Further, even when expressions of gender are at odds with one's biological sex, this, too, is mediated by biology. For 99 per cent of the population, gender correlates with sex.

She argues that gender - or the set of characteristics that signal one's sex to society - is also dimorphic. It's now popular to state that there are more than two genders, but Soh disputes this. With the exception of rare intersex disorders, 99 per cent of the population has a clearly defined biological sex that slots into one of two dimorphic categories: male or female. One's sex, Soh argues, is determined by his or her gametes. For example, sex and gender are not interchangeable concepts, even though they are often treated as such. So much of the debate around the most difficult topics of sex and gender stem from the simple fact that we are misusing the basic language. Rather, the controversy the book will inevitably incite is a reflection of a culture that has been warped into a state of existential terror by the very notion that these ideas can be responsibly discussed. Soh's approach and tone are largely neutral. That's not because these subjects ought to be contentious. The End of Gender stomps on tripwires like the gender binary, whether transgender women are women, autogynephilia, Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria, bathroom bans, and more.

It maps the depth, scope and scale of current Culture War trenches in this particular theatre of battle. What gives the title its sizzle is not the content, but rather the cultural climate in which it is being published.

No, this book could only have been published in Hell Year 2020 because at any time previous, any canny publisher would have asked: 'Why? What's the point? Who would buy a book laying out the basic science underpinning sex and gender? Why would readers shell out money for something that explains what most of us already know?'įor that, at its heart, is what Soh's book is: a lucid discussion of the best science we have to date on the nature of gender and sex, written for a lay audience. Not because the book reveals any groundbreaking scientific truths, nor because the intellectual environment has grown