Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was somewhat disapointed. I picked the book up as I want to learn more about the nonbinary label, which is very "trendy" at the moment.

I was not aware it was only 40 pages long, which is also the main issue - the topic it tries to explore is too complex to properly examine in such a short page count.

Now, the artstyle. It's pretty, functional and clear. Unfortunately, it felt very "produced". The style is something you could easily find in a governmental awareness campaign or corporate PR stunt. It's just cold, there's no genuine feeling behind it. This makes the book seem like a corporate product.

The content itself... I was hoping it would be more informative. The scientific side is better explored than the social/cultural/personal aspect of gender. Perhaps this is due to the lack of space.

Perhaps this is my bias, but as a historian, the socio-cultural, political and historical aspects felt underdeveloped. The booklet makes some specific assertions that it doesn't substantiate properly.

This was such a beautiful exploration of gender in a biological and societal context! Even though the book is quite short, it manages to cover many topics, but sadly not in a lot of depth. However, if you are looking for a quick introduction to the topic, this is perfect, and it gives you many ideas of further topics to learn and research about! I thought I knew a lot about this topic, but even I learned a lot of new terminology and facts I didn't know before. It also criticizes colonialism and the current norms of gender in our language, which I thought was very important. Overall, I would really recommend the book!

“Trans or cis, we are all on gender journeys and all gender journeys are valid.“


This was a fast and fun read while also being extremely informative! I love that they chose to do this in the format of a graphic novel as it made it extremely accessible and and the way the the information is presented makes it easy to digest. This is a great intro to gender and the constructs surrounding it and I love that the sources have all been cited so we can use those recourses to continue researching!

I highly recommend to anyone who is trying to understand their own gender identity, if your trying to understand gender in general, or if you’re struggling with the concept of gender.

**Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing this ARC**

I nice little into to the spectrum and complexities of gender. A good book for allies and questioning young people

What an excellent little guide book! Gender really is strange! In this book we've got beautiful, fun, modern illustrations on every page. The text is legible and accessible unlike some other graphic novels I've read in this style. And there's some excellent representation in this book, featuring so many different types of bodies

This book is a lot of fun and is very progressive. They use accurate terminology and anatomic descriptions. It's beginner friendly and is probably meant for someone who wants a detailed overview on all the different facets of gender. I definitely learned some too, even though I've been reading about gender for years! There's value in this book for anyone.

A nice and quick introduction to gender (and explaining the differences between sex, gender and various genetic options in between), different identities based on different cultural contexts and a brief explanation of the structures that exist around us which may perpetuate a certain way of inhabiting gender.

This book is a great introduction to anyone questionning their gender or wanting to know a bit more on the topic in a very succinct and easy way. It's not too inf0-heavy because the illustrations break it up, though I'll say the text felt more important than any of the side-images, it's not exactly a comic even if it's illustrated in a very nice way.

<i>I received a complimentary copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review, which I leave voluntarily</i>

'The concept of "gender as a performance" underscores that a person's gender does not develop in a vacuum. We can embody in whatever way we desire, but others will assign gender to us however they see it.'

This books is wonderfully illustrated and an insightful read with language simple enough to consume whilst still educational. There's a variety of information with clear cited sources that make for a great read.

'The first step is to give yourself permission to actively question and explore your gender and gender presentation'

This is a great short, introductory read on gender and how society influences how we interact with our own gender and other people's. This is the kind of thing I like to keep on hand for people who haven't had a chance to learn as much about the queer community.

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

The book is very short but an enjoyable read. I find this book format very useful both because it is aesthetically beautiful to look at but also because it deals with delicate and important topics. I find that covering these types of topics in this way is a great alternative way to teach something.

I appreciate:
- the thoroughness of this book
- the well-cited debunking of scientific binaries in both sex and gender
- sharing examples of how gender is and has been constructed in non-white, non-Western, premodern, and other societies
- examples of how gender and sexuality binaries can create problems even for cisgender people, for instance by pressuring cisgender women to remove naturally occurring body hair.
- the page of questions which could be asked to help someone shape thinking on their own identity

I disliked:
- The point of a graphic text in science is accessibility, but despite token gestures in that direction, this is a scientist's text, and often unreadable to a layman. One example: "It would be super cool if specific effects of hormone therapy could be modulated through more selective hormone therapy and/or neuromodulation." "Super cool" and "neuromodulation" are not at the same reading level, so who is this text for? I just don't see a connection between graphic illustration, generally to broaden the audience, and a book that retains the sentence "21-hydroxylase deficiency, the most common cause of congenital adrenal hyperplasia... which can cause buildup of androgen hormones and 'masculinization' of external genitalia in an XX fetus with ovaries and uterus internally."
- I worry that someone who needs both the colonial and gender/sexuality messages of this book won't get them because the book presumes the reader is already extremely far left on both topics. For instance, the reader is expected to be mentally "decolonized" to the point that they are prepared to see the phrase "Turtle Island - the unceded territory named North and Central America by colonizers." Not even all Native groups use this phrase. I
- I'm disappointed that the pages are so crowded instead of having more pages with larger text

This book was so good and was such an important book with a necessary message, I loved everything about it, the illustrations were so well done, they suited the book perfectly, the story was amazing as well, even thought is very short I could really connect with the characters. I’m sure the kids are going to be just as enthralled with this amazing book as I was. I will definitely recommend! Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this early copy

“Gender is Really Strange” is a short - but surprisingly advanced - visual introduction to the concept of gender diversity. It does a fantastic job of examining gender through a multidisciplinary lens. Goetz includes bits of information from the fields of biology, psychology, sociology, history, etc. In fact, I actually wanted this book to be longer so that all of these different perspectives could get the time and space that they deserve.

