Insightful and detailed while maitaining simplicity and a sort of straightfowardness that is refreshing and easy.
The illustrations are so clever and do a great job of getting their point across.

Seeing familiar celebrities was also great for perspective - my personal favorite was Frida Kahlo.
The index, glossary and references were a nice touch and I always enjoy learning about the author.

This has become such a valuable resource for me and I frequently recommend it to friends who, like me, want to learn more about this community and these individuals.

With most books I've read on gender identity, the information inside is either too basic or too overwhelming. In SEEING GENDER, there's plenty of 101 information, but it also goes deeper without overloading 101 readers, covering a number of intersections through fascinating profiles, historical tidbits, and cultural details. Gottlieb has found a nice balance where there's plenty of great info for all readers, whether they are just starting to explore gender or already know quite a bit.

Thank you NetGalley and Publishers for granting me early access to "Seeing Gender".

This book did top my favorite reads this year, however I'm currently in the middle of a major move, and will definitely come back at a later time and write out a full review and rating.

Thank you so much!

*eye-opening*
I enjoyed reading this book with lots of insightful illustrations. I appreciate the efforts put in by the authors and everyone involved in bringing out this book. This book is much needed. Even for someone like me who runs away from nonfiction reads most of the time, books like this make it easier to read and approachable. I love the fact that things have been brought up and explained so well. I will be looking forward to more books by the author.
Thanks #NetGalley for the book #SeeingGender

I think this would be a valuable resource for anyone who is less familiar with the queer community and wants something of a primer. The illustrations throughout break up each section into small one- and two-page sections that make it feel accessible and allow you to read and absorb the information quickly. LGBTQ+ communities can be kind of hard to represent in an overview because we're still in the process of finding new identities and theories and ways to talk about ourselves, but all the information here is generally up to date with where we are in 2019, which I'm extremely grateful for. Someone who needed an intro into the way we understand gender today could definitely find what they're looking for here.

There's a lot that I really enjoy about this book. I downloaded this from Netgalley and sat down and read it all in one go. First, the content. This is why I requested this book in the first place. There is a lot to learn about gender, sexuality, and all other forms of expression. It's hard sometimes to understand it all. I knew a lot of the stuff that Gottlieb shared in this book when it came to definitions, but what she really introduced me to were the historical figures and other relevant facts she seamlessly wove into this book. There so many facts and articles shared in this book that I really felt like I was learning a lot. The topics were also separated into small readable chunks. This is not a textbook, but a great way to begin your educational journey a small bit of information at a time. Two, the art. The art is beautiful in the book, but is also always relevant to want is being written about. It's a very visually appealing book. Third, Gottlieb, provides usually simple and actionable steps to take to be a more helpful and mindful human being if you're still learning about what may be appropriate vs not. Gottlieb has done her research well and has made this a book that speaks honestly and with intersectionality. A great book and resource if you're interested in learning more about our ever expanding understanding of gender, identity, sexuality, and more.

Visually it’s a beautiful book, and I enjoyed the artwork immensely. I appreciated the concept as well. As a genderfluid person, I learned a lot from this book, especially about intersectional feminism. But the amount of topics covered was overwhelming and lacked organization. I would have preferred an in-depth study of fewer topics.

This book would be an excellent addition to libraries and bookstores. My only concern is that it’s written for open-minded and curious readers, but I truly hope that this resource reaches a wide variety of people.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a comprehensive and nuanced book on gender. I read everything I can get my hands on about gender, and I learned something new from this book. I particularly liked the deep dive into cultural icons and animals. The historic and world context was also well presented as was the discussion on privilege.

At the very end is a journal section that is deeply personal and a shift in tone from the more reserved educational text. This works very well after the deep dives previously mentioned and also to help put this information into context. This is one of the parts of the book that shone the brightest for me. This is where the author lets us in and where the writing really has a deep resonance.

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I want to begin by addressing the fact that I am a disabled-Latina-cis woman who is also heterosexual. I always considered myself an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, and of being knowledgeable when it comes to gender identity and different sexualities. Still, there was so much I learned from this book because goes deeper than just the “basics”, the book recognizes the complexity of gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexuality. I especially loved the correlation the author makes between the behavior of animals and humans. Of course, the art was beautiful and inspiring. I wanted to quickly mention that I appreciated a lot the part where it touches upon intersectionality and white feminism.

However, I disagree that this could be a “beginner’s guide to gender”. Indeed, it tackles a diversity of topics, but I feel it could have organized those topics better to create a simpler and more cohesive idea. I also felt like parts needed of the reader to somewhat be acquainted with gender identity.

