Cover Image: Beyond Trans

Beyond Trans

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Member Reviews

Some great information and perspectives, but a bit repetitive and dry.
(Apologies on not reviewing at the time I read it - I went through some large health and family issues, and stopped reviewing / blogging for many years.)

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First of all, I enjoyed this academic foray into the subject of sex, gender and how it relates to trans people in the realms of day-to-day bureaucracy, academia, sport and medicine. I think it is important to note that the title, in retrospect, is somewhat misleading. The author approaches sex-identity discrimination and 'sex administration' (the bureaucratic process of recording people's sex), the question he poses isn't 'does gender matter?' but 'why and when is there a need to continue to record binary sex and how do trans people fit in and disrupt that? is it really necessary?'. Personally I found it refreshing to read an academic take down of the binary sex administration system.
Following up on the above, as someone who is aware and interested in the subject, I found that I've not only learned new things (facts, ideas, etc) but also a different way of approaching any future debates or discussions on the subject I might have.
For anyone looking to take the knowledge and advice this book gives to your workplace/school/university, etc., the author has also provided resources at the back that include workshop materials, worksheets and a list of definitions.

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Beyond Trans: Does Gender Matter, is a unique book, pragmatic, convincing and refreshing. It is a book about human stories behind the policies that affect not just transgender people but also gender non-conforming individuals. It is also a book about sexism and civil rights violations.

There is a lot of discussion and writing about transgender issues right now, especially in the United States. Heath Fogg Davis examines several cases of discrimination and looks at the real world strangles that transgender people have, like the ID documents, the bathroom rules, the women’s colleges, and the issue of gender in sports. How it is for a woman to have an intersex condition, meaning her body doesn’t conform to typical notions of male or female. Does it give her an unfair biological advantage comparing to other female athletes? Although the IAAFs testosterone rule was suspended in 2015 because there was not enough evidence that women with high levels of the testosterone, a hormone linked with increased muscle and bone mass, have a competitive advantage, the discussion is not over.

And what about the transgender athletes, not just in competitive games, like the Olympics, but also in high school sports. Heath Fogg Davis acknowledges the complexity and the intersectionality of gender. The essence of the stories in the book is that this is a situation that cannot fixed by just assimilating transgender people into one of the binary categories. Every case is different. Things look very different for a lot of trans women comparing to trans men. If you bring race into the picture things get more complicated. One of the themes that emerges throughout the book is that although the negative impacts of gender classification fall on all transgender and gender non-conforming people, they fall more harshly on people of colour; it is so much more likely, people of colour to be questioned and harassed and viewed with suspicion.

The basic point is that not everyone can or wants to be assimilated into the binary. Moreover, it wouldn’t stop others to judge trans on whether they think they meet their standards of a real woman or man. Instead of “trying to assimilate” transgender people into the binary regime of sex-classification policies, Davies suggests that we should “tackle the genesis of ‘transgender discrimination’— sex classification, itself.” He asks us to consider something more fundamental. Is sex identity something that can or should ever be administratively determined for us by others at birth? And how we administrate sex as an identity category at almost every aspect of our lives? Providing as an example the case of bathrooms at schools, he asks: “How will the school district handle a case in which a student self-identifies as neither male or female, or as both male and female?”

So the question basically is: Do we need continue gender segregation? Davis does not actually say to get rid of gender everywhere, but he is questioning the legally defined classification of gender and asks to consider the question of gender in specific venues.

Davis has some proposals, that are not just inclusive for transgender people but that would also be more helpful for everyone. There are ways, he argues to make both transgender and gender-transforming individuals and the cis-gender majority better off at the same. He outlines practical strategies and he recommends a “gender audit” to help organisations to implement gender policies that are trans-inclusive. This means first taking stock of all formal and informal ways that an organisation invokes sex. Then, he recommends that organisations employ the legally inspired “rational relationship” test to each policy. Is the sex-classification policy harmful? Is it necessary? Could the use of sex classification be replaced by some alternative policy that is rationally and perhaps more tightly connected to specific legitimate policy goals?

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An important book pointing out all the issues caused by having gender specifications.

I think that this book is one of those book that points out a lot of issues that a lot of people struggle with.

Why do we need to give our sex to apply for a job?

Why is there a necessity to state your sex when applying for a school/university?

Why do we need sex specific clubs/schools/organisations?

