This is a pretty basic introduction to the different concepts and ideas surrounding gender and identity. If you’re someone who’s already familiar with most of these terms it can come across as repetitive but for someone who is completely new and is just starting to learn about this I believe it’s incredibly helpful, there’s so much to learn and question, this book did a fantastic job with it. It includes the experiences of many people within different gender identities, as well as encouraging the reader to think deeply about gender and providing thoughtful questions that can help with it.

as someone who identifies as non-binary and never knows how to inform or educate those around me, this feels like a good starting place. obviously it cannot cover every identity or orientation but it is a good place to start and branch out from. the inclusion of places in the book to leave your thoughts or write what you have learned is amazing to me. the interactive aspect would also make it easier to gift this sort of book to maybe a middle or high school student struggling with their own identity

There was obviously a lot of work that went into this book. The illustrations and the layout are wonderful. The questions that are interspersed throughout the book make the information more approachable and encourage readers to reflect on their own ideas about gender.

However, I struggle to find something new that this book brings to the gender discourse. It seems best suited for folks who have never really thought about gender before; individuals who might not even know where to start when Googling for information. In fact, I would argue that it would be best suited for teenagers rather than adults.

If you are already familiar with basic gender-related terminology within the LGBTQIA2S+ community, you will likely find yourself getting bored with this primer. Sure, you may learn a new identity term here or there. But in my experience, it mirrored most “Trans 101” trainings that I have ever facilitated or participated in.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Obviously, there is still a lack of education and empathy surrounding LGBTQIA2S+ experiences - and that makes introductory books like this important. At the same time, the description promised a “deep dive into the historical context of LGBTQIA+ rights activism and the evolution of gender discourse, politics, and laws” which I did not feel was delivered. I simply wanted more. I wanted to be challenged to truly rethink gender, especially at this more nuanced stage of my own personal identity journey.

9/10
Rethinking Gender is a non-fiction guide to different gender identities and gender as a social construct. As a non-binary person and a Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies college major, I thought that everything in here was really well written and explained without being bogged down by academic language. I appreciated the diverse identities being shown and explained, and the conversation behind intersectionality is very important. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning more about gender!

The approach that this book takes to gender and breaking down all of the different branches was so intriguing to read about. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about the queer community as someone who is a part of it and there were some terms that I wasn't even aware of. And it felt good to have a book that was there to be a guide for people to see how society forces people to interact with gender and what changes you can make to better your own view and how you view and treat other people. Having interactive pages and questions throughout the book was also an interesting addition that I think will be fun to see in a physical copy.

I loved that they started out with the discussion of intersectionality and how even though being queer is a minority, being white/thin/able-bodied/etc. brings privilege that other queer people don't have. The author, who is white, makes sure to mention this and how they benefit from white privilege and to make sure that it's understood there are terms and aspects of gender that are not for the white community and they may also not be as knowledgeable on (though they do site sources and ask to be corrected or informed of anything that might be wrong or could be added, which I thought was great!).

This is a book that I would personally want to have in my own library to have on hand to help people better understand gender and gender presentation and how to be respectful of other people.

Thank you to NetGalley and MIT Press for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book! The following is my honest review.

Rethinking Gender is a great introduction to gender constructs and to the spectrum of gender that exists without claiming that it knows everything. It also made me re-think biases I still have from growing up in a binary world even as I make efforts to re-learn gender as a spectrum. I love the shared experiences throughout the book as it feels more personal. The strongest message I get from this book is to respect other people’s identities, whatever they may be. We’re all still learning and growing, or as the book says, “We’re all still figuring this stuff out.” I like that the book points out intersectionality as an essential part of the conversation.

As for the style of the book, the art is very pleasing to the eye. My absolute favourite part is that the book encourages the reader to interact with its ideas, giving space to write thoughts, answers to questions, or one's own musings. It makes me wish I had my own physical copy.

Giving this book 4.5 stars. I would recommend this book, especially for those looking to learn or to feel seen.

I loved it! I think it contained the perfect amount of information to be a great guide and a great educational source, and it was so easy to read and with great illustrations. I loved that it had space to reflect around the ideas presented without becoming a journal, and the diversity of experiences and opinions around each concept made it really interesting. I felt like this was a great tool for people of all ages to learn about gender, and it gave me many tools to open conversations about gender with my younger siblings.
I also felt like it had the perfect amount of happy vs sad experiences, because being lgbtiqa+ can be either & both, so it felt realistic and encouraging to people who are beginning to understand and explore their identity.

Rethinking Gender by Louie Lauger gives a perfect primer and easy lessons on how to do just that... rethink gender. There's a wealth of introductory information here, as well as some well-thought out explorations of topics that long-time advocates will find engaging.

Wow! This a great comprehensive guide for understanding the spectrums of gender and sex. As a nonbinary person, I wish I had this graphic novel when I was first starting to dive into my own experiences with gender. It's very educational without being bombarded with academic language.

I think that this could a bit more helpful if you understand the absolute basics about gender and need further education. While it does a great job of describing everything, I think it can be a lot for someone to pick up on right away. I suggest taking this one slow.

With that said, I think it's a great companion piece to what I personally consider essential graphic novel reading for folks trying to understand the gender spectrum:
A Quick & Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities
A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns
Gender Queer: A Memoir by by Maia Kobabe
Rethinking Gender by Louie Läuger

This book is eye-opening. It is very clear and concise on the topic of the gender binary and the harm it caused to society. I was informed of the different gender expressions and how to respect others. When this book comes out, I highly recommend everyone reads it.

When I started reading this book I thought it was a great introductory guide to gender as a social construct, but slowly the book started to open me up to unconscious biases that I hadn’t even realized I had. There is so much to learn even if gender studies is familiar to you. A couple of the things that stood out to me were:
- Addressing the misconception that all trans people knew from a young age that they were “trapped in the wrong body” or that they even feel that way at all. While this might be used to make more sense to cis people, it can also serve as a gatekeeping method and make people feel they aren’t “trans enough.”
- The definition of a multitude of different identities (so many I hadn’t even heard of before), as described by the people who claim them. It really opened my eyes to an amazing range of diversity and the ways people have found spaces outside the gender binary.
- How it might be best when introducing yourself to share your name and your pronouns (opening the door for the other person to share their own and letting them know you will support them), but not necessarily to ask the other person for their pronouns because some trans people or questioning people can feel dysphoria or lingering trauma surrounding them, or it’s not the most welcoming environment to share.

The biggest thing for me was probably how open the book was about the process of questioning your own identity. I think sometimes it can feel like there is a pressure to define who you are (maybe even especially when you know who you are not), and it was continually reiterated that questioning your identity, trying things out, going back and forth… it’s all perfectly normal and “uncertainty is courageous.”

I love the illustration and the way in which gender (and other themes) is discussed. I think it will be an extremely useful education tool!

Wow! I loved this. It’s a great way to flip the script and look at gender in a new way. It’s how gender isn’t just a binary and can be very diverse! I loved the illustrations and tone of the book. It’s very friendly and welcoming. I learned a lot, and I love the author left space for thoughts. I think this would be excellent for those who are questioning or even know their identity just to see the awesome various reps in the book. Honestly, this was so beautiful to me as an agender person and I couldn’t love this book more if I tried

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the digital review copy.

This was a really great summary of gender topics that can be hard to cover with people! It was very open and accepting. The illustrations were lovely (the outfit inspo is real) and I liked how they included so many lived experiences.

I thoroughly enjoyed this educational book! I thought that the information was provided in a way that was easy to understand and digest, and the artwork was nice to look at. I feel like I learned a lot about official terms for things that have to do with gender. I especially enjoyed the section on intersex people, particularly the parts about how they have historically been oppressed and mistreated because it made me think more about my own privilege and how so many peoples' hardships from the past are swept under the rug. Overall I really enjoyed this book and am glad I took the time to read it! Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

thank you to netgalley for an e-arc of rethinking gender!

i absolutely loved this book, the illustrations, the personal anecdotes, other peoples experiences with their own gender and the level of education that is in this book makes me feel so seen and accepted within my own gender identity. i cannot wait for this book to be published to show my family to use it as a tool to help them come to terms with my identity, as i have failed to explain it properly in the past, but this book perfectly word’s everything i have been trying to say.

i also loved the aspect of the interactive pages, and the room to make notes after each chapter, and feel that that is a very useful and valuable part of the layout of the book, as gender is a complicated thing to come to terms with, and being given the opportunity to lay out your own thoughts is an amazing idea :)

10/10 would recommend!

- lottie 🌻

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of Rethinking Gender!