I have long considered myself an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community, but I was tested on that allegiance three years ago when one of my children came out as part of the queer community. In the three years since I have done my best to read as much as I can so that I can better understand his experiences. This beautifully illustrated book is fairly simple and didn't really teach me anything new but I still loved it. I found it to be unique in both the art and the way the stories are told.

The author introduces several famous people (such as David Bowie and Frida Kahlo) who identify themselves as part of the community, and those little sections were wonderful. They were one or two pages of text about the person and a full page of illustrations. These vignettes were definitely my favorite. The book has an index, a short glossary of terms, references to the ways people can learn, the a description of the author's personal journey. The artwork throughout the book is fabulous and I will definitely buy this as gifts in the future.

I want to thank NetGalley, Iris Gottlieb and Chronicle Books for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

First impressions of Seeing Gender: What a gorgeous book. Love the cover, love the illustrations. I’ve put off reading this because I always kind of feel like books like this cover ground I’m already aware of (I know, that sounds really arrogant, please feel free to roll your eyes, but I have read a lot of books on LGBTQA+ theory, and I am actually not a heterosexual, so there is that, not that that means I can’t be an uneducated jerk, but that’s a whole other can of worms).

After reading this (which I tore through pretty quickly, it's an easy read, the illustrations are really more the meat of this book), my first impressions were pretty on target. The illustrations are amazing, and this book is really more of a primer for LGBTQA+ information and not as interesting if you already know a lot about the community.

One of my notes I wrote to myself while reading was: "I’m really kind of bored other than the illustrations, which I feel bad saying! I want to like it! If you need a primer on gender and sexuality and have basically no knowledge maybe this is a good fit for you."

Also, I have some criticisms. Talking about White Feminism and using Betty Friedan, who is Jewish, really annoyed me. Jews like Friedan are only white-passing, in my opinion. But regardless of your opinion on that, they should not be held up as White Feminists with a capital W. Especially considering events like the Women's March and LGBTQA+ events that specifically exclude Jews. But moving on.

Using the term trans with an asterisk ("Trans*") is not commonly used because nonbinary people consider it offensive. It implies that only binary trans people are included under trans, and other identities are more of an afterthought.

I also really didn't love including David Bowie, who, despite his idol status, sexually assaulted a 15-year-old. What kind of a spotlight in a book is that, especially when it didn't view him with any kind of critical lens?

I just never really warmed up to this book. While it had many good elements, and would likely be enjoyable to someone who has very little knowledge about the community, to me there were elements I just didn't appreciate and it didn't have enough interesting content to make up for it. The biographical content at the very end by the author was interesting, and I wish she had included more of it throughout the book, because it would have made the book less dry.

I loved every page of this book. The information is presented in a straight forward, very clear, matter. (The only moment the author and I had a slight disagreement was when they listed no White Feminists after the 50s-60s, like? and also they listed Simone de Beauvoir which yes, but also no, there are significantly better people to represent White Feminism. White Feminists took de Beauvoir but that doesn't mean they're using her correctly (see: The Personal, the Political, and Others: Audre Lorde Denouncing "The Second Sex Conference" by Lester C. Olson for more information)). Anyway, everything else was really well researched and spot on. I appreciated the author's ability to explain so many different aspects of gender. Just overall one of the best survey books I've read so far. Also the artwork is amazing and added a lot to the reading of the book. A lot of the art conveyed emotional meaning and added depth of expression that maybe was lacking in the actual words on the page.

"I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring." - David Bowie

This book was wonderful. It was smart, thoughtful, and informative. I would recommend this to anyone who was looking to learn more about gender, as well people who already feel they know about gender and identity (I guarantee you'll find something you didn't) equally.

Iris thought of everything and executed it beautifully. By far my favorite part are the illustrations. Using visuals to represent gender and identity was artfully done, and so smart.

This book included history and terminology as well as spotlights on important figures and events but I think the most important part is the focus on intersectionality. Gender connects with every other part of identity and the overall book and especially several of the illustrations shows how interwoven every part of our lives are.

"I'm here, and I'm just as strange as you."
-Frieda Kahlo

And finally, thank you to Coco Chanel for pants.

Seeing Gender is a good resource for anyone wondering how they fit in, how to support someone else, or anyone hoping for a better understanding of the gender spectrum. Gottlieb covers basic terminology, spotlights famous role models, and gives introduces issues that concern the lgbt community.

I loved this book, so insightful.

