talks about debunking stereotypes matter-of-factly. However, it does not go into the science or genetics of gender much. Some people still think there are only two biological genders, so covering that would have been informative. Overall though, this book does a nice job using real stories to increase empathy and support for transgender individuals figuring out who they are. It is a helpful resource for coping and embracing your true self.
April 14, 2026
One of the best modern books on the subject. I greatly appreciated hearing from a trans masculine perspective, as it helped to contrast and validate parts of my own experience. Very easy to read and follow, and honestly, perfect for anyone looking for more information. This is really a book for anyone, not just the LGBT+ community. It covers a wide range of important topics and dispels many misconceptions about gender identity. The topics range from lighthearted and informational to covering heavier topics such as common mental health struggles like anxiety, depression, eating disorders, isolation, self-harm, drug and alcohol abuse, dysphoria, etcetera.
I think one of my favorite parts of the book is how much it emphasizes the diversity of experiences and how everyone's experience is uniquely their own. In an attempt to find community, it's easy for people to lose sight of their own individuality at times. Both are important, but sometimes it's important to reemphasize that your experience might not be the exact same as someone else's, even if there is a lot of overlap. Even though I feel pretty knowledgeable on the subject at this point, I still learned several new things from this reading, such as the term androgyne, which feels very similar to my experience of being bigender/genderfluid. But I think my biggest takeaway is the emphasis Braxton puts on the darkness that's present before transition and the light and happiness that tend to return afterwards, despite any struggles the individual might experience.
I think one of my favorite parts of the book is how much it emphasizes the diversity of experiences and how everyone's experience is uniquely their own. In an attempt to find community, it's easy for people to lose sight of their own individuality at times. Both are important, but sometimes it's important to reemphasize that your experience might not be the exact same as someone else's, even if there is a lot of overlap. Even though I feel pretty knowledgeable on the subject at this point, I still learned several new things from this reading, such as the term androgyne, which feels very similar to my experience of being bigender/genderfluid. But I think my biggest takeaway is the emphasis Braxton puts on the darkness that's present before transition and the light and happiness that tend to return afterwards, despite any struggles the individual might experience.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews