Female Erasure: What You Need to Know About Gender Politics' War on Women, the Female Sex and Human Rights

by Ruth Barrett (Editor), Germaine Greer (Foreword), Lane Anderson

This anthology brings together voices of more than forty writers celebrating female embodiment while exploring deeper issues of misogyny, violence and sexism in gender identity politics today, demonstrating the intentional silencing and erasure of living female realities.

These perspectives come at a time when gender politics and profits from an emerging medical transgenderism industry for children, teens, and adults inhibits our ability to have meaningful discussions about sex, gender, changing laws that have provided sex-based protections for women and girls, and the re-framing of language referring to females as a distinct biological class.

Through researched articles, essays, first-hand experience, story telling, and verse, these voices are needed to ignite the national conversation about the politics of gender-identity as a backlash to feminist goals of liberation from gender stereotypes, oppression and sexual violence.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, Politics, Womens, Essays, Gender, Feminist Theory

624 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2016

About the author

Ruth Barrett is an award winning fretted dulcimer recording artist, singer, and songwriter with numerous releases to her credit. She is also an author of Women's Rites, Women's Mysteries: Intuitive Ritual Creations (Llewllyn, 2007) and co-founder of the Temple of Diana, a national Dianic Wiccan tax-exempt religious organization.

Ruth's compositions are counted among the pioneering musical works in the Goddess Spirituality Movement. For almost three decades she has shared traditional folk music and her original and traditional Goddess songs with audiences throughout the U.S., Canada, and Great Britain.

From 1981-2000, with musical collaborator Cyntia Smith, Ruth co-produced five critically acclaimed recordings: Aeolus, Music of the Rolling World, Deepening, A Dulcimer Harvest, and The Heart is the Only Nation. As a solo artist, Ruth's 1990 release, Parthenogenesis won an INDIE award from the National Association of Independent Record Distributors in the category of Women's Music. In 2002, Ruth's original composition, "Romp of the Canyon Kitties," was released as the opening track on Masters of the Mountain Dulcimer, Volume Two. In 2003, Ruth released a two-volume CD set The Year is a Dancing Woman: Goddess Chants, Songs and Invocations for the Wheel of the Year. Her song, "Every Woman Born," is included in the popular CD compilation, The Best of Pagan Music (Serpentine Music, 2004).

Ruth Barrett has performed at numerous venues and festivals nationally and internationally including the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, the National Women's Music Festival, Winter Festival of Acoustic Music, the Harvest Festival of Dulcimers, The Glastonbury Goddess Festival, and Pagan Spirit Gathering. Ruth has directed the Candlelight Concert, the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival's closing spirituality concert since 1993.

Other credits include Ruth's transcriptions of Joni Mitchel's dulcimer arrangements for the songbooks, Hits and Misses (Warner Brothers) with Joellen Lapidus.

Ruth is also an ordained Dianic High Priestess, ritualist, and author of Women's Rites, Women's Mysteries: Intuitive Ritual Creation (Llewellyn 2007). Her writings on women and ritual are included in Daughters of the Goddess, (Wendy Griffin, editor), Lesbian Rites: Symbolic Acts and the Power of Community (Ramona Faith Oswald, editor), and Creating Circles and Ceremonies (Oberon and Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart).

Since inheriting Z Budapest's Los Angeles ministry in 1980, Ruth has taught magic and ritual arts at women's festivals and conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Great Britain. She served the Los Angeles Goddess community of Circle of Aradia for two decades before relocating to Wisconsin in 2000 where she co-founded Temple of Diana, a national and federally recognized Dianic religious organization.

With her partner Falcon River, Ruth co-facilitates The Spiral Door Women's Mystery School of Magick and Ritual Arts, a national Dianic clergy training program.

In 1997 Ruth was honored as recipient of the L.A.C.E. award for outstanding contributions in the area of Spirituality from the Gay and Lesbian Center in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fair disclosure I am part of this project. I participated in the technical aspect of production and not with the content. (I do have a quote used that I had posted on Facebook.) I did also read most references listed in the footnotes. I learned a lot. It was not a fun project. It was quite depressing and emotionally challenging as I woke up to the depth and breadth of this topic. I understand if some are reticent to read it because it's difficult to look patriarchy in the eye. This book does that.

I love this book. It's brave and challenging of the status quo of trans ideology and progressive politics. It's the first book for me that describes what it feels like to be treated differently merely because you are a born female in this patriarchy. The loss of female only spaces has been devastating to me. And equally devastating is how young lesbians are being pressured into transitioning to fit heteronormality. And how the de-transitioning folks are kicked out of the "Queer" community. Watching as children are being sterilized and groomed into sexual stereotypes in the name of individual freedom and progressive politics is not what I call progressive at all. I call it big business and the corporate machine of drugs and surgery creating illusions of what it means to be a person. Hence, my involvement and interest in this subject are personal. It's called a radical act if you defend women's spaces or question children's transitioning at 5 years of age. And how the medical and mental health community are no longer practicing "Do no harm first."

The 48 stories in this book help to give language to complex ideas about self, sex, gender as a social construct. Gender identity rhetoric is complicated. I believe all human beings need to be safe and protected from prejudice and violence. No one knows that better the anyone born female. In this debate of gender identity, actual sex-based violence is being minimized or completely ignored.

I hope this book gets read widely and that conversations are opened to everyone. I guarantee you will learn something.

For our children. May patriarchy fall for the good of all!

[Elsie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are definitely some important topics in this book. Did I feel like some of it was angry TERF propoganda? Yeah. Did I develop a new understanding of TERFs? I did. The dialogue behind the anger is legit and this book helps articulate the voices of those who are shut down because they're shunned as transphobic. It also surfaces medical concerns that, in my experience, does not get enough dialogue regarding medically altering one's body.

[Cynthia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really tried, I really hoped that the book would have thoughtful dialogue on very complex topics. And I have to admit I haven't read the majority of this book, I really tried but everything I've read in this book, which was by the editor, just showed that wasn't the goal here. Every argument is distorted, generalized, cherry-picked.

Yes, there are problems in the ways we as a society and as individuals, whether trans or cis, approach the topic, but this book is not about that. This book is about telling a narrative that vilifies trans women as an entire category based on the actions of a few always presented as a generality, distorted and cherry-picked scientific arguments, and plain lies. (For example, in only the introduction, I counted very conservatively 7 lies and 2 fallacies.)

I do intend to get back to reading what the other contributors wrote, in the hope of a more nuanced conversation, and to fully review the book, but this will take me a lot of time and effort so...

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful anthology on the war against women and against radical feminism Must-read for every woman who challenges the patriarchy.

[Don Crites · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful collection which provides compelling arguments to combat the insanity of transgenderism, especially among children. The ire of these female authors is understandable given the removal of safe spaces for women and children alike. It was a little like listening in on an uncensored conversation among women who are being told they should be seen but not heard. The simple fact that no one can actually experience a sex change is irrefutable, and gender nonconformity does not provide a case for hormone blockers and forced sterilization of children. Their brave stance against the tide of social pressure and powerful institutions with financial incentives is commendable especially in the face of character assassination and threatened careers. The stories shared within this book should be honored for what they are, the lived experiences of women from diverse backgrounds.

[Angela Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a woman read this.

Gripping stuff. Enlightening about a wide variety of cultural scenes in our societies. Gives a - deep enough in the detail - and wide historical overview, and insight into what is happening right now in our world to women and girls.

The anthology style works very well with chapters of different lengths, styles (academic, personal narrative, poetry, blogs, spirituality). Hearing these women's voices in their myriad richness and diversity has been a tonic for the soul and an eye-opening experience. I learnt what i needed to about the thinking of the women's movement to engage with feminist writings, language and meanings. A very good primer and superbly written. The quality of the authors' writing is very high.

There are many references, and in Kindle format the links to online sources all work. Following these was a great adventure leading into further discoveries of women writing and doing amazing work to support women and girls in resisting and recovering from the ways male supremacy hurts us.

[Jaclynn (JackieReadsAlot) · Rating 5 out of 5]

ABSOULTELY A MUST READ!
I have been wanting to read this for a long time, and I think this should be required reading for any self-proclaimed humanist, feminist, pro-woman ally, all women's studies and humanities students and anyone who wants to stay up-to-date, especially in this political moment when groupthink rules the zeitgeist.
There are a wide-range of perspectives, approaches and experiences included, ranging from the informative to the heart-rending to the fortifying.

[Carolyn Kost · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an essential and comprehensive anthology for any Women's Studies course and would be an engaging read for discussion groups. The diversity of the voices is superb: varied ethnicities, sexual orientations, profession, attitudes toward trans normativity, areas of focus (spiritual, medical, political, athletic, social, etc.), neuroatypical, gender non-conforming, etc. Janice Raymond's ovular classic, The Transsexual Empire (1979, 1994), provided a comprehensive analysis but pre-dated contemporary dynamics and uncritical acceptance of gender theory and its egregious consequences that threaten to erode and eradicate female identity, safety, private spaces, athletics, representation, and on and on. This provides a powerful counter-narrative to the transgender lobby which is at its core a colonialist and anti-intellectual defense of male rights to women's spaces, women's bodies, women's experience.