Why is there are need to specify that "female and other minorities are allowed" too? (also just WHAT?)

Why can't everyone play the sport they want to no matter what their sexuality is?

What does our sexuality play a role in how we define, live and how other people see us?

So many more questions are being asked and talked about in this book, and its wonderful to see that!

Its clearly humiliating if you are told you can't do or are not allowed to do something because of your sex.

This book is eye opening even for everyone that already is aware of a lot of issues, since it really discusses a huge variety of different issues -i personally for example- never thought about (bathrooms! I never even thought about that, but where is a transgender person supposed to go without someone getting offended -which is another issue all together because what the heck we are all doing the same thing in a bathroom! Who cares as long as you are not standing there starring at me while i pee! I mean come on people, get your acts together!)

Its a very important book and i think its wonderful that more book like this one come into publication and are becoming more read and talked about because it shows us all the issues we all still have to work on to make everyones life better and easier!

The only "Issue" i had with this book is the writing style itself.
Its very dry. Its feels like an academic paper, its drags on sometimes, its very fact driving and straight to the point.
Not a huge issue for me personally but i know that a lot of readers will not enjoy reading this book and if they struggle with that many readers will not finish this book.
So i wish Davis would have ask someone to help write this in a way that more readers would easily enjoy this, so that it really is one of those books that you can press into everyones hand and say -read it! Its not only important but so easy to read and understand that you will enjoy it and learn something!

Sadly that isn't the case with this book.

I still think that its defiantly worth a read and worth to read and i learnt quiet a bit reading it!

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I think that if you're studying gender at university like I am, this is a very good book to use as a reference. But on a completely different note and not academic related, this is a beautifully written book that needs to be read in times like today where there is so much stigma surrounding trans individuals. It's such an eye-opening read, and I urge everyone to read it.

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I did not read this galley in it's entirety. Though I enjoyed what I did read.

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Beyond Trans by Heath Fogg Davis, a transgender man, pushes the 'gender question' to its very limits. Who decides whether we get labelled with an 'M' or 'F' on our birth certificates. And why is this not mutable, like other aspects of our characters our. Why someone else gets to label us as male or female - and the very key difference between sex and gender. Calling us to reclaim our identities, Davis explores these topics in detail throughout the book, starting with the very essence of what sex and gender actually mean, as opposed to what people think they mean (many people believe them to be one and the same).

There are four key case studies: sex-marked ID (birth certificates, passports, driving licenses); single-sex bathrooms; single-sex colleges; and sexually segregated sports. Through each, there are very personal case studies identifying trans people, gay people, and sometimes cis people who have fallen prey to the world's assumptions. Some are quite shocking to read; particularly the case of Charlene Arcila, an African American transgender woman living in Philadelphia. She was refused entry onto the bus because the bus driver simply did not believe that the sex marker on her identification matched what he was seeing. She purchased a female-marked pass and was similarly rejected: there was no way that she was going to be able to settle this without a battle in court. Davis deals with each case sensitively, not so that you feel sorry for the people, but that you feel righteous anger and indignation on their behalf. This, I think is much more valuable in moving times forwards.

There was a similarly humiliating case in the chapter on sex-segregated rest-rooms where Khadijah Farmer, her girlfriend and a friend decided to go for a meal in New York City after spending the day at the city's LGBT Pride celebration. Farmer, an African-American out-Lesbian, went to use the restroom where she was told that she was in the wrong place. After assuring the other woman that she was in the right restroom, she went into the stall to do her business, only to have a male bouncer enter the room having heard there was 'a man in the woman's restroom.' Farmer showed the bouncer her ID but (exact quotation), his reply was: 'Your ID is neither here nor there.' She was forced to leave the premises.

As well as these awful individual stories (also touching on the well-published female athlete Caster Semenya who became so used to being asked to 'prove' to her fellow racers that she was female, would willingly go into a restroom and show them; and the Williams sisters being described as 'apes' and 'man-like), Heath, offers clear thoughts on each of these problems. The chapters are structured to start with a case study, then some delving into history and legal things, as well as some philosophy, before offering a 'Conclusion' to each chapter, proffering some sort of solution. These solutions aren't perfect, as Davis recognises; in some ways they are more idealistic thinking that is unlikely to come to fruition. The idea of non sex-segragated sports, for example, I think will be incredibly contentious. And I'm not sure that Davis really offers a solution that will work for the majority of people. Although I recognise his points - woman with higher tester one levels can be banned from women's sports and occasionally allowed entry to men's sports, whereas men with low testosterone levels are not allowed to compete against women - this is something that I think people will fight about more than the others - even sex-segregated bathrooms. I don't know for certain, but it's a feeling I have.

As a book to read, it was interesting, but quite hard going. The heavy referencing was quite cumbersome at times, and although I was interested in what Davis had to say, I have read better books on the subject.

'Beyond Trans' is a good book - it gets people asking questions, it gets people thinking - but, ultimately, it wasn't brilliantly written and I found it rather slow. If you are interested in reading about transgender rights or LGBTQ ideas for a more inclusive future, I think there are other books that are more accessible. Still, Davis has produced an extremely well-researched book, and I give him all credit for that.

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I received an ARC of Beyond Trans: Does Gender Matter? from NetGalley. I requested this non-fiction book, as I wanted to find out how Davis would discuss the four different issues and which solutions he would suggest.

This book is #ownvoices for transgender representation.

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I started this book expecting to be angry at the end of it, especially after reading the first chapter, which is very direct and full of shock value. I thought this was an interesting stylistic method, especially since it will grab the attention of many different people, including those who think that sexism isn't a real issue in the world.

The book introduced me to a lot of different ideas and solutions, as well as explained quite well the shortcomings of the present situations. Even though the book's research is based on the US, I thought that a lot of it was applicable to Germany and the UK.

The book also discusses sexism through an intersectional lens, thus explaining how sexism affects marginalised people differently.

The writing is very academic most of the time, which made this book a very slow read for me. I just couldn't get into it at the beginning and I felt that at some times the arguments kept being repeated. It took me several weeks to finish reading it, as I had several breaks in between reading it.

One part I disagreed with is the statement that it is impossible to use a third person singular non-gendered pronoun due to English grammar rules, which is untrue. "They" is an option that is often used, and there are also several other neopronouns that could be used.

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This book has taught me to start to look for the why, as in "why is it necessary to have sex classification in this situation". The case studies are well-researched and well-explained, even though they are a bit too academic for leisure reading.

If you're looking for an interesting non-fiction book that analyses the current conversation about gender identity, this is a good book to choose.

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I thought that this was a pretty great narrative on all of the trans issues that have come to light as of recently.

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Basically a long argument against gender identifiers and how it harms people. IMHO it could have been summed up in an essay, but instead it was quite dragged out as a book. Probably only for people who are truly passionate about this topic.

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I found this interesting in its documentation of transgender discrimination and the power given to those around you on gender perception.

But that was literally it. It was very repetitive, often going back to previous points and reiterating the same point over and over. I didn't necessarily get anything out of this book, other than transgender discrimination is bad, which I already knew. It felt very much like a narrative with additional real life stories from other people about their experiences without any actual purpose to the book.

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This book is writen by a trans man and activist. His argument is that we as a society do not need to and should not divide the world into the binary we know as gender. He tackles four topics: gender markers on documents, sex-segregated bathrooms, all male and all female colleges, and sex-segregated sports. He provides many examples and a number of interesting arguments for why such practises should be abolished. One highlight of the book is that he makes clear recommendations for how to sex identity discrimination. However, I felt he often belabored his points and I found my self skipping pages which is never a good sign.

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Davis writes a strong argument for why the removal of gender markers in society will lead to more efficiency and less discrimination. This is a solid look into the world of gender and sex. While the language gets a little academic one can easily follow the point Davis is trying to make. Some of the examples are sad and heart breaking, one can not deny Davis puts forward a strong argument.

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I've read quite a few books about transgender issues, but I just found this book to be too specific and technical and I had a really difficult time following along. I think this is partially due to the fact that this very much focuses on America and I feel that I did not get many of the references.

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Does gender really matter? Are sex-classification policies really necessary? Imagine getting in a bus to go to work, and have the bus driver reject you because your transit pass’ sex sticker says you’re female but the bus driver doesn’t agree.
Transgender women are arrested because some police officers think they’re prostitutes. Well, they’re not. They’re just people who had the misfortune of being born in the wrong body. Regardless, misogyny directed at transgender people is a real problem and the examples above are just the tip of the iceberg.

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The Good
I picked up this book because I wanted some talking points to argue for some of the same things as Davis, particularly gender neutral bathrooms. Many of Fogg’s arguments are good. They’re laid out in a logical way and are convincing. There’s frequently also a lot of background information and interesting stories, making this an easy and fascinating read. This isn’t just an academic text.

The Bad
As I said, I wanted to read this book to get arguments that I could use myself, but for that purpose it fell short. The arguments in this book are convincing for people who are already liberal and already supportive of trans rights, but not for anyone else.

I nodded along with the chapter on bender neutral bathrooms. Yes, yes, this all makes sense–let’s have gender neutral bathrooms! Someone who’s convinced that gender neutral bathrooms are a predator’s playground? They’re not going to be convinced. Though the arguments here are logical, they’re just not enough to convince someone who isn’t already swinging in that direction already.

The Verdict
This was an interesting and well-thought-out book, but was not as revolutionary as I was hoping. Nevertheless, do check it out if you’re interested.

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This short text is packed full of information. Davis writes with a clear and accessible voice. Even those unfamiliar with trans issues, like myself, will find his explanations and solutions understandable and practical.

Davis highlights the areas in which first- and second-wave feminism failed us as a society and offers the third-wave hope for change. He presents very thoughtful arguments against sex-segregation and sex-classification that made me think about our gendered social order in an entirely new way.

As a cis person, I'm insanely advantaged and lots of these problems are things I'm ashamed to admit I had never even considered. I've never been questioned in public bathrooms or confronted in public spaces about my right to exist there. I really appreciated Davis' critiques on both masculinity and femininity and how they contribute to transphobia as a collective system.

Gender does matter, individually and culturally. It just shouldn't matter so much. Sex-classification for the purposes administration proposes are often ill-advised and unnecessary. Policing gender markers is so damaging and cruel. Why can't people be themselves without fear of literal violence against them for being "different"?

I think this is an extremely important topic and I'm so glad I read this book. I highly recommend you do, too!

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In a seemingly radical, but ultimately common-sense challenge to status quo, this author asks whether it's ever necessary to require someone to have their gender flagged on something like a birth certificate or a driver's license. He examines four areas where a true unisex environment is called for - not just to not use a binary sex-marker, but to dispense with sex-markers altogether. These areas are (from the blurb): "sex-marked identity documents such as birth certificates, driver's licenses and passports; sex-segregated public restrooms; single-sex colleges; and sex-segregated sports." A section of the book is devoted to each of the four topics.

While I support this agenda as a general principle - there are far too many areas where gender is irrelevant, but where it's made into an issue of one kind or another - I'd take some small issue with the way this argument is presented in some areas. I felt it didn't make as good of a case as it ought to have, and I felt it was a somewhat biased case - there wasn't much of a serious effort to look at the opposite side of the argument or to seek out opposing views and present them - and argue against them.

Yes, there were some objections raised and summarily overruled, but it felt more like the author was trying to steamroll his case through in preference to offering a completely calm and rational approach. Not that he was raving or ranting, but it felt a little bit like a high pressure salesperson, and I have little time for those!

One example of this was in the section where the author is talking about how long a person has to live as a woman before they're considered fully a woman. It's more complicated than that, and you'd have to read the book to get the full scoop on the issues and arguments, but for my purposes, this fell into the gripe I made about too little use of studies to back arguments and more reliance on personal opinion and anecdote than was healthy to make a solid case.

The author says, "...does it matter that some transgender women will have been socialized as boys and/or men for certain periods of their lives?" The problem with this is the inherent assumption it carries that they have indeed been fully socialized as their biological gender as opposed to their desired or self-identified gender.

I could see my argument being irrelevant if a need for a gender-switch was triggered from a head injury or by a sudden whim or need for attention, but this is flatly not the case. One thing I learned early in my reading about transgender people is that they had lived all their life feeling like they were the gender they eventually (hopefully!) were able to migrate to. So why would they honestly be socialized as boys/men or as girls/women necessarily?

It felt presumptive and patronizing to leap to the conclusion that they had or likely had. We had no evidence presented to support (or refute) this - it was just out there like it was self-evident, and this felt like the author had fallen into the same trap he was arguing against: if it's always been this way, why should we change?

Of course we haven't always been this way. Binary gender is just a convenient convention we fell into because historically we were too ignorant and blinkered to think it through. Maybe a biological male who has always felt female might be rather less acclimatized to male patterns of behavior and thinking than we should feel comfortable assuming, and so might a female in inverse circumstances. This is what I mean when I talk about making better arguments.