With its illustrated format and small size, I could see this book leaving a beginner with more questions than it answers. And while I suppose that isn’t necessarily a bad thing for an introductory text, I can see how someone may feel like they simultaneously learned an overwhelming amount and almost nothing at all. The information simply moves that quickly.

Still, I would definitely recommend this to folks who are ready to challenge their ideas & knowledge about gender but don't know where to start. The art style is stunningly simple without feeling generic. There are a few really great opportunities for reflection. And, what I enjoyed most of all, was the consistent focus on multiculturalism - complete with explicit recognition of the harms that colonization & white supremacy have brought to folks all over the globe. For such a quick read, it certainly offers a lot to digest.

Gender is Really Strange is a really well constructed and informative graphic non fiction.
Ranging from history to current definitions, this will be a great starting point for people looking to learn more about gender identity and gender diversity.
I am looking forward to being able to recommend it to the local high school librarians as I believe it will be a very important resource for them to have on hand.

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This was a really creative way to present non-fiction topics. This is the first book I've read in the Really Strange Series, but the concept is fascinating. It takes everyday topics that we talk about or should be talking about and puts them into graphic novel format backed up with factual information. The format makes the information approachable and easy to digest.

This installment focuses on gender obviously, and addresses when the concept of gender norms were accepted by society and presents and interesting points for nature vs nurture. I enjoyed the various facts presented around science, various cultures, and society with relation to gender. I learned quite a bit from this small book.

I really enjoyed the art in the book and would have loved more pages. There is only so much that can be delivered in around 40 pages and I would have happily consumed more. I'm a data person so I would have loved more charts, figures, and data. You can tell from the citations/endnotes that a ton of research went into the creation of this novel, I would have loved to see more of it come to life on the pages.

The creators did a great job in portraying that gender is complex and strange when you think about it.

When I requested and was granted access to the ARC by NetGalley and the publisher, I didn't realize it was a graphic novel. I was pleasantly surprised by the balance of beautiful artwork and descriptive text. I loved the science-based explanations and the diversity of other cultural and religious terminologies. As a neurodivergent "estradiol-dominant hormone environment", I was thrilled to see the Autigender flag and description included as well. I read this in one sitting because it's only 40 pages. And yet, this short book is packed full of interesting and important information.
I give it 4.5 stars because I wanted it to be longer. LOL

I am often frustrated by the claim frequently found in Internet comment sections... "there are only two genders!" That naive insistence ignores chromosomal "abnormalities", hormone fluctuations, the impact of colonialism and white supremacy, and literally thousands of years of cultural experience to the contrary.

"Gender is Really Strange" is both a quick read (presented as a graphic book) and incredibly informative (heavily annotated). It makes every effort to make a very complicated subject accessible, and it mostly succeeds. (I'm a 50 year old ally who reads extensively and has advanced degrees and I still found new and unfamiliar info here!) Due to the complexities of the science, this book is probably best read by high schoolers or older, but even those who don't understand all of the info contained will be struck by the revelation of the intricacies of gender and gender expression.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and #NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.
#GenderisReallyStrange

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read the e-ARC!

In addition to the beautiful arts, this book talks about gender in a detailed manner but still managed to explain things in a simple way. I admire everything here and had a fun time reading through it. A very helpful one too!

This book is so beautiful! It perfectly explains different gender identities and going into their history and cultural relevance, but the language is also simple enough that it could be given to a young teenager to help them discover more about themselves. Loved it so much!

Gender is Really Strange and this is really true, we are beautiful complex beings filled with all of these chemicals and we do not need to be forced to be one thing or another. This is a non-fiction info graphic filled with lots of medical, sociological, psychological, cultural information about what is gender. Examining various societies that do not conform to the Western European discourses, because this often erases Indigenous experiences and culture. And the information highlights the importance of allowing indigenous terms to live without equation.

Highly recommend for high school and older (only because of the terms used - lots of specific medical terms), and given in conjunction with other books about gender (I would recommend reading this along with Fine: A Comic About Gender by Rhea Ewing).

5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the access to this early Advanced Reader Copy. This is my honest opinion.

I loved this in-depth but introductory book about gender, it definitely has some really important notes and ideas that I think everyone should read especially those who do not understand transgender and non-binary as labels.

Also note there is a missing quotation mark on page five around feminine.