First, we must recognize that sex cannot be changed. While the overwhelming majority of these gender dysphorics (>80%) remain intact physically, the surgical removal or alteration of the genitals and internal organs cannot change the XX or XY chromosomes in every cell of the body. It is profoundly ironic that society promotes the notion that there are no differences between the sexes at the same time medicine is finding greater biochemical differences like metabolic rates and reaction to drugs, prevalence of disease, etc. Gender dysphorics have a disordered emotional and cognitive state and their claim to be a sex other than the one determined by chromosomes is not a biological reality. Male is male; female female; there simply is no such entity as a transmale/ transfemale or MtF/FtM, etc. and hence those terms must not be used; male to trans is acceptable. It appears far too complex for people to understand the difference between sex and gender, so the latter word should just be abandoned.

Second, we must comprehend what is at stake when we capitulate to the trans lobby. Chapter 5, "Transgender Rights: The Elimination of the Human Rights of Women," lays the issues out succinctly. The trans lobby is already causing a) a moratorium on the collection of data regarding "sex-based inequalities in areas where females are underrepresented" and the sex of criminals, among others, b) the dissolution of scholarships intended for women (https://www.latimes.com/california/st...), c) the loss of the right to female only spaces like shelters, dressing rooms, locker rooms, restrooms, prisons, hospital rooms, etc. (scores of cases recorded of assaults in such places by males claiming female identity) and c) the right of females to compete against only female bodies in athletic competitions (male bodies won 1st and 2nd place in CT GIRLS' Track State Championship, among many other cases). Title IX was supposed to ensure sexual equity for females in sports but now it is undermined by enabling physical males with greater body mass and strength to claim female "gender" and triumph handily over females in athletic competitions, often the basis for scholarships. The level of testosterone should not be the qualifying factor; it does not change the bone structure, body mass, etc. This is a gross misapplication and misunderstanding of the difference between sex and gender.

Third, we must comprehend that, while feminists DECONSTRUCT the patriarchal assignation of femininity, male to trans CONSTRUCT that assignation and buttress feminine stereotypes with implants, cosmetics and hyper-sexualized appearances and behavior. Male performance of femaleness is the misogynist equivalent of blackface and should be regarded with equal abhorrence. It is estimated that at least one-third of the men claiming to "feel like a woman" are also autogynephiles, people who become sexually aroused at the thought of themselves as women. Many young wimmin have no experience of so-called Butch gender non-conformity and thus identify as trans because they accept the stereotypical construct of femininity, rather than rejecting it and accepting the broad spectrum that is female. It is irresponsible to unquestioningly acquiesce to and enable students to make a claim on trans or non-binary identity. Young women struggle to make sense of their changing bodies and their role in society, too often depicted as consistently oppressed as victimized. Who wants to be oppressed or a victim? They see males as strong leaders and therefore renounce their femaleness.

As feminist consciousness increases, so does the exodus of L from GB - TQ toward NBWHBL (natural born woman, heterosexual, bi, lesbian). There is a growing movement of L away from BG and T because it is becoming increasingly clear that the T movement is about male rights and effectively erases Butch L by compelling them to identify as non-female and blames females for our own oppression because we could simply identify as males to avoid it. We would do well to join with the esteemed Co-Founder of Stonewall, Simon Fanshawe, and oppose the assimilation of the T (and others) in LGB on the grounds they have no commonality. Alarmed by the violent rhetoric promulgated by the trans lobby against them, he supports the exodus of lesbians from the others and asserts that legal and biological issues must not be confused with social identity. It should be underscored that the oppressive regime in Iran leads the world in the surgical alteration of males in a misplaced effort to eliminate homosexuals.

Fourth, we must always ask cui bono, who benefits?, and follow the money. Big Pharma and the medical establishment see that this is a herd of cash cows that will require constant interventions, pharmaceutical and surgical. It is yet another indication of our alienation from and desire to control nature absolutely. The goal should be to bring the body into alignment with the mind. There will be eventual recognition of the horrific malpractice the medical establishment is wreaking through the use of people, especially children, as test tubes and subjects for medical experimentation with endocrine disruptors and puberty blockers. The majority of children diagnosed with gender dysphoria cease to desire to be the other sex by puberty, with most growing up to identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, with or without therapeutic intervention.