So one issue I had with the book was that it felt like it relied too much on anecdote - some of which was personal - which left some holes where a wider survey or study would have filled the gap. Some studies are quoted, but the inline references in this book are not actually links, which is a problem in this day and age for an ebook. In a print book you can flip through pages to get to end notes. It's a lot harder in an ebook, which is why actual links would have been a big help.

That said, the anecdotes were engrossing, saddening, disturbing, and downright horrifying at times, and this is the main reason people need to read this book, because the hit is still shitting the fan, even after all these years, and it needs to stop now. If getting rid of sex markers is guaranteed to do that, then I'm pretty well on-board! But I have some qualms about the arguments, mainly because of the area the book did not cover, which is medical care.

You can argue all you want about men and women and everyone between and on both sides being treated equally in areas of sports, rest rooms, college admissions, and state and government documents, but being treated in hospital is another issue because the fundamental fact is that men and women are anatomically and biochemically different and sometimes it genuinely matters what gender you are.

Let me give a simple example:- a traffic accident victim is brought into an ER unconscious, and xrays need to be taken. if this is a man, there's usually no problem, because men never get pregnant, but if this is a woman, the doctors need to be sure they're not harming a fetus.

Often, it's easy (or at least seems easy!) to tell what gender the patient, but also often it's not and it's downright foolish to make assumptions, as this author has pointed out often! If the woman is a mtf individual, then short of religious miracles, there's going to be no fetus, but if the doctors do not know, then there's potentially a problem.

I'd argue this is a case where gender does indeed matter and more importantly, knowing the gender matters, and while this is a simple demonstrative example, it's not the only medical instance where the gender (or sex if you like - I don't like to use that term because it's so loaded with baggage) of the patient matters. Men and women react differently to some medications, so knowing the gender of the patient can be vitally important.

Now you can no doubt press arguments against my simplistic example, and maybe against medical treatment and knowing the birth sex of the patient, but that's just the problem: since this critical topic wasn't covered in this book, none of this was ever addressed. Having a sex-marker on the driver's license could be in some cases, the difference between life and death here. So maybe we should not argue to eliminate the sex-marker at least on driver's licenses or state ID cards, but to make it voluntary? It's just a thought.

I don't typically comment on book covers because my blog is about authoring, not façades and lures, but in this case I have to say that this cover was quite a stunner. The ambiguity and charm in it were remarkable! It's a credit to the book and a pity the publisher rarely sees fit to give some credit to the model.

One curious personal comment I found was when the author volunteered, "For example, my birth mother was white and my birth father African American. I identify as either biracial or black" but he never went on to explain why he doesn't ever identify as white. It seems to me he has an equal case for either or both. It's not a big deal to me, but I just found it interesting and curious that someone with one black and one white parent had to be (at least historically), considered black instead of white!

To me, that's just as screwed-up as the gender issues discussed here, but I guess it's none of my business; however, it was one of several times things were tossed into the mix which I found curious. Another was his reference to the 2013 movie Identity Thief. The author cites this as an exemplar of the inadequacy of sex verification as fraud protection.

I thought it was an inappropriate reference in a book that rightly tries to set a more scholarly tone, but the objection here was that, as the author explains, "...the fact that many people have gender-neutral or 'unisex' names, Sandy being just one of many examples." I get that this is irrelevant when credit card fraud is perpetrated over the phone,or the internet, but it does prevent some abuse in person when a woman might try to use a credit card which clearly has a male name on it. It's not foolproof, especially in these days of fast everything, but it does offer some preventive opportunities! The real question to ask is: is it worth the hassle some people might get for the prevention it offers in other cases?

But that's not the reason I thought the example of the movie was a poor one; it's that, in the movie (which I have not seen I have to say), the man whose identity has been stolen, Sandy, seems like a sad sack of an example to offer since he apparently never thought to report his card stolen and thereby avoid all of the issues he was subject to in the movie! Hollywood is not real life and I think it was a mistake to cite what seems to be a rather slapstick comedy movie in support of a serious topic like this.