It was a beautiful, well-researched, informative, and engaging guide to the complex and multi-layered concept of gender. The amount of work and time the author put into it was evident.

Using simple language, clever illustrations, and various perspectives, it serves as an easy and educational read, which I think should be on everyone's shelf, queer or not queer. For me, the most important part of the book was that it promoted respect, understanding, and kindness- things our society lacks when it comes to diverse communities.

Books like this one should be on every high school's curriculum.

i was absolutely so excited when this appeared on my shelf! author and illustrator, Louie Lauger, wrote this as part of their masters degree which i think is amazing.

rethinking gender is informative guide to gender, without having it all figured out. demonstrating that gender identities are always growing and changing, while still giving an in-depth guide to what we currently know. it includes illustrations, comments from peers and queer individuals and discussion points for the reader to think about and answer themselves.

i loved reading this, as a non binary person it’s so brilliant to see more people talking about different gender identities, gender expressions etc. this book is great if you want to learn more about gender, no matter how you identify. i learned a whole lot while reading this and it also helped me understand my own identity more!

the illustrations are amazing and they genuinely help make it feel not so daunting to read about gender identities (as it can be a hard topic for some)

i really liked that each chapter has a discussion section, in which you could answer questions given by the author or just write down your own thoughts and opinions. i think that can really help open up more conversations around gender.

the end of the book has links and phone numbers to resources that people can contact (these links are USA, Canada and UK based though so be aware of that)
the resources section also includes books and even youtubers that you can search, which i think is a great step, as some people want to find similarly identifying people without talking to a hotline, which is when YouTube can be great!

i would recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about gender, no matter your gender identity!

Thank you net galley for sending me a free copy of Rethinking Gender: An Illustrated Exploration



This was one of my first non fiction reads,and I am extremely glad I chose it,due to how easy it was to read. The use of scientific terms in regards of gender,was balanced out with the illustrations which made the book more easily understood. The mention and elaboration in regards of how capitalization,sexism,racism and disabilities also play part in ones gender, and how they choose to perform it,was also incredibly well written. The author made sure to also refer to historical events, in regards of intersexuality,trans rights ect. as well as include real life experiences of people talking about their own gender, and discrimination they have faced.


The book overall managed to give the reader the sense of comfort and safety to explore while simultaneously teaching them information in regards of self identity. I wish the writer would of included a bit more information about different genders but other than that,this was an excellent read that I absolutely recommend for anyone trying to understand more about gender and it's roles in our society.

Without claiming to have it all figured out or knowing the perfect definition for this widely complex subject, Rethinking Gender is a lively, informative, and engaging guide by an author-illustrator who helps readers understand the multiplicity of answers to “What even is gender?”

Considering the complex nature of the subject matter, I found Rethinking Gender incredibly accessible. For those with a passing interest, you will find the book highly educational and a quick, easy read. Many others may see themselves in these pages and wish to spend longer engaging with the concepts raised and the emotions they bring up.

Depending on your previous reading experience with gender, I think it's best to consider this book as a rewarding introductory text, rather than a deep dive. It's a guide, not a tome. You can expect a broad overview with brief explanatory detail. I appreciated how much space in the book is given to other contributors, with varied experiences and perspectives. I enjoyed how the book emphasises respect, compassion, understanding, and education. The illustrations add a nice contemporary touch. Often I struggled to know whether the first-person PoV was referring to the author or to a contributor, although this may have been due to the formatting of my ARC. While I appreciate the blanket anonymity of contributors, I think it could be helpful to separate off each individual contribution under anonymised 'names' e.g. AB with no identifying details, simply for the sake of readability.

I found it interesting that there was no mention of TERFs in the chapter on feminism. Rather than ignoring the issue, my personal view is that this book is a rebuttal to that screed in general, and I am assuming it was felt there was no value in engaging with this cruel viewpoint. I liked the emphasis on reflecting on intersectionality, as well as the chapter towards the end on coming out/inviting in, which I think offers helpful advice for those trusted with others' truth. While I think it is a little simplistic to suggest not sharing informative posts on social media can be a sign of tacitly remaining silent in the face of injustice (this might have been an appropriate place to reference the mental health burden for many), overall I think Rethinking Gender is a welcome addition to the gender shelves and will offer something to many readers at different stages of their learning.

I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for proividing an ARC of Rethinking Gender. These opinions are my own.