The turnabout in and lack of comprehension of child and adolescent psychosexual development is astonishing. Psychotherapy is indicated for children and youth with gender issues; it is imperative that it not be conflated with conversion therapy, as the two are as different as sexual orientation and identity. That requires education. Parents [and school staff] too often affirm whatever the child may state because we revel in the idea of our open-mindedness, liberal orthodoxy, and carefully curated diversity, despite the fact it may not be in the best interest of the child. Gender dysphoria is often co-morbid with a history of sexual abuse, dissociative disorder, depression, and other psychiatric disorders. Crucially, international studies conflict regarding whether transition relieves those symptoms in a majority of cases. The studies are too limited in sample size (15 or 30 cases is absurd) and time period to be conclusive.

This anthology is superlative, even though some pieces are more effective than others, as in any collection. The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival and its dissolution due to the incursion of male bodies serves as a major touchstone and case study in the trans lobby's demands and prevailing misogyny (see Section Four). We hear the voices of those usually suppressed by the Left's and current feminists' co-optation by the patriarchy, like the woman whose husband decided to transition; instead of sympathy, her pain is derided as bigotry in Chapter 38. We read various anecdotes relating painful decisions to live in congruence with truth. However, the most often repeated argument herein is that males cannot claim to be women or females because they do not share in our oppression (genital mutilation, "sex selective female infanticide, rape, compulsory motherhood, billions of hours of unpaid domestic labor, ...the 'glass ceiling' in business and government" etc. etc.). That frames female experience too negatively and contrasts with so much of the book that is otherwise affirming like "Love Letter to Menarche" and "The Universe is Her Form." Males simply cannot lay claim to an experience that is not and can never be their own and we must not accede or facilitate such a claim. Read this book.

Thank you, Ruth Barrett. Were I still teaching Women's Studies and Feminist Theo/alogy, I would be using your resources.

[Kay read by Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Female Erasure: What You Need to Know About Gender Politics' War on Women, the Female Sex and Human Rights by Ruth Barrett (Editor) “This anthology brings together voices of more than forty writers celebrating female embodiment while exploring deeper issues of misogyny, violence, and sexism in gender identity politics today, demonstrating the intentional silencing and erasure of living female realities.” The book was published in 2016. The book is a learning experience or a reminder of where we were and could fall back to. How horrible to be disrespected and silenced.
This embraces the struggles of feminism. Every voice and every word written here I do not agree with. I did not expect I would. I did give every writing a fair chance with an open mind and heart. I think at this moment in time it is important for women to look back and see our struggle. Now we need to be stronger than ever as the world has begun to take away what our grandmothers and mother fought so hard for. We are being pushed back into the holes of misogynistic domination. The government is now telling us what we can and can’t do with our bodies. This book reminds us it is time to fight back.

[Jax Gullible · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of new material, and very well substantiated. A must-read

[Skylark · Rating 2 out of 5]

I learned a lot about witchcraft, chi, "bodyknowing", tantric energies, "Mysteries", magic spells, pagan rituals, "embodying higher frequencies", and other stuff that isn't real unfortunately. I wish there wasn't so much of that in the book.

[Rikki]

DNF about a third of the way through.

I'll likely return to this when I'm feeling more patient and less stringent about quality of writing, logic, and argumentation, but trying to get myself through this on and off this year has been a fucking chore. Based on the preface and the first few chapters alone, I would not recommend this book to someone who was new to radical feminism or gender critical theory; there's almost none of either in what I've read so far. Instead, there are a lot of historical or statistical claims with no sourcing, poorly constructed argumentation to the point of embarrassment, and weird metaphysical leanings stinking of "divine feminine" that have no place in a book that's supposedly on an immense sociocultural rift with important implications for women and girls.

I'll return later with annotations I took to more fully flesh out this review.

[Hello Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those who are already familiar with the basics of radical feminism and criticisms of the gender identity movement, this anthology will mostly serve as a refresher from an ideological standpoint. Rachel Ivey’s chapter, in fact, is adapted from a video that was formative to my own introduction to the field a few years ago. I did enjoy several of the essays for the unique perspectives and deeper insight into particular issues they offered, especially Chapter 11, and the essays from Kathy Crocco, Max Robinson, Sharon Thrace, Jackie Mearns, Marie Verite, and GallusMag. I couldn’t help but notice several copyediting errors throughout the book, though, and some of the essays were kind of amateurishly written and redundant on points that were made in earlier chapters (perhaps just a weakness of the format). Also, there’s quite a bit of emphasis on female spirituality which I found kind of offputting, though it makes sense once you learn the editor is a Dianic priestess.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve had this book on my shelf since it was released 5 years ago. I met Ruth Barrett at a workshop in the late 90s. Feminist thought was very different then. Now that it’s 2022 and gender things are thought of so differently, I’m trying to educate myself on various viewpoints. I’m not sure how to rate this. It was well put together and contained a lot of interesting perspectives. Of course there is plenty that I don’t agree with- but I’m glad to have read it and found that out for myself.