That said, I recommend this because it needs to be read - it's that simple. It has important issues in it about an ongoing problem that needs to be cut off summarily at the ankles, and it makes some good arguments, especially in sports, which has long been a pet peeve of my own. Some of the sports anecdotes are truly upsetting, as indeed are the anecdotes in other areas. Read them and weep - seriously. I felt like it after reading what some of these people - including the author - have had to endure.

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This is the book on transgender rights, gender identity and expression, and policy that you never knew you wanted.

Welcome to the latest instalment of “$#A$^% am I ever behind at reviewing my NetGalley books”. Today I review Beyond Trans: Does Gender Matter?, out at the beginning of June from New York University Press. To summarize Heath Fogg Davis’ thesis in one sentence in his own words: “I show why it is in the best interests of organizations of all kinds to minimize their administration of sex”. What follows is a careful, methodical, logical, but heartfelt analysis of specific areas of Western society in which categorization, segregation, or discrimination on the basis of sex/gender is, in Davis’ opinion, unnecessary. Moreover, Davis goes beyond pointing out problems and actually suggests practical, workable solutions that involve breaking down gender barriers and gender binaries rather than—as he phrases it—using assimilation and accommodation to fit trans people into those binaries.

Before we go on, a quick disclaimer: I am cis and so can only review this book from that perspective. I can’t tell you if it provides a good representation of the views of various trans people. Davis himself is a trans man. Also, I appreciate how he quotes a variety of transgender and non-binary people, not all of whom necessarily share his views; Davis is careful not to represent trans communities as monolithic in their desires or views on gender. Finally, Davis acknowledges that while he has experienced the oppression, marginalization, and fear that comes with being transgender, he also has privileges of class, and he does not appear “visibly” transgender, so he has male privilege that he did not have prior to his transition.

Beyond Trans is not actually as controversial as some of the marketing might make it seem. I was a little wary because of the title and the first lines of the description. Was Davis going to make some kind of argument about how gender doesn’t matter, how we should all be blind? No—if anything, it’s the opposite. Davis says that your gender matters, and that it matters so much to your identity that the government and other organizations should stop policing it in silly, contradictory, unenforceable ways.

Really, libertarians should be all about this book. (Disclaimer: I am not a libertarian either, so I guess I shouldn’t speak for them.) It always amuses me how there is this overlap, at least in the States, between people who call for smaller government and people who want the government to legislate what people can do with regards to their sexual and gender orientations and identities. Much of Davis’ argument is classically libertarian: the government has no business regulating sex and gender. Indeed, one of Davis’ chief criticisms of government regulation is its inconsistent and often absent definition of sex or gender. Various laws and regulations just use these words, often interchangeably, without offering proper legal definitions, leaving it up to the courts to decide what was actually meant by the law.

Davis also points out that existing attempts to be inclusive have major shortcomings. He cites, for example, the movements to add “other” categories to the sex checkboxes on many official forms. It’s well-intentioned and better than nothing, but it also creates confusion. Ultimately, he argues the collection of sex/gender information from people happens in situations where it is entirely irrelevant. For gender-conforming individuals, this isn’t a big deal; we don’t get called on it. For non-conforming people, though, it puts amazing power in the hands of administrative authority that can, in some cases, lead to violence.

I used the terms “gender-conforming/non-conforming” for a reason, because Davis asserts that the superfluous collection of and segregation by gender harms cis people as well as trans people. He gives the example of a lesbian woman kicked out of a New York restaurant for using the women’s washroom: the bouncer didn’t believe she was a woman. Since her gender expression didn’t conform to his personal beliefs for what matches “woman” in our society, he felt it was within his power to police her gender and her access to essential facilities.

Along the same lines, Davis points out that the strategy to accommodate and assimilate trans people essentially erases non-binary people, agender people, etc. It’s all well and good to let a trans person change their sex on official documents from male to female or vice versa—but what about people who want to change from male to … nothing? Or female to non-binary, genderqueer, genderfluid, neutrois, or so on? Amendments and improvements to laws that focus on removing the barrier to changing one’s sex within the existing binaries can’t fix the fact that the entire idea of a sex or gender binary is itself a flawed and broken one and should be demolished post-haste.

