This book is a great exploration of gender for both newbies and more informed folks, which is hard to do! There’s a lot of information inside, which can be a bit overwhelming, but the book is really well structured *and* can be read out of order if there are sections you want to skip over.
As a (non-binary, queer) person who thinks about gender a lot, I was pleasantly surprised by how helpful I found this book! I was introduced to several new identity labels and given a lot of ideas to chew on. I also really loved getting to read stories from a wide variety of people about their experience of their gender.
And the illustrations are very cute and useful! They made the book very fun and engaging.

For a more in-depth discussion of the book, check out the Rethinking Gender episode of The Bi Pod: A Queer Podcast!

3.5 stars.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a free copy of this book.

This was very informative, but difficult to read at times because of the font. I appreciated the way the book was structured tho!

I have to admit, I was scared to read it at first. Why? Because, I think, I am kind of done with Gender 101. But that’s totally on me. And I discovered that after asking for this book. BUT…
I really liked it. First of all, thank you NetGalley and MIT Press for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Some books about gender are clearly for cis people, but this book doesn’t feel like it. There are so many things about it. It is so complete, even the history of intersex people, and I love learning new things. There are testimonies, a lot of explanations about sex, gender, and everythong link to those topics.
But there’s a little negative point : sometimes, the author can easily lose their reader at some point.
So yes, it’s a good book for cis, questionning, and transgender people. You will learn a lot. Also, I loved the drawings.

I'm so glad more and more books like this exist. As a queer non-binary person who didn't have the language surrounding gender growing up, this kind of resource would have been life changing.

This is definitely a book to be read little bits at a time as gender is so complex and there are so many terms and categories to explore. I learned quite a bit and really appreciate some of the historical context associated with gendered terms. The illustrations are actually quite helpful in some cases, both to break up the text and to give visuals to ideas that can be confusing.

I would have like the book to have been simplified a little more because if someone is truly trying to learn these basic terms, in order not to overwhelm the reader, the author really needs to pare down to absolute necessities to relay the information. There were some parts that because of the wording, ended up being even more confusing (even though I understood the general point the author was trying to make).

Overall, a really great resource.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book does a tremendous job of honoring the complexity and multifaceted nature of gender through a very accessible, frank, and eloquent introduction. I enjoyed getting to know Louis and getting to know more about the beautiful diversity of the gender spectrum. To quote Star Trek: "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations."

This was a graphic novel, but not in the way most graphic novels are. This was more of an illustrated book because there was tons of information. This was a really good book to educate yourself with on gender this had history, definition of words and terms, and tons of useful information but in an approachable way.

*a copy of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

‘Rethinking Gender’ is an amazing educational book about all things gender. The illustrations make this book highly pedagogical and easy to read despite the amount of information being high. Moreover, the author presents a good level of interaction with the reader, and incites them to write down their own examples, ideas, or anything else the chapter brought up.

Talking about gender is super important but it is still hard to find accessible literature out there. There are many different terms to learn and I believe the way Louie presents it here is excellent for people of various ages to absorb.

This book is part of a master thesis and I believe this fact may play a part on the level of details and information presented. Although this may scare some people off, the ease with which one can navigate the book for specific information takes out some of the complexity.

Rethinking Gender is a great, and highly pedagogical, book with a lot to teach us.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not sure what to make of this book. It’s supposedly for adults but looks and reads as if it’s for a teen audience. In the opening chapters, the material is very basic. Like, if most people don’t already know this, then I’m shockingly woke for a straight, cis, white Baby Boomer. The content gets more complex as the book progresses, but the authorial tone is still that of an expert speaking to a group of neophytes. When in fact, I’ve been aware of some of the horrors faced by intersex people since before this author was born (presumably, given that this book was written as part of their master’s thesis).

I feel like this book was written to showcase the author’s expertise, without much thought given to what the audience needs to know, or even who the audience is. Content and presentation requirements vary based on whether the target audience is teens, beginner-level adults, or more advanced adults. A book written for everyone is ultimately a book for no one.

This ended up being a DNF for me on page 50 due to numerous issues. .
- The word “boobs” is slang and potentially offensive. I understand that English isn’t the author’s first language, but surely the editor should have corrected this?
- The author claims “Women today tend to be smaller than men because they did less physical labor in the past.” This sounds like Lamarckian evolution, which was discredited a hundred years ago. While epigenetics can play a role, parents don’t pass on traits for smaller stature based on the amount of physical labor they do in their lifetimes. Larger bodies retain heat better, so in Northern climates during the Viking era, women with larger bodies were probably more likely to survive to adulthood. That could account to some degree for the smaller difference in size between men and women. Another possibility is sexual selection. If males preferred taller women, then the genes of shorter women would be less likely to be passed on.
- Studies consistently show gender-based toy preferences among very young children. Why? We don’t know. It’s impossible to raise children in gender-neutral environments. Whether the differences are based on nature, nurture, or a combination is unknown. This book suggests that socialization is the reason, when in fact biology may play a role.
- The following claim confused me: “Not too long ago, the idea of sex differences in the brain was discredited.” Which specific idea? The latest research I’ve seen reveals that some sex-based differences in the brain exist. Estrogen and testosterone affect the brain differently. Was one specific study unable to be replicated? This claim is made without explanation or supporting data.
- The claim that our gender roles are the result of capitalism is preposterous. Capitalism is a recent development. A gender-based division of labor has existed for as long as the species has existed. Females give birth to and nurse babies. Males don’t. Babies during the Paleolithic were probably nursed longer than in the modern world. Gender-based roles exist because of biology. Has industrialization contributed to current gender expectations? Yes. But capitalism can exist without industrialization, and industrialization can exist without capitalism.
- The layout makes the book impossible to read using text-to-speech (hello, accessibility). Surely the people at MIT should be able to figure this out, but university presses tend to be really terrible at this.

Most of the book’s content seems good, but with so many errors, I can’t trust it. I hope the errors will be corrected before publication. As is, the book is false, misleading, and naive.

This book was so informative!! I could definitely imagine myself sneaking this into a pile of books at the store and then reading it under my sheets when i was younger. I loved the addition of the portions dedicated to writing your feelings and opinions about the chapters. After reading I already recommended it to my roommate and even messaged my partner with what I thought about this book and what it taught me about my own identity. The doodles are also very cute. My only criticism is that sometimes the layout of the pages was hard to follow or there were too many words and it was a lot to digest. It wasn’t a huge issues though, I just took what resonated and moved on to the next page.

Rethinking Gender managed to explains gender and issues around it. The illustrations make the informations easier to understand. However, it feels a bit too ambitious and the layout and font type tires my eyes

Rethinking Gender is perfect for those who have been exploring gender for always and those who are new to the subject. Louie Lauger addresses the subject of gender fully while still acknowledging that gender is a fluid, ever-changing social construct. It's a wonderful read for both queers and allies alike.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great book. I really enjoyed the characterizations and depth of emotion. I think this would be a great addition to any library collection. An essential addition to queer libraries.

This book is a great beginners guide to understanding gender identity and sexuality. It is easy to understand and has nice illustrations and real-life examples. It did get a bit repetitive for me but, overall an informative read and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about gender identity.

This book is a one stop destination for all those topics which were never talked, imagined or noticed by the larger and major communities within our society.

It has so much to explore not only about the LGBTQ+ but about the definition of Gender itself. I had never-

One- known so much about the various terms around the LGBTQ+ community

Two- thought of any difference between gender identity and sexuality. I had most commonly used them interchangeably.

After reading this encyclopaedia about all that goes unaddressed, I've been astounded and left highly empathetic to this minority community.

This book is not just an information ballet but a comprehensive workbook sequence that will not only interact with you deeply but will also urge you to question your own selves.

I adored this. As a person on the journey of figuring out what gender is for me, Rethinking Gender was extremely helpful. The first section may seem old news for the more knowledgeable people, but the repetition and further exploration only make sure there aren't biases or old thoughts we are applying to ourselves. And not to mean, indispensable for those at the beginning of the gender journey. My favourite part was the presentation of gender identities. Usually, the enumeration can become a bit tiring but here with the exposition of all the different perspectives and experiences about the different genders it did not. When the author set intersection as a key factor for the book, it shows. The intersection of gender with other identities is indispensable to comprehension. I really enjoyed it and I’m so glad more and more books like this exist in the world.

This is such a great resource for everyone just starting to know about the various gender identities under the trans umbrella, gender roles and how gender affects all our lives regardless of being cis kr trans.
Being an enby person, I found some of it very relatable and I do feel like I've learnt something new after reading this.
Highly recommend it to everyone!

After having read this educational (but also FUN) graphic novel on gender, here are some pros and one singular con. Overall, the aesthetic of the art and handwriting/font was really cute and pleasing to the eye. The terms and definitions in the beginning of the book were a great way to go over the vast topics covered within this book. The way that the author handled the unknowns and constant evolution of gender when it came to educating the reader was very truthful and helpful, since there is always more to learn. I enjoyed that the author sets up this book as if they’re having a discussion with the reader, explaining what “we’re” going to discuss next. Also, the author does a lovely job of mixing diagrams, history, and easygoing conversation into this book, leaving the right amount of information while also being fun to read. Although I read the e-book copy of this book, I thought that some of the blank spaces for ideas and jotting down thoughts was a very clever way to help people process the information that they have been given. The one con that I could find in this otherwise perfect book was on page 181. The author listed a wide range of pronouns but did not explain duo pronouns such as she/they, he/they, they/she, or they/he pronouns. Overall, I rate this book 5/5 stars because it was very informative and felt as though the author was speaking right to me the entire time.

I had a friend who is struggling with gender identity right now to read this, and the friend quite enjoyed it. I do not think I could sell this off the shelves, but I could definitely recommend it to those who ask for this topic :)

Rethinking Gender will not be an easy book to read simply because this is choke full of information that is hard to absorb for people not familiar with LGBTQ terms. But no one can say the author didn't try their best. I would say I already know and I am familiar with 80% of terms used in this book and it still gave me a headache. Illustrations and cursive letters are not the way to go with these. A proper book formatting would be better. The pdf format with the words being stylized and small make it hard to read. And the illustrations didn't make the topics easier to absorb: it's just one more thing I have to concentrate on. But valiant effort. I really appreciate it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the copy of this for an honest review!

I found that the author here was thorough and honest in their work. This read was made less of a hassle to read for those that have difficulty focusing on data and statistics with the help of their illustrations. They made a difficult topic more understandable without being too vague in explanations, even with English being their second language.
I like the inclusion of opportunities to reflect ourselves if this were a physical copy I may have done so myself.

I would suggest having consistency with the fonts chosen, and there were a few typos I caught while reading as well. Though I enjoyed the illustrations, they are somewhat distorted in quality and I assume that is because of the NetGalley rendering but I could be wrong!

This is, as I said, comprehensive but I think those who are questioning gender or have misunderstandings surrounding the concept of gender would find this useful. I would not likely include this in my classroom because it does go into A LOT of detail on some topics better suited for a high school classroom or above.