An issue I've come across regularly with nonfiction books is that they can have the issue of being either too basic or too daunting. This book was neither. It discusses a wide range of topics - how gender has been viewed in varied cultures, gender in historical contexts, specific examples of individuals, intersex advocacy, varied trans identities, how colonization impacted social perspectives of gender, and more. The layout and graphics in the book are engaging and welcoming. It doesn't feel like opening an old textbook and trying to focus in.
I enjoyed this in a lot of ways. The downsides for me was that there seemed to be an oddly heavy focus on sexual anatomy as times. For a book on gender - and one that talks about how biological sex and gender identity are different things - the author didn't always make it clear which he was talking about. The inclusion of people who had their bodies forcibly changed, especially without a full discussion of the complexities there (minus in the twin experiment), also felt wrong. These aspects were uncomfortable and/or confusing a range of times, as well as leading me to question some of the other information that had been presented.
Interesting book. I think they could have gotten some (or more) sensitivity readers on this one before publication though.

A great explainer for those who are still trying to learn the appropriate terms along the gender spectrum.

Gender is a topic I am fascinated with and love to read about. I was excited to read this book and see if presented to a YA audience in hope I could share it with my 12 year. I was disappointed at how dense this book is. I didn't feel that it hit that mark of being for a YA audience. I did love that the author takes a historical approach to discussing gender but as a whole I found this difficult to consume.

DNF at 40%.

I really tried to read this book in its entirety, but I just couldn't do it. Several parts were well written, but ultimately it is clear that the author of this book had very little real knowledge of what it is to be outside of the gender binary, and the whole book is ruined by poor research methods and many unfounded and problematic conjectures on the part of the author. As someone who has spent years in the queer community, has explored their own gender, and is friends with many trans and nonbinary individuals, there were too many moments in this book that made me uncomfortable, and I eventually had to give up on it. The examples of gender expression in history, in particular, was very off. While the book makes a valid point that genders outside of the binary have existed in many cultures throughout time, including eunuchs and castrati as examples felt very, very off. Especially as it undermines a core fact of nonbinary and trans existence in that an individual's gender and a body's physical sex characteristics and/or hormones are not intrinsically linked?? While it started off fairly well, I was deeply distressed and disappointed by the direction this book ultimately took.

I want to start by saying that I think we need as many books about this topic and topics like it as we can get. However, there are some issues with this book that I found hard to overlook.
The main one is that the author equates people who were castrated as people of the past living under a gender identity different than the binary male vs female. This fails to take into account that these people were mostly forced into a state of having their genitals mutilated, and honestly I think that saying they form a different gender group I think weakens rather than strengthens the idea that one’s gender identity does not have to be a match to one’s genitalia. Other notes about different societies that acknowledge more than two genders were interesting! I just don’t think the eunuch/castrati info was really pertinent or necessary.
Another was that the author was not very consistent in his use of pronouns for trans people and had misgendered at least one. I also think this book would perhaps be more impactful if from a trans or nonbinary author.

As a nonbinary person, this book was eye opening to really see my own experiences translated into a work.

Thanks to Zest Books and Net Galley for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

For a book geared towards the YA crowd, this book is surprisingly dense. I wanted to read it because a teen I know is non-binary and wanted to learn more. The book does a good job of showing how, throughout history, and in many different cultures, the idea of two genders was not a thing. It’s mainly a construct of domineering colonial powers, most of whom wiped out anyone in their path that didn’t fit THEIR gender norms. This definitely reads like a textbook, though, so I’m not sure the target audience, young adults, will slog through a very academic book.

However, my main complaint is that this book was written by a cis person and not a nonbinary person. I realize that authors can research and write about subjects that they’ve learned about, but I would rather have someone who has LIVED it to write about the topic. It is because of that reason that I will not be recommending this book to my nonbinary teen.

Since the beginning of recorded time, people have identified with multiple genders apart from only male/female. This book shares the history of gender in various cultures around the world. It's a journey through history and is packed with stories and facts. I definitely enjoyed learning!
As a cis person, I think it's strange that a cis person writes about gender - I would like to see a book written by a multi-gender person, and the author agrees. However, I am grateful for this resource. As the author states, this is a book that needs to be written.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this fascinating book.

This book is a history of how different cultures around the world perceive gender. It covers the basics of gender and sex as well as how past and current societies view gender. I recommend this for anyone who wants to learn more about this topic.

Publish date 8/5/24

I have a lot of feelings about this book some good some bad. I would have preferred it been own voices, the author self identifies as a cisgender gay guy, and therefore it isn't own voices. I also understand he is Jewish but I wish there had been more about Two Spirit and Indigenous peoples vs. major religions like Judaism and Buddhism.

I also think there's a few places an extra sensitivity reader could have helped because he writes "you shouldn't use these terms" but goes on to use them not in quotes but actually use them instead of a better alternative.

I will say that I thought he did a lot of good research and was one of the best accounts including intersex I have read written by a non-intersex person. Overall I think it's a good reference, I just wish he'd have had a gender non-conforming co-author or considered adding a few extra accounts of non-main stream gender nonconformity.

He needed to do better about pronouns and racism in the book. It could have used another edit and more sensitivity readers. I understand using direct quotes has constraints but also pronouns etc weren't handled as well as they should have been.

It uses women instead of people who can have babies repeatedly and there's a lot of transphobic missteps, including adding groups of people who weren't able to choose their gender and had non-conformity pushed on them. That's not what gender non-conformity means.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this free digital copy in exchange for my review.

This is an incredible enlightening book for any age. It's so important that people stay informed and not judge. Books like this help get information out there in an easy and safe way.

This book is appropriate for any age.

Positive feedback: I liked the layout of this book. The initial question (how many cors are in the rainbow) was a lovely way to begin. The popout bits of extra information were eye-catching without being distracting. I think the somewhat simplified use of language would appeal to audiences who are unfamiliar with the concepts.

Negative feedback: Perhaps the research has been over-simplified, leading to the author's words seeming to contradict the research he presents. In fact, there may be those who find holes in the presentation harmful rather than helpful.

Final thoughts: As an introduction, the book is probably fine. However, I can see it being harmful to nonbinary people whose actual life experiences and stories are underrepresented.

Important quote: "Juat like there's so much we can still learn about rainbows, there's so much more we can still discover about gender."

“The Gender Binary Is a Big Lie” by Lee Wind challenges the notion of a rigid gender binary by delving into historical evidence and personal accounts to showcase the diverse spectrum of gender identities beyond traditional categories. Through diverse cultures, historical persons, and news stories, Lee Wind invites readers to explore the richness and complexity of gender expression throughout history and across cultures.

I’m always kind of passively looking for a book I would recommend to someone who wants to know more about gender identity, sexuality and general queerness/LGBTQIA+ issues. I really like this one for a lot of reasons.

What it basically comes down to is that this book isn’t aimed at any specific group of people, just at people who want to know more about gender identity. It’s written in such a way that it’s super easy to read without talking down to anyone, and I would recommend this to a 12 y.o. just as soon as I would an adult, to someone on the LGBTQ community, to an ally, or to …. uhhh, anyone else interested. It casually and readily explains different terms in such ways that even though I was well aware what cisgender meant (for example), I still learned things.

This is, in short, an easy, (somewhat) family friendly read about mostly different gender confirming cultures and practices around the world that don’t share the very narrow view of gender being a binary. There’s a few exceptions. It does mention very briefly suicide, social eugenics and forced sterilization, as well as nonconsensual gender conforming surgery practices. So you should decide for yourself if this is the right way to broach this topic with kids, but as a book about gender identity for both adults and kids, I think this is a solid recommendation.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Lee Wind’s “Gender Binary is a Lie” book is important, so I want to preface that even though my rating is a 3, I still think more books like this need to be written and published.

I really appreciated that this was a book that compiled information all around the world and gave so many sources for people to continue to research and learn. I would call this like an appetizer to this topic to help people who know little about the gender binary and its existence. The chapter I thought was the most interesting, clear, and informative was “Intersex Activism.” I think it’s so crucial for people to know the modern issues still at play with that topic.

The main issues I have with the novel is the age it’s being advertised. Not because I don’t think young people shouldn’t learn this, but it’s a pretty dense book even as an appetizer. I think that the writing would need to be more simplified for this to appeal to a younger audience.
I do think some of the chapters and the writing needs to be relooked at. Sometimes it’s really clear, and other times it feels like a little sluggish.
The other issue I had was with the eunch chapter. I think that some addition could add nuance to it. It just felt as if it wasn’t being addressed about how it was forced on some people and some kind of discussion on forced gender identity. Even if the times “didn’t see it” as forcing a person into a gender, this still seems as a good historical moment to show that people have been forced into gender boxes for a while as well.

Overall, I think this a great educational novel.

#NetGalleyARC

4.5 stars /

This book has a broad historical scope analyzing gender and society’s pressure on gender expression. Some of this I knew thanks to my History of Gender and Sexuality course I took last semester in college, while other chapters I had no idea about.

There were some word or phrase definitions beside the text in a way that reminded me of elementary school textbooks, which was a little demeaning but it did occasionally help. The page layouts were quite playful but not too distracting once one gets settled into the book.

It seems like a great reference. Detailed, too. It also feels well researched which is always a good thing for books like these.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I cannot recommend this book enough! In this fast paced world. this is a highly important book for teens and adults to read. It is sad that so many people think that non binary and LGBT issues are made up or wrong. I hope to live in a world one day, where discrimination like this is extinct. Perhaps it would be good for those close minded people to read this book as well.


Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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A look into various gender identities throughout history that break from the norm of the gender binary. The first chapter explores more the idea of gender binary and then the rest dive into the history of cultures that have identities that don't fit the binary.

Overall, I liked this. It was a lot more dense than expected (Even for me who is a historian by training), which made me question who the audience was, as there were also little helpful blurbs with definitions, etc. The material overall felt more late teen, but these side things made it feel like more middle school. level. I did like how many identities and profiles were covered though.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What an enlightening read! Extremely informative and encompassing. This book is a solid foundation for learning about the many different genders—the past and the present of gender roles and labeling within various social structures. Lots of research and science, but everything is presented clearly. There are even notations in the margins that help further clarify some of the more complex ideas.

It is important to note that this is a scholarly examination of gender, with the feel of an academic textbook—slow, but educational.

I was excited to read this book but must admit it's quite disappointing. As a trans person, I was a bit hesitant when I saw it was written by a cis person, as in my experience cis people writing about trans people tend to not know as much as they think they do. Sadly, this book may be another example of that.

The author makes several errors, including explaining how a particular pronoun works and failing to follow his own advice mentioned towards the beginning of the book on how to use respectful language. While it is acknowledged and most of these incidents are quotes, there are ways of editing that would still remain true to source material and the message.

Furthermore, there are several places that misgender trans people. Whether due to lack of knowledge on the individual or poor editing, this is not something that can be ignored. This includes Ho’onani, who the book refers to with they/them, though her teacher refers to with she/her. Having heard of her before, I looked her up and confirmed that she uses she/her. If Ho’onani uses they/them this does not appear to be public information. I found this information at the provided links: https://chipublib.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S126C2189496, https://aplaceinthemiddle.org/blog/details/14838/a-beautiful-look-into-hawaiian-culture-and-living-outside-the-gender-binary-afterellencom

There is also a section on eunuchs and castrati as nonbinary gender categories. To preface this, I am not any kind of historian, and cannot speak on if overall they counts as genders, but the examples given for these categories often had no choice and were forced into this situation, and (again, as a trans person) it is pretty harmful to suggest that a person can be forced into a gender category. Quite honestly, I would go so far as to call these practices conversion therapy, given many of these subjects were essentially forced to change gender.

While small in the relative scheme of the book, I must also take a moment to note the section on reproductive rights, and calling it “women’s right to choose.” This book is literally about trans people, and mentions people who are not women who are also capable of getting pregnant. This is not just a women’s rights issue, and considering the subject of this book I must admit it is incredibly hurtful that the author leaves everyone who is not a woman but could be impacted out of it.

Overall, I must wonder if the author included any trans people in the writing process. This feels strongly like a book on gender identity written by a cis person for other cis people.

An interesting look at going outside the gender binary throughout history.

This is written at a really accessible level and goes over various cultures and times when additional genders were present. I appreciated the depth of research that was done and how the author calls himself out for his own preconceptions and how this is written through his own cis lens. Even so, this is a valuable contribution to queer history, and I learned quite about about other cultures and how gender has tied to colonialism.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.