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Changing Gender
From the groundbreaking trans scholar Susan Stryker, a provocative, genre-bending call to reconsider the story we tell about gender itself.
That gender is a hotly contested topic becomes ever clearer as antigender ideology continues to be mobilized by the far right and transgender people's lives are increasingly targeted. But what are we talking about when we talk about gender? Where did the concept itself come from, and where might it go?
In Changing Gender, the leading trans scholar Susan Stryker invites readers to ride along on her lifelong quest to uncover what gender means and does. She traces the gender concept's roots in grammar and tells the story of how it transformed into a battleground of the culture wars. From the origins of “Yankee Doodle” to acid trips in Joshua Tree National Park, from nineteenth-century phrenology to present-day anti-trans conspiracy theorists, Stryker finds surprising places to tune in to the origins, idiosyncrasies, and generative possibilities of the gender concept. Along the way, she weaves stories drawn from her lifetime as a pathbreaking historian, filmmaker, activist, and founding figure of transgender studies.
Poignant and deeply researched, lyrical and authoritative, Changing Gender is a book for our fraught time, exposing limiting assumptions about gender across the political spectrum and imagining what life might look like if some of those limitations were lifted. Ultimately, Stryker argues, to change gender is to change what it means to be human—and to change reality itself.
That gender is a hotly contested topic becomes ever clearer as antigender ideology continues to be mobilized by the far right and transgender people's lives are increasingly targeted. But what are we talking about when we talk about gender? Where did the concept itself come from, and where might it go?
In Changing Gender, the leading trans scholar Susan Stryker invites readers to ride along on her lifelong quest to uncover what gender means and does. She traces the gender concept's roots in grammar and tells the story of how it transformed into a battleground of the culture wars. From the origins of “Yankee Doodle” to acid trips in Joshua Tree National Park, from nineteenth-century phrenology to present-day anti-trans conspiracy theorists, Stryker finds surprising places to tune in to the origins, idiosyncrasies, and generative possibilities of the gender concept. Along the way, she weaves stories drawn from her lifetime as a pathbreaking historian, filmmaker, activist, and founding figure of transgender studies.
Poignant and deeply researched, lyrical and authoritative, Changing Gender is a book for our fraught time, exposing limiting assumptions about gender across the political spectrum and imagining what life might look like if some of those limitations were lifted. Ultimately, Stryker argues, to change gender is to change what it means to be human—and to change reality itself.
385 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 25, 2026
About the author
Susan Stryker
44 books335 followersSusan O'Neal Stryker is an American professor, author, filmmaker, and theorist whose work focuses on gender and human sexuality. She is an associate professor of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Arizona, and is the director of the university's Institute for LGBT Studies. She has served as a visiting professor at Harvard University, University of California, Santa Cruz, and Simon Fraser University. She is an openly lesbian trans woman who has produced a significant body of work about transgenderism and queer culture.
(from Wikipedia)
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
August 13, 2026
This book was timely, poignant, and utterly thought-provoking. I’ve honestly been struggling to write a review that I feel does it justice. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit it, but this is actually my first book by Stryker, although I’ve been familiar with her for a while and have her entire body of work on my TBR. As a trans nonbinary reader who came out on my late 20’s, this book meant a lot to me.
It’s very clear that Stryker is an absolute authority on trans topics - incredibly well researched - not only from her personal experiences as a trans woman, but is extremely knowledgable on all of the medical research, the psychological research, current common counter-arguments being used against us, as well as other bigger ideas focusing on gender studies. Ideas like how colonialism, patriarchy, white supremacy, capitalism, and christian nationalism/supremacy contribute to our oppression as trans people. How the very essence of what the word gender means and all its connotations is actually what the term sex (as in biological) means. It’s a bit of a bait and switch, as Stryker explains - it has basically been replaced/swapped in the cultural zeitgeist. And that has been intentional on the part of those who wish to use us as political cannon-fodder to scapegoat us for every problem that the systems of oppression have actually created.
I don’t know that I could ever have anything to say that would add to the experience of reading this incredible book. Stryker’s contemplation on the ontological and epistemological pluriversalities that make up life as a trans person are told in part story form, part biography form, and this book feels personal. Almost like sitting down and having a deep chat with Stryker about these complex ideas and the ‘WTF’ of being trans. Which made me laugh out loud and nod in agreement at the same time.
The best thing I can leave you with are some of my favorite quotes from the book, that will keep me thinking for a long time to come.
‘I don’t think monsters are bad things. Monsters are experiments in embodied forms that herald unfathomable futures. When somebody makes you their monster they cede to you a tremendous power, and you should not reject the gift. Refusing to disavow kinship with them keeps me in touch with a dark and vital radiance that I actively embrace.’
‘He asks if I feel differently about claiming monstrosity now that I’m older and have been successful in life, and can hardly consider myself a marginalized outsider, or whether it plays into negative stereotypes about trans people. “Nope,” I say, on both counts. “Don’t relinquish the power of exceeding the frame to those who want that frame to be your cage.“‘
I mean…wow! As someone who’s still in the midst of deconstructing the conservative religious beliefs I was raised with, as well as colonialism and its many structures of oppression, reading books like this are cathartic and challenging in the best way. They feel like the best kind of growth.
I can’t wait to pick up a copy of this - Changing Gender came out on August 27th, and is available everywhere for purchase now!
Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio, NetGalley, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, and Susan Stryker for the opportunity to read this audiobook early in exchange for my honest review!
It’s very clear that Stryker is an absolute authority on trans topics - incredibly well researched - not only from her personal experiences as a trans woman, but is extremely knowledgable on all of the medical research, the psychological research, current common counter-arguments being used against us, as well as other bigger ideas focusing on gender studies. Ideas like how colonialism, patriarchy, white supremacy, capitalism, and christian nationalism/supremacy contribute to our oppression as trans people. How the very essence of what the word gender means and all its connotations is actually what the term sex (as in biological) means. It’s a bit of a bait and switch, as Stryker explains - it has basically been replaced/swapped in the cultural zeitgeist. And that has been intentional on the part of those who wish to use us as political cannon-fodder to scapegoat us for every problem that the systems of oppression have actually created.
I don’t know that I could ever have anything to say that would add to the experience of reading this incredible book. Stryker’s contemplation on the ontological and epistemological pluriversalities that make up life as a trans person are told in part story form, part biography form, and this book feels personal. Almost like sitting down and having a deep chat with Stryker about these complex ideas and the ‘WTF’ of being trans. Which made me laugh out loud and nod in agreement at the same time.
The best thing I can leave you with are some of my favorite quotes from the book, that will keep me thinking for a long time to come.
‘I don’t think monsters are bad things. Monsters are experiments in embodied forms that herald unfathomable futures. When somebody makes you their monster they cede to you a tremendous power, and you should not reject the gift. Refusing to disavow kinship with them keeps me in touch with a dark and vital radiance that I actively embrace.’
‘He asks if I feel differently about claiming monstrosity now that I’m older and have been successful in life, and can hardly consider myself a marginalized outsider, or whether it plays into negative stereotypes about trans people. “Nope,” I say, on both counts. “Don’t relinquish the power of exceeding the frame to those who want that frame to be your cage.“‘
I mean…wow! As someone who’s still in the midst of deconstructing the conservative religious beliefs I was raised with, as well as colonialism and its many structures of oppression, reading books like this are cathartic and challenging in the best way. They feel like the best kind of growth.
I can’t wait to pick up a copy of this - Changing Gender came out on August 27th, and is available everywhere for purchase now!
Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio, NetGalley, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, and Susan Stryker for the opportunity to read this audiobook early in exchange for my honest review!
May 15, 2026
wait... you can do that?
-- Stryker surveys the current "state of transgender," situating the moment we find ourselves in the crosshairs of a history, race, class, religion kaleidoscope. Although she is living the life of an academic (and has several fascinating stories to that end), she understands her position in the broader tapestry of the transgender experience, taking care to write about the policies effecting the broader community and the margins of the community. She also exposes the history of anti trans rhetoric over the past century that have resulted in the emergent christo-fascist / Trumpian trans panic of today.
A fabulous book and a fabulous cover. Loved it! --
-- Stryker surveys the current "state of transgender," situating the moment we find ourselves in the crosshairs of a history, race, class, religion kaleidoscope. Although she is living the life of an academic (and has several fascinating stories to that end), she understands her position in the broader tapestry of the transgender experience, taking care to write about the policies effecting the broader community and the margins of the community. She also exposes the history of anti trans rhetoric over the past century that have resulted in the emergent christo-fascist / Trumpian trans panic of today.
A fabulous book and a fabulous cover. Loved it! --
September 4, 2026
I received an advance copy of Changing Gender: The History and Future of a Concept by Susan Stryker in exchange for an honest review.
Susan Stryker is a household name in gender studies and one of the founders of transgender studies. She pulls her weight. This is a rigorous, wide-ranging, and deeply engaged work that asks a deceptively simple question: what are we talking about when we talk about gender? Where did the concept come from, what has it been used to do, and how might it shape our future perspectives?
Stryker is thorough in mapping the genealogy of the word gender and the intellectual infrastructure that has built up around it. She tracks how our current understandings were shaped, including through the legacy of John Money, whose influence is intertwined with decades of harmful intersex “treatment” policy. One of the reasons Stryker insists on this level of detail is that frames matter. The book is attentive to how “gender” has been made to mean certain things in public discourse, and how those meanings can be weaponised. In particular, she takes seriously the harmful frame that tries to tether “gender” not only to Money, but to moral panic and accusations of sexual predation. She does not let that frame stand unchallenged. What I also appreciated in these sections is that Stryker doesn’t treat the story of “gender” as something produced only by academic and medical authorities. She makes room for activist and transgender perspectives as part of the intellectual history too, deviating from the trodden academic path when it comes to tracing a certain concept.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is how quickly it links gender to larger structures of power without losing nuance. Stryker does not treat gender as a culture-war abstraction. She ties it to patriarchy, colonialism, and racial capitalism in a way that is historically grounded and conceptually clear. One passage that stayed with me:
“The body is not irrevocably destined to be a skin prison. It became that in the context of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which helped cement the ideology of a singular, solitary, unitary and unique body-mind, whose unchangeable physical characteristics anchor a person for life in an unalterable social category as a globally dominant paradigm.”
While the genealogy sections are the book at its most analytical, Changing Gender gains a lot of power from Stryker’s ability to weave in personal experience and carefully chosen anecdotes. They don’t dilute the scholarship. They make clear what’s at stake, and they help the argument land beyond the purely conceptual. Stryker is deliciously ruthless in she takes on anti-trans arguments, including TERF claims that trans women are inherently anti-feminist. Having met these arguments head-on in her own activism, she treats these arguments as politically consequential, not as something to wave away, and she meets them with clarity and force.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Stryker herself. Her voice had to grow on me, but once I settled into her cadence it added another dimension to the book. The narration made the throughline feel even more intentional, and it underscored how much of this work comes from decades of thought, activism, and lived experience.