[Monica]

I feel funny about even putting this book on my "to read" list, because I don't necessarily want to promote it. I'm definitely not a fan of Cathy Brennan or Lierre Keith, for instance. However, I've seen Luisah Teish criticized as a "TERF," or "trans-exclusionary radical feminist," and I'm wondering what she's had to say that she's been labeled as such. A quick google search led me to the fact that she contributed to this book. I do find it odd that there's an essay from Monica Sjoo in here, given that she passed away in 2005. Anyway, I'm glad the library has a copy.

[Laurin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a fascinating anthology addressing popular transgender ideology rooted in queer theory. What was interesting especially was to read the perspectives of many different women who object to the current idea the sex is only a construct (gender, they, say, is a construct, but not sex).

As a conservative Lutheran with a masters in theology, it was interesting to see their take on Christianity and the “patriarchy” which I found rather uninformed, but definitely rooted in popular misconceptions. For instance, many chapters show a deep interest in motherhood and the value of women as such in a pagan/religious sense. Yet, Mary, Mother of God is honoured in much of traditional Christendom as the Mother of God. All women participate in some sense in that honour. It seems that some of the assumptions about Western Christianity are not rooted in the actual theological tradition that does give high honours to women.

I also found it interesting that the radical feminists seem to want to back up to the thought of about twenty to sixty years ago in terms of Marxist and critical theory. The main issues I have with their approach have to do with their love for Marxist theory. They seem to view their relationship with males all in terms of a female revolution against male patriarchy which is so deep seated that certain authors question the current goodness of physical motherhood because they don’t want to bear children while they are in so called captivity. Such statements are rather sad as they do point to serious issues in our society including pornography, rape, and a multitude of other ways women are objectified. However, I do not understand how they do not see such issues are actually rooted in the sexual revolution. They think freedom is found in freedom from men and children, while also worshipping pagan fertility cults that were actually about producing children. What has actually happened is that sex, marriage, and procreation have become so separated in our cultural understanding of them that even biological sex is separated from its purpose so that it is seen as a way of crafting identity rather than something given innately and to be honoured. These radical feminists want to argue that sex is indeed given at birth (albeit by an Earth Mother or some variation of that) and is immutable: men can’t be women and vice versa. Yet, they have such a fear and/or anger about men and the domination men as a class have exercised that they do not see the gift of natural marriage, a marriage that creates motherhood and fatherhood, that brings forth the fruit of the loving and intimate union between a man and woman. They accept the reality of biological sex but deny its actual purpose when they fail to see all the good given in natural marriage and the gift of children within those holy bonds. Their poor experiences with and perceptions of men have led to great cynicism and disillusionment that I simply do not and cannot buy into.

Overall, I gave the book three stars as there are some serious issues with their arguments and in order to be convinced, one would already have to buy into Marxism and even some level of critical theory and paganism in order to be convinced in many of the chapters. The best chapters focus on data and research as well as a few about personal experiences ( “lived experience”), and those were the most solid. Others are less about trans inclusion per se, but demonstrate a deep mourning and loss of community, and anger at the trans ideology that has become so politicized and powerful that radical feminists can no longer meet in the same ways that they were formerly able to do, among other “women born women.”

I would definitely recommend this book to those who want to understand the emotional place radical feminists are coming from in their arguments against trans inclusion as well as some of their strongest reason-based arguments. It is also a helpful introduction to the worldview of the radical feminist community and what their concerns and goals are.

[Peg Tittle · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Imagine …

“If the vocal trans majority had not chosen to focus their energy on re-defining women in their image, and instead proudly claimed themselves to be gender non-conforming men …

“If they had not insisted on erasing our biology or their own in order to validate their gender identity, and instead acknowledged themselves as males who simply choose to adopt and express a gender stereotypical feminine appearance.

“If they had not bullied themselves into female spaces and worked to make illegal our private spaces, and instead showed themselves to be true allies of women by respecting and protecting our needs.