It was such a nice journey reading this book. I appreciated a lot all the details and the facts that were presented in here, because I got be honest, navigating the gender world, even for me a bisexual person, is still confusing. In here though, Iris Gottlieb gives you a great idea of everything you need to know to get acquainted with the subject.
All the passages when she gave the spotlight to famous people who were there, in their time, making the difference regarding LGBTQ+ world were amazing.
All in all, it's an awesome and very informative book.

*I received this book for free by net galley, and all thoughts are my own.*

REVIEW
This is a nonfiction novel, and for that reason I always have issues with judging the book and determining the star rating. But I really enjoyed this book, and even shared some of the topics and passages with family and friends and subsequently discussed different topics in this book.

The easiest way to describe the book is essentially a "picture book for people trying to understand Gender, Sexuality and Expression". I could see a book like this doing very well for people who are cisgender and heterosexual to gain insights on what it's like to be someone who experiences difference sexual orientations, experiences or expressions. I really liked the spotlights on people because (coming from a kid born in the 21st century) it is interesting to see the pioneers in multiple movements discussed in this novel. I also liked seeing the authors feelings and thoughts after her top surgery. As someone who had a breast reduction- as they were quite large and causing health concerns rather than a body dysmorphia problem, it was surprising and interesting to see where our similarities lie and differences span on the feelings you get after the surgery.

The one kind of side effect of this book however, is if it were to be used with people who are just trying to understand these topics, it may come off as a bit stand off ash, ands so I would suggest to readers who are thinking about referring this book to others to think about your reader, as some could get offended with the tone of the book.

Overall I loved this novel and I think that this is a great book for giving people greater understanding and perspective on these topics.

I think that I have a fair amount of knowledge when it comes to gender and different sexualities. However, I was surprised how much I learned throughout this book. This book does not cover just terminology of different gender identities and sexualities. It discusses a variety of topics that one would not immediately think of when talking about gender, but that are indeed very connected to it.

I think that the diversity of topics is a great thing, but also maybe one of the few things that I didn't like about this book. The topics are scrambled with each other and it would make more sense to bundle similar ones together rather than jumping back and forth between them. Some of them are also very complicated that I think just one or two pages don't do the topic justice and must be a bit simplified.

I also really liked the shoutouts to different people from history defying the gender norms and fighting for equality on all fronts. I knew some, some I just recognized names and some I didn't know at all. The pages about facts from the animal kingdom are interesting too, I have to say that baby turtles shocked me the most.

The illustrations are really nice in this book and kept me interested the whole time. I'm inclined to check out other books by this author because of that. I think that most of the illustrations are clever and depict the ideas in the text very well.

The last thing I would like to say is that though I think I agree with the author on every issue discussed, I feel like there were moments I was picturing someone with semi-open/semi closed mind reading this book and slapping it close again because some things are worded a bit pushy. The beginning of the book makes it seem like a real "beginners guide to gender" but then it quickly dumps anything and everything onto your head expecting you'll take it all in with no problem. I can't quite imagine someone who doesn't know almost anything about other genders/sexualities than straight male/female and processing all the information in it just like that. That is probably my only critique of the book though.

I would recommend this book to everyone because I think that everyone can learn something from it. If you think you know everything you possibly can about this stuff, you're wrong. There's always something new you can learn. :)

An arc was kindly provided to me by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the book I wish I had growing up. That I could have handed to family and friends, linked people to in those early pre-social media days, when reaching out was much more limited. It covers so much more than I was expecting—privilege, toxic masculinity, eating disorders, pronouns, advertising. It’s a mix of hardcore research and intimate, raw experiences sharing space with Gottlieb’s crisp, vibrant art.

This book is packed with information about all aspects of gender. Sometimes I found myself wondering who the intended audience was, but this note in Gottlieb's acknowledgements is probably the best guide: "This book was made entirely from a desire to reach people in whatever moment they're in to feel connection or understanding" because for some, most of the information in this book will be enlightening. For others, only certain parts. Towards the end, when Gottlieb shared her story and then gave a surgery timeline, I did wonder if that could have been the focal point of the book - a memoir with surrounding analysis of gender. Overall, I like the readability of this book and because of that and the comprehensive nature of it, would recommend to others!

"Seeing Gender" is an interesting and insightful exploration of gender and sexuality. I liked how much emphasis the author placed on intersectionality and that she made a point of mentioning and explaining asexuality.

I think this book greatly profited from the personal experience of the author with these subjects and how important it was to her to explain them in an accessible way.