If I have one reservation, it’s this: for a book that is so clear-eyed about the dangers of where we might be headed, I found myself wanting a clearer, more expansive sense of where Stryker hopes we could go. She can name what she fears with force. I wanted her to dream a little more on the page, to sketch a horizon rather than only the cliff edge. Still, this is an essential read. It’s academically robust, politically urgent, and somehow it won over my heart as well as my mind.
Rating: 5/5
Susan Stryker is a household name in gender studies and one of the founders of transgender studies. She pulls her weight. This is a rigorous, wide-ranging, and deeply engaged work that asks a deceptively simple question: what are we talking about when we talk about gender? Where did the concept come from, what has it been used to do, and how might it shape our future perspectives?
Stryker is thorough in mapping the genealogy of the word gender and the intellectual infrastructure that has built up around it. She tracks how our current understandings were shaped, including through the legacy of John Money, whose influence is intertwined with decades of harmful intersex “treatment” policy. One of the reasons Stryker insists on this level of detail is that frames matter. The book is attentive to how “gender” has been made to mean certain things in public discourse, and how those meanings can be weaponised. In particular, she takes seriously the harmful frame that tries to tether “gender” not only to Money, but to moral panic and accusations of sexual predation. She does not let that frame stand unchallenged. What I also appreciated in these sections is that Stryker doesn’t treat the story of “gender” as something produced only by academic and medical authorities. She makes room for activist and transgender perspectives as part of the intellectual history too, deviating from the trodden academic path when it comes to tracing a certain concept.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is how quickly it links gender to larger structures of power without losing nuance. Stryker does not treat gender as a culture-war abstraction. She ties it to patriarchy, colonialism, and racial capitalism in a way that is historically grounded and conceptually clear. One passage that stayed with me:
“The body is not irrevocably destined to be a skin prison. It became that in the context of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which helped cement the ideology of a singular, solitary, unitary and unique body-mind, whose unchangeable physical characteristics anchor a person for life in an unalterable social category as a globally dominant paradigm.”
While the genealogy sections are the book at its most analytical, Changing Gender gains a lot of power from Stryker’s ability to weave in personal experience and carefully chosen anecdotes. They don’t dilute the scholarship. They make clear what’s at stake, and they help the argument land beyond the purely conceptual. Stryker is deliciously ruthless in she takes on anti-trans arguments, including TERF claims that trans women are inherently anti-feminist. Having met these arguments head-on in her own activism, she treats these arguments as politically consequential, not as something to wave away, and she meets them with clarity and force.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Stryker herself. Her voice had to grow on me, but once I settled into her cadence it added another dimension to the book. The narration made the throughline feel even more intentional, and it underscored how much of this work comes from decades of thought, activism, and lived experience.
If I have one reservation, it’s this: for a book that is so clear-eyed about the dangers of where we might be headed, I found myself wanting a clearer, more expansive sense of where Stryker hopes we could go. She can name what she fears with force. I wanted her to dream a little more on the page, to sketch a horizon rather than only the cliff edge. Still, this is an essential read. It’s academically robust, politically urgent, and somehow it won over my heart as well as my mind.
Rating: 5/5
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
We’ll keep living until we can’t – this is a mantra that will get me through these times, because as the fires continue to spread, simply living is sometimes the only thing we can do.
There are books that I feel should be read by everyone, but sadly the people who would be most benefited by reading this text, will never bother to open their minds, their eyes or the pages of this book, and that’s a travesty because Changing Gender is a wonderful insight into the way the concept of gender has been perverted to attack trans-people – and could really change the perspective of anti-trans people if they bothered to actually read the words and experiences of a trans-person.
I am not trans, but I am a part of the queer community, and the way in which queer/trans identities have played a part through history has been something I enjoy learning about, so getting to learn the origin of the very word ‘gender’, not just its historical and political uses, but the very grammatical history that the word formed around was something I was excited to read.
I really like doing books like this as an audio book, as it provides a sort of academic lecture atmosphere to take the information in, like I’m sitting in a classroom and being enveloped by the information. Changing Gender is written clearly, provides a very educational grounding to its message, while still containing a handful of personal stories that offer additional emotional padding. There were a few points where I found myself zoning out (kinda like a college class where the attention just slips) where I just did not have interest in this tangent, but for the most part I was locked in and devouring every word.
I found the most interesting aspect of this novel wasn’t the coverage of the right-wing grifters who use trans identity as a stepping stone in their political growth (because enough time has been given to these turds) but the so called feminist who need to tear down the transwomen in their circles. The ones who view trans existence as a personal attack against themselves, and the misplaced anger against the violent men in their lives, that they place on transwomen’s shoulder.
I have never understood the mindset of terf’s – especially as they don’t seem to understand that their attacks on transwomen will rebound on cis-women like them and myself, because they are aligning themselves with the very people who hate women in all our forms. I hadn’t given much thought to the origin of the exclusionary movement, but getting some first hand accounts into how feminism was first wielded like a weapon against transwomen was fascinating, if not depressing to know that this fight just continues in pointless circles.