“If they allowed themselves to feel even a fraction of empathy that they fully expect from women and girls toward their needs.

“If they had not focused their anger at women for the actual violence they experience at the hands of other males.”

Ruth Barrett, in Female Erasure (p.481)

And from one of the essays:

“[Gender identity] holds that ‘feeling like a woman’ (whatever that means) is the same as being a woman. It’s a callous disregard for our lifetime of oppression, the limits placed upon our participation in society, the ever-present threat of rape we face. It���s an erasure of the quarter of our lives we spend managing bleeding and pain, the constant diligence we must employ to prevent pregnancy. It’s a gross insensitivity of the staggering percentage of us who are victims of sexual assault, starting in childhood. We face these realities because we have female bodies and because of how men treat people who inhabit such bodies. There exists no fashion choice nor inner angst that can bring men closer to this experience.”

“It takes a great deal of male privilege to ‘choose’ your gender, as if gender weren’t a set of obligations and proscriptions designed to keep women physically, emotionally, and financially handicapped.”

“[My transgender husband] likes to complain that I don’t recognize him as a woman, something he sees as a great offense. But the iron is that he does not recognize me as a woman. … My biology is not irrelevant. My experience cannot be duplicated by trying on my clothes.”

from “Destruction of a Marriage: My Husband’s Descent into Transgenderism,” by Sharon Thrace. in Female Erasure, edited by Ruth Barrett.

[Thoughtcrimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an excellent read. An anthology comprised of women (and some men) of vastly different backgrounds: scientists, therapists, psychologists, athletes, journalists, authors, priestesses, bloggers, mothers, daughters, lesbians. Each essay covers a different topic; from medical or psychological overviews of transgender and female health issues, to personal accounts of reidentified women, narratives of lesbians pushed out of their own communities, analyses of oppressive gender structures, MichFest-goers and other members of destroyed female-only spaces mourning for what they lost ...
Certainly, as with most feminist literature, there is a focus on witchcraft, Dianic religion, and female-centric spirituality, but I did not mind it. In a world governed by patriarchal religion, it is only natural that feminists should strive towards a more woman-focused spirituality. The most disagreeable part, to me, was certainly the cover. I did not entirely agree with every aspect of this book, nor care to read some very few chapters in their entirety, but overall I am incredibly glad to have bought and read this anthology. It has made me more knowledgeable and empathetic, it has made me stronger and prouder, and it has given me a home.

"It's time to listen up. It's time to step up, sharpen the blades, and protect our young. It's time to evoke the ancient Rachel and refuse to shut the fuck up - refuse to be comforted into silence. In fact, I'm thinking it's time to make a sound so deafeningly loud that it gets inscribed in our own holy texts."

[Ruth P · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important anthology.

Many of the essays are really wonderful. Most are good. A few I didn’t enjoy, like the American College of Pediatricians attempting to pathologise homosexuality (don’t get the impression that this is a homophobic book: as far as I know, the editor and the majority of the contributors are lesbians, and the homophobia of genderism is one of the key themes). Another essay didn’t make the distinction between patriarchal folk etymologies and real etymology (like feminine/female: yes it was said to mean less faith, and that’s important, but it really means breastfeeder. Likewise testimony might sound like testes and in a world where women’s word is worth less than men’s it’s important to consider this, but in all likelihood it derives from a root meaning witness.)

A lot of different opinions and world views are represented in this book, through essays both dry and lively to poetry. Some is more scientific, some more spiritual, some a mix. The only thing every contributor has in common is that they believe women are real and human beings can’t change sex, and that it’s important to be firm on this.

Anyone at all interested in feminism should read this.

[Mira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories in this collection were very powerful, and some were very astute, and some were . . . very full of editing errors. It's a good book overall, but it's hard to overlook some of the more glaring issues which give it a more amateur appearance.

[Marlane Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as much of this as I could - it is VERY long and can be a little repetitive, but there are some powerful essays in here and much to be talked about with nuance.

[Ms. Koirala · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is okay for the most part but could have done without the white woman bashing and making unscientific claims that we came from Africans when the 'out of Africa' theory has long been scientifically disproven thanks to current genetic research. I really don't see the point in taking the time to trash and invalidate white women when we have men currently attacking our rights? The pettiness is pathetic.

Anyway, trainwreck xys will never be women xoxo

[Clare · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extremist, antifeminist and thoroughly weird.

[Michelle]

I truly have no idea how to rate this. This good is wonderful and the bad is unforgivable. Mixed anthologies are nearly always challenging in this respect but this is such an extreme example.