Beyond Trans looks at sex markers on official documents, sex-segregated washrooms, single-sex admissions policies at colleges, and sex-segregated sports. In each case, Davis examines why these policies are harmful, unnecessary, and ill-advised. He then suggests how to fix them, whether it involves dismantling them altogether or going a different route. He emphasizes how this approach doesn’t just benefit trans people or gender non-conforming people but everyone. For example, on the subject of sex-segregated washrooms, he points out that “bathroom bills” as they are so-called in the United States cannot possibly accomplish their purported goals, because truly dangerous people will follow someone into a washroom no matter what the sign on the door says. More open-plan washrooms, with floor-to-ceiling individual stalls, would be a huge step forward in both safety and gender inclusiveness.

Later, when addressing sex-segregated sports, Davis unpacks the contradictory approaches to policing men’s and women’s sports. There is a greater emphasis, he argues, on “catching” men who are “pretending” to be women to gain an unfair advantage, whereas few people seem as concerned about women masquerading as men. He points out how this “trans misogyny” is in fact harmful to society at large: “this kind of misogyny is an extension of the general assumption that ‘femaleness and femininity are inferior to, and exist primarily for the benefit of, maleness and masculinity’.”

I love this. And this is why my feminism will always include trans people, and why my feminism will always fight for trans women to be treated as the real women they are. Drawing a line in the sand is not only arbitrary but damaging and harmful in the very way that people drawing that line are often themselves oppressed and marginalized. Why inflict that on another?

In case you can’t tell from my effusive encomium of the arguments in Beyond Trans, I loved this book. I can’t think of a single criticism of it, except perhaps that it is very focused on American society and policy. Yet a much broader survey would probably be very long, and I also appreciate that this book is short. Even so, it manages to accomplish a lot in this brief length: multiple case studies, and an appendix with practical suggestions for companies who want to do a “gender audit” on their policies.

Last time I requested a book from NetGalley on trans issues I got burned, badly. Beyond Trans is a salve to that burn: it’s #ownvoices, acknowledges diverse points of view, and has impeccable logical, ethical, and moral arguments. This is an academic book, with all sorts of great references and sources—but Davis’ style is very accessible and easy for a layperson to read. If you are interested in gender, or particularly gender and its intersections with social policy, I highly recommend this book. It will get you thinking.

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This is an excellent and thought-provoking discussion about the failings of a binary system to meet the needs to transgender, intersex and non gender-conforming individuals. By examining the effects of mandating binary gender identification on documents like drivers licenses, bus passes, college applications, FAFSAs, or in places like restrooms, or in sports participation, people with complex gender identity are placed in difficult (if not impossible) and sometimes even dangerous situations.

From the absurd unfairness of sex-marked bus passes to the unfairly personal demands of birth sex-mandated bathrooms, from women's colleges to sex-segregated sports, Beyond Trans takes us on a journey that probably just scratches the surface of what any transgendered, or non-gender conforming person has to endure.

One example Fogg Davis presents for our consideration that of Coy, a five year old transgender girl who would like to use a girls bathroom in her elementary school. Told she can't or to use a teacher's bathroom, her family sues and wins. Now let's fast forward to puberty. To forestall development of secondary sex characteristics until legal adulthood, Coy's parents may allow her pediatrician to prescribe hormone blockers. (This will allow her to decide at age 18 what she wants to do about surgery, hormonal treatments, etc.) Now fast forward to age 18. In addition to making all these important personal medical decisions, imagine Coy wants to apply to a historic women's college like Smith or Mt Holyoke. Coy has lived 13 of her 18 years, virtually all of her life she will clearly recollect, as a female. Will she be admitted? Some schools might still refuse her. Some institutions like Mt Holyoke have sought to embrace individuals "identifying as female," albeit with a long list of clarifiers. But is this enough? (Indeed, this particular case made me contemplate just how long we expect someone to be female to be female and how ridiculously unfair it is.)

Just the idea that often someone has to complete radical surgery to be able to get "certified" as a sex different from that on their original birth certificates gives me pause. Having known a transgender woman who chose not to complete full transition surgery because she just isn't sure she wants more surgery, I just can't accept how unfair the situation is. Do we really need to know if she's 100% female because she has no trace of male genitalia? SMH. The argument for biometric identification on drivers licenses, metro passes and other documents in lieu of sex markers sounds like a good one to me, even with its potential risks. But, based on dinner table debates of the entire topic, many sadly have a long way to go before relinquishing their binary world view.

This is a slender volume of 192 pages of which only about 52% is discussion. An appendix offers a thorough Gender Audit for institutions. I happily bought a copy of the book to be able to share it.

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