The end of this book offers a hopeful look forward, even as the world is burning around our feet. The idea of just wanting to live and let live in a world that keeps forcing us to fight, is something that I have found tiring now a days. It seems every day that there is another thing going wrong, another right being revoked, another family taken from the streets, another woman forever silenced by it all, and the idea of spending time with our love ones, going on trips and just happy seems so selfish in the grand scheme.
But living our lives and being happy is sometimes the only thing we can manage some days, and living our lives to their fullest will always be the greatest protest against those who don’t think you should live.
A fully recommended read, and an honest review given for audio ARC via Netgalley
There are books that I feel should be read by everyone, but sadly the people who would be most benefited by reading this text, will never bother to open their minds, their eyes or the pages of this book, and that’s a travesty because Changing Gender is a wonderful insight into the way the concept of gender has been perverted to attack trans-people – and could really change the perspective of anti-trans people if they bothered to actually read the words and experiences of a trans-person.
I am not trans, but I am a part of the queer community, and the way in which queer/trans identities have played a part through history has been something I enjoy learning about, so getting to learn the origin of the very word ‘gender’, not just its historical and political uses, but the very grammatical history that the word formed around was something I was excited to read.
I really like doing books like this as an audio book, as it provides a sort of academic lecture atmosphere to take the information in, like I’m sitting in a classroom and being enveloped by the information. Changing Gender is written clearly, provides a very educational grounding to its message, while still containing a handful of personal stories that offer additional emotional padding. There were a few points where I found myself zoning out (kinda like a college class where the attention just slips) where I just did not have interest in this tangent, but for the most part I was locked in and devouring every word.
I found the most interesting aspect of this novel wasn’t the coverage of the right-wing grifters who use trans identity as a stepping stone in their political growth (because enough time has been given to these turds) but the so called feminist who need to tear down the transwomen in their circles. The ones who view trans existence as a personal attack against themselves, and the misplaced anger against the violent men in their lives, that they place on transwomen’s shoulder.
I have never understood the mindset of terf’s – especially as they don’t seem to understand that their attacks on transwomen will rebound on cis-women like them and myself, because they are aligning themselves with the very people who hate women in all our forms. I hadn’t given much thought to the origin of the exclusionary movement, but getting some first hand accounts into how feminism was first wielded like a weapon against transwomen was fascinating, if not depressing to know that this fight just continues in pointless circles.
The end of this book offers a hopeful look forward, even as the world is burning around our feet. The idea of just wanting to live and let live in a world that keeps forcing us to fight, is something that I have found tiring now a days. It seems every day that there is another thing going wrong, another right being revoked, another family taken from the streets, another woman forever silenced by it all, and the idea of spending time with our love ones, going on trips and just happy seems so selfish in the grand scheme.
But living our lives and being happy is sometimes the only thing we can manage some days, and living our lives to their fullest will always be the greatest protest against those who don’t think you should live.
A fully recommended read, and an honest review given for audio ARC via Netgalley
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
5 stars
There is no better way to hit your 2000th NetGalley review than with Susan Stryker's new book. Actually, there's one way: make the e-book 1,999 and the audiobook 2,000. As expected, this is a nerd's dream. I am a nerd. My dream has become a reality.
Folks who arrive with any level of knowledge about who Stryker is and are well intentioned (versus, well, we all know) will likely find that their high expectations are met - or perhaps exceeded. In addition to the overtly academic content and cultural context, Stryker infuses this work with ample personal experiences, anecdotes, shade (appropriately), and synthesis. Early on, Stryker recounts her experience attending an event at Stanford's Q Spot and finding her place as a Boomer among more traditionally aged college students. Setting the scene here, Stryker explains that there are those folks who greet her with reverence because they are directly aware of her work in some medium or another, and then there are those who come up to her trying to figure out why their professors have encouraged them to do so. Stryker is both a legend and lore in this moment, and that's very much how I felt while listening to her narrate this audiobook: like I was accessing the scholar and the human. That's a real gift, particularly with such a vulnerable topic.
No informed person is going to argue that things have been easy for trans folks at any point, but it does feel like we are at the modern nadir. It's tough to come out of such a comprehensive articulation on the included motifs without feeling utterly hopeless about the state of humanity. I'm not going to suggest that this read gave me renewed faith in that way (because it's not sci fi or fan fic), but I definitely came out of this feeling more informed and cautiously optimistic.
Always thrilled to consume anything Stryker offers. Looking forward to multiple re-reads/re-listens and curricular integration opportunities.
*Special thanks to NetGalley, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and Macmillan Audio for this arc and alc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
There is no better way to hit your 2000th NetGalley review than with Susan Stryker's new book. Actually, there's one way: make the e-book 1,999 and the audiobook 2,000. As expected, this is a nerd's dream. I am a nerd. My dream has become a reality.
Folks who arrive with any level of knowledge about who Stryker is and are well intentioned (versus, well, we all know) will likely find that their high expectations are met - or perhaps exceeded. In addition to the overtly academic content and cultural context, Stryker infuses this work with ample personal experiences, anecdotes, shade (appropriately), and synthesis. Early on, Stryker recounts her experience attending an event at Stanford's Q Spot and finding her place as a Boomer among more traditionally aged college students. Setting the scene here, Stryker explains that there are those folks who greet her with reverence because they are directly aware of her work in some medium or another, and then there are those who come up to her trying to figure out why their professors have encouraged them to do so. Stryker is both a legend and lore in this moment, and that's very much how I felt while listening to her narrate this audiobook: like I was accessing the scholar and the human. That's a real gift, particularly with such a vulnerable topic.
No informed person is going to argue that things have been easy for trans folks at any point, but it does feel like we are at the modern nadir. It's tough to come out of such a comprehensive articulation on the included motifs without feeling utterly hopeless about the state of humanity. I'm not going to suggest that this read gave me renewed faith in that way (because it's not sci fi or fan fic), but I definitely came out of this feeling more informed and cautiously optimistic.
Always thrilled to consume anything Stryker offers. Looking forward to multiple re-reads/re-listens and curricular integration opportunities.
*Special thanks to NetGalley, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and Macmillan Audio for this arc and alc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Writing a review for this book is hard because the people who would benefit most from reading this book will not be reading my review, they will not care about my trans thoughts on this trans book. That said, everyone should be educating themselves on the place "gender" has taken in current politics and why it has become such a powerful issue for fascist governments to exploit.
This book was my introduction to Susan Stryker as a writer and as an activist. As a trans person myself, I have been trying to learn more about the history of gender in North America and the relationship the general public (and the media) have had to trans (and/or non-conforming to the mainstream society's categories) people. Changing Gender covers this and much more, including experiences from trans people, academic research, linguistics, history, politics and sociology. From the explanation of the origin of our use of "gender" taken more than just grammar but to refer to beings, Stryker makes the argument that gender is always a mean of categorizing words and things and people, and that our understanding of the role gender has on our perception of the world cannot be dissociated from its different uses.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning and exploring the many ways we've used the idea of genders and how it can change, or be changed. I want to get a physical copy so I can annotate it and reread some parts, to better refer to them in the future.
This review is a bit of a mess, but I am very thankful I got to listen to this audiobook (narrated by the author). I will be looking up Stryker to read/listen to her other work.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read this ALC. Changing Gender comes out on August 25th, 2026.
This book was my introduction to Susan Stryker as a writer and as an activist. As a trans person myself, I have been trying to learn more about the history of gender in North America and the relationship the general public (and the media) have had to trans (and/or non-conforming to the mainstream society's categories) people. Changing Gender covers this and much more, including experiences from trans people, academic research, linguistics, history, politics and sociology. From the explanation of the origin of our use of "gender" taken more than just grammar but to refer to beings, Stryker makes the argument that gender is always a mean of categorizing words and things and people, and that our understanding of the role gender has on our perception of the world cannot be dissociated from its different uses.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning and exploring the many ways we've used the idea of genders and how it can change, or be changed. I want to get a physical copy so I can annotate it and reread some parts, to better refer to them in the future.
This review is a bit of a mess, but I am very thankful I got to listen to this audiobook (narrated by the author). I will be looking up Stryker to read/listen to her other work.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read this ALC. Changing Gender comes out on August 25th, 2026.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Changing Gender was my introduction to Susan Stryker, which I find shameful. I will be righting this wrong by giving a glowing review of this book and immediately seeking out her other works.
Stryker flips the way most think of gender on it's head. She deep dives, not only into the history of the word and how it has been used in society and politics, but also into the grammatical history and how it has formed the syntax we use today in every day speech. She shows that gender as we know it as a word and concept is much more fluid than we think.
The writing is clear and does not come across as pretentious, even in it's most educational and technical parts. I thoroughly enjoyed the personal stories scattered throughout the book. It made it more personal and approachable while still being highly educational.
I found Changing Gender fascinating, enraging (because...*gestures at the world,*) but also hopeful.
I am not an academic. I am a mom to transgender children who just wants the best world possible for them to grow up in and Stryker concisely laid out ways that we could make that happen. The last chapter will stick with me for a long time. I plan on buying a physical copy so I can come back to it over and over again.
I found glimmers of hope for a better life for all transgender and gender non-conforming people in this book and I think we all need that right now.
Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC of Changing Gender: The History and Future of a Concept.
Stryker flips the way most think of gender on it's head. She deep dives, not only into the history of the word and how it has been used in society and politics, but also into the grammatical history and how it has formed the syntax we use today in every day speech. She shows that gender as we know it as a word and concept is much more fluid than we think.
The writing is clear and does not come across as pretentious, even in it's most educational and technical parts. I thoroughly enjoyed the personal stories scattered throughout the book. It made it more personal and approachable while still being highly educational.
I found Changing Gender fascinating, enraging (because...*gestures at the world,*) but also hopeful.
I am not an academic. I am a mom to transgender children who just wants the best world possible for them to grow up in and Stryker concisely laid out ways that we could make that happen. The last chapter will stick with me for a long time. I plan on buying a physical copy so I can come back to it over and over again.
I found glimmers of hope for a better life for all transgender and gender non-conforming people in this book and I think we all need that right now.
Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC of Changing Gender: The History and Future of a Concept.
September 1, 2026
As someone who went to school when "gender studies" as a discipline was still simply "women's studies," I was eager to read a broader exploration of gender, and Susan Stryker (who I hadn't previously been familiar with) seems to be one of the most qualified people to delve into this subject. I found Stryker's work to be, for the most part, educational and enlightening, though I'll admit that this book gave me more than I bargained for, with deep research that was difficult to wrap my head around at times. For example, as a language learner who has struggled with pronouns and articles in other languages besides English, I thought the chapter on grammatical gender would be pretty interesting, but it ended up going down historical pathways that couldn't always hold my attention. This is all to say that anyone checking out this book should be prepared for a thoroughly academic work of such length and depth that it can feel a bit inaccessible to the average reader, especially if you are (like me) used to more popular nonfiction written for non-academics.
I listened to the audiobook of this work, which was narrated by the author, and thought Stryker did a fantastic job. That said, the level of detail in many of the chapters made for tough listening at times, so it's possible that this book might be better enjoyed in print.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this ALC and share my honest feedback!
I listened to the audiobook of this work, which was narrated by the author, and thought Stryker did a fantastic job. That said, the level of detail in many of the chapters made for tough listening at times, so it's possible that this book might be better enjoyed in print.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this ALC and share my honest feedback!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Trans historian, activist, theorist and filmmaker Susan Stryker explores the history of gender, including how the word gender has changed from gramatical speech (such as the o/a ending in Spanish reflecting gender) to how we understand it sociopolitically and culturally today. She brings together how queer and trans scholars have theorised gender and her own personal experiences of activism and academia. She also discusses the history of anti-trans rhetoric in recent times and looks at how the most marginalised people have become marginalised, and cautious optimism for the future. It's well researched and is more accessible than a typical academic book, but you still need some prior knowledge of trans studies so it's probably not a great introductory book.
I was a bit put off at first as early in the book, Stryker speaks negatively about an event at Stanfords Q Spot using content warnings and having trauma councillors present and I didn't love this resistance of creating a safe space for people to discuss and fight for their existence. I also didn't love her mentioning using Chatgpt to write the acknowledgements. But overall this is a good, interesting and important book for understanding the history of how we came to the current understanding of gender and transness today.
Thanks to netgalley for an arc of this book, which is out on the 27th of August.
I was a bit put off at first as early in the book, Stryker speaks negatively about an event at Stanfords Q Spot using content warnings and having trauma councillors present and I didn't love this resistance of creating a safe space for people to discuss and fight for their existence. I also didn't love her mentioning using Chatgpt to write the acknowledgements. But overall this is a good, interesting and important book for understanding the history of how we came to the current understanding of gender and transness today.
Thanks to netgalley for an arc of this book, which is out on the 27th of August.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A very good look into the culture wars of gender throughout the past and present. It was a delight to hear Stryker herself narrate this book and discuss the complicated ways that gender is tied up with our very language and, by extension, our perspective of the world.
The two parts that stood out to me most included the way Stryker discusses the English language and how some words ('male/female' versus 'man/woman') are not as closely conceptualized as we may believe; gender, like language, is much more malleable than we give it credit for. The other part that struck me was how integral intersectionality is to progress; Stryker brings up many examples of trans-exclusionary feminists and of feminist lesbian groups whose activism draws the line at transwomen. If we are to progress as a society, we must break down such barriers.
By no fault of the audiobook, I do wish I had requested this as an e-book. While I was nodding my head feverously while listening to 'Changing Gender,' I realize now that I have not retained as much as I would have liked to (oops). I've come to understand that audiobooks do not work the best for non-fiction for me!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for letting me read this early!
The two parts that stood out to me most included the way Stryker discusses the English language and how some words ('male/female' versus 'man/woman') are not as closely conceptualized as we may believe; gender, like language, is much more malleable than we give it credit for. The other part that struck me was how integral intersectionality is to progress; Stryker brings up many examples of trans-exclusionary feminists and of feminist lesbian groups whose activism draws the line at transwomen. If we are to progress as a society, we must break down such barriers.
By no fault of the audiobook, I do wish I had requested this as an e-book. While I was nodding my head feverously while listening to 'Changing Gender,' I realize now that I have not retained as much as I would have liked to (oops). I've come to understand that audiobooks do not work the best for non-fiction for me!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for letting me read this early!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book is so well researched and if you like to nerd out about language and culture you will love this! I found it read more like a collection of academic essays than a cohesive narrative, but it is written in a way that I think will be highly accessible.
Susan Stryker owes us nothing including (or especially) vulnerability, but selfishly I wanted more insight on what doing this work feels like for her. I am also trans and focus my work and academic ventures on trans communities (at Stanford at one point as well) and I felt we could get tiny glimpses of reaction to the personal experiences sprinkled throughout the book, but I find myself wanting to see emotional experience reflected more. Similar to her Transgender History book, I often felt the book was more to allow others to better understand trans identities in the context of history as opposed to a book for the community to better understand ourselves.
The final chapter was absolutely beautiful and I feel this book is very much needed right now. I’m so grateful to have been given access to a copy, especially the audiobook which is narrated by Stryker herself!
Susan Stryker owes us nothing including (or especially) vulnerability, but selfishly I wanted more insight on what doing this work feels like for her. I am also trans and focus my work and academic ventures on trans communities (at Stanford at one point as well) and I felt we could get tiny glimpses of reaction to the personal experiences sprinkled throughout the book, but I find myself wanting to see emotional experience reflected more. Similar to her Transgender History book, I often felt the book was more to allow others to better understand trans identities in the context of history as opposed to a book for the community to better understand ourselves.
The final chapter was absolutely beautiful and I feel this book is very much needed right now. I’m so grateful to have been given access to a copy, especially the audiobook which is narrated by Stryker herself!
September 1, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy. These opinions are my own.
Dr. Susan Stryker is (in my opinion) one of the best writers on transgender history out there. This book is the history of the concept of gender, from its etymology to its evolution throughout time right up to the coo coo bananas anti-trans folks of today. The personal stories she weaves in are really great and it’s a joy to hear Dr. Stryker tell them herself. Here comes the “but”:
The research here is a lot. I wanted to highlight things and found myself stopping to reflect and take notes. Eventually, I realized that this would have worked much better for me as a hard copy that I could annotate. That is possibly a me problem.
This book is thorough, engaging, well-written, fascinating, you know… all of the best things. My only caution is that if you are an annotator and need to process some of the concepts while reading, the physical copy of the book might be a better choice than the audio.
Dr. Susan Stryker is (in my opinion) one of the best writers on transgender history out there. This book is the history of the concept of gender, from its etymology to its evolution throughout time right up to the coo coo bananas anti-trans folks of today. The personal stories she weaves in are really great and it’s a joy to hear Dr. Stryker tell them herself. Here comes the “but”:
The research here is a lot. I wanted to highlight things and found myself stopping to reflect and take notes. Eventually, I realized that this would have worked much better for me as a hard copy that I could annotate. That is possibly a me problem.
This book is thorough, engaging, well-written, fascinating, you know… all of the best things. My only caution is that if you are an annotator and need to process some of the concepts while reading, the physical copy of the book might be a better choice than the audio.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you MacMillan Audio for the ALC of this fantastic book!! I really enjoyed this book, although the length of the chapters was quite off putting. I thought this was well researched and well written. The writing was alsp accessible, which is very appreciated for such a scholarly topic. I particularly enjoyed the last chapter and the chapter about gender as created via grammar and syntax. I think this would definitely make for a great reading in a university gender studies class and I see the book having a lasting impact on trans studies. Also im non binary so this was a personal journey for me as I learned some of the history of the trans community I hadn't known before. Only 4 stars because the length of the chapters was TOUGH to get through. Would recommend to anyone interested in learning more about gender! Excellent narration by the author, as well.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Even gender scholars and gender diverse people that are interested in history will find something new and useful from this book… I would know; I fall into both categories. This is a reimagination of the framework of gender and how it's employed sociopolitically and culturally since the inception of its meaning to today. It's scintillating and enlightening. Stryker’s tongue-in-cheek attitude about the work makes the material easy to digest. If you want to adopt a more radical understanding of how gender is used in and shapes their own lives, this book is for you! I know I'll be revisiting this work periodically to see what else I can glean from it!
September 11, 2026
This is a really interesting analysis of how grammar and the way we think about gender have coevolved within a Western context. I was a little annoyed that a couple paragraphs were outputted from ChatGPT - especially since this is a book on linguistics! I would assume the author would be invested in constructing her own sentences.
I also felt the book was structured too anecdotally for me to clearly follow the arguments as they were being developed. Although the author has a lot of relevant first hand accounts of trans history, I would rather they would have been supplemented into a tighter thematic narrative, but that is maybe just personal preference.
I also felt the book was structured too anecdotally for me to clearly follow the arguments as they were being developed. Although the author has a lot of relevant first hand accounts of trans history, I would rather they would have been supplemented into a tighter thematic narrative, but that is maybe just personal preference.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A very important book with well thought out and researched content. My favorite parts were the cultural references to gender and their backstories, and the life experiences thrown in with many of the concepts presented. You can really tell just how smart Stryker is through these pages, which was maybe a small hindrance to me. I felt some stuff went a little over my head as someone without a lot of background information coming in, but honestly I am really glad I picked this up and I definitely recommend it to others!
March 24, 2026
This was so thought provoking!! I appreciated learning this history behind gender. There was so much to learn and take in. I thought I knew so much and I learned even more from reading this book. I also appreciated the different ways the author discussed gender and the comparisons that were made. My favorite one was about Yankee Doodle. Additionally, the author provides a good connection to the language aspect when it comes to gender.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I always enjoy reading Susan Stryker’s work, and CHANGING GENDER might be my favorite yet.
Stryker’s writing style is so accessible; she plunges into the depths of complicated theory and history, and then she explicates it in such a way that it’s actually easy to understand, effortlessly grounding that theory and history in real life and relevancy. The anecdotes she shares are entertaining, and they drive home the point that this thing we call gender has always been in flux, as has our understanding of it.
I can see myself returning to this in the future as I continue on my academic journey, and I think it could easily become a foundational text for Women, Gender, and Sexuality students. I think this would also be a great read for anyone interested in thinking about gender broadly, but especially those who are interested in deconstructing their ideas of gender for the benefit of their trans* loved ones.
Thank you to Netgalley and Farrer, Straus, and Giroux for the ARC!
Stryker’s writing style is so accessible; she plunges into the depths of complicated theory and history, and then she explicates it in such a way that it’s actually easy to understand, effortlessly grounding that theory and history in real life and relevancy. The anecdotes she shares are entertaining, and they drive home the point that this thing we call gender has always been in flux, as has our understanding of it.
I can see myself returning to this in the future as I continue on my academic journey, and I think it could easily become a foundational text for Women, Gender, and Sexuality students. I think this would also be a great read for anyone interested in thinking about gender broadly, but especially those who are interested in deconstructing their ideas of gender for the benefit of their trans* loved ones.
Thank you to Netgalley and Farrer, Straus, and Giroux for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Serpent's Tail for providing me with an ARC.
In Changing Gender, leading transgender scholar Susan Stryker invites readers to explore what gender is, what it does, and how it has shaped both her life and the broader transgender experience.
There's no denying that Stryker is an incredibly knowledgeable scholar. The book is thoroughly researched, thoughtfully argued, and makes an important contribution to transgender studies. I can easily see it becoming a valuable resource in university gender studies courses and for readers already familiar with the field.
That said, as a non-academic reader, I struggled with its accessibility. The chapters are dense, the pacing is slow, and many of the discussions assume a level of familiarity with gender theory that I simply didn't have. I wouldn't recommend this as an introduction to transgender studies or gender theory, as it feels geared toward readers with an academic background or prior knowledge of the subject.
While this wasn't the right fit for me, I still came away with a deeper understanding of the topics Stryker explores and appreciated the opportunity to learn from her perspective.
In Changing Gender, leading transgender scholar Susan Stryker invites readers to explore what gender is, what it does, and how it has shaped both her life and the broader transgender experience.
There's no denying that Stryker is an incredibly knowledgeable scholar. The book is thoroughly researched, thoughtfully argued, and makes an important contribution to transgender studies. I can easily see it becoming a valuable resource in university gender studies courses and for readers already familiar with the field.
That said, as a non-academic reader, I struggled with its accessibility. The chapters are dense, the pacing is slow, and many of the discussions assume a level of familiarity with gender theory that I simply didn't have. I wouldn't recommend this as an introduction to transgender studies or gender theory, as it feels geared toward readers with an academic background or prior knowledge of the subject.
While this wasn't the right fit for me, I still came away with a deeper understanding of the topics Stryker explores and appreciated the opportunity to learn from her perspective.
June 20, 2026
Susan Stryker writes about the current state of trans theory and thinkers, especially for those in opposition to trans rights. Was gonna be a five star, and then she mentioned using chat gpt in the acknowledgement to sum up what she was trying to do with the book in the acknowledgements and that knocked it down a star.
September 14, 2026
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an audio ARC.
This was an excellent book. I really liked how the topic was delved into and this book felt very well researched. I also felt that the topic was covered extremely well and was very intelligent. It was very engaging. I also really liked the narrator for this one.
This was an excellent book. I really liked how the topic was delved into and this book felt very well researched. I also felt that the topic was covered extremely well and was very intelligent. It was very engaging. I also really liked the narrator for this one.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I love the macro approach of examining not just our experience with gender but also the concept itself. Stryker is the perfect person to provide this review, not ignoring the personal nor the interpersonal experiences of gender while encouraging us to think bigger.
August 10, 2026
Thank you for the ALC NetGalley!
Changing gender is an academic book written for a dedicated general audience. Stryker packs her new book to the brim with information tracing the history of gender. Knowing me, and hopefully you, the origin story of Yankee Doodle Dandy will become a cocktail party favorite. As usual with Strykers work, she balances some heavy academic jargon with lighthearted and frank personal stories. This is one to savor.
Changing gender is an academic book written for a dedicated general audience. Stryker packs her new book to the brim with information tracing the history of gender. Knowing me, and hopefully you, the origin story of Yankee Doodle Dandy will become a cocktail party favorite. As usual with Strykers work, she balances some heavy academic jargon with lighthearted and frank personal stories. This is one to savor.
Did Not Finish
August 13, 2026This book was very smart and thought provoking but a little to academic for my taste.
April 13, 2026
I always enjoy reading Susan Stryker’s work, and CHANGING GENDER might be my favorite yet.
Stryker’s writing style is so accessible; she plunges into the depths of complicated theory and history, and then she explicates it in such a way that it’s actually easy to understand, effortlessly grounding that theory and history in real life and relevancy. The anecdotes she shares are entertaining, and they drive home the point that this thing we call gender has always been in flux, as has our understanding of it.
I can see myself returning to this in the future as I continue on my academic journey, and I think it could easily become a foundational text for Women, Gender, and Sexuality students. I think this would also be a great read for anyone interested in thinking about gender broadly, but especially those who are interested in deconstructing their ideas of gender for the benefit of their trans* loved ones.
Thank you to Netgalley and Farrer, Straus, and Giroux for the ARC!
Stryker’s writing style is so accessible; she plunges into the depths of complicated theory and history, and then she explicates it in such a way that it’s actually easy to understand, effortlessly grounding that theory and history in real life and relevancy. The anecdotes she shares are entertaining, and they drive home the point that this thing we call gender has always been in flux, as has our understanding of it.
I can see myself returning to this in the future as I continue on my academic journey, and I think it could easily become a foundational text for Women, Gender, and Sexuality students. I think this would also be a great read for anyone interested in thinking about gender broadly, but especially those who are interested in deconstructing their ideas of gender for the benefit of their trans* loved ones.
Thank you to Netgalley and Farrer, Straus, and Giroux for the ARC!
June 18, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ALC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a great read! I've admired Susan Stryker's work for a long time, and so much of her best is in this book. She does a fantastic job combining academic research with personal reflection, humor, tenderness, and humility. I learned a LOT and highly recommend.
I also love that Stryker narrates the audiobook - it added a fantastic touch.
This was a great read! I've admired Susan Stryker's work for a long time, and so much of her best is in this book. She does a fantastic job combining academic research with personal reflection, humor, tenderness, and humility. I learned a LOT and highly recommend.
I also love that Stryker narrates the audiobook - it added a fantastic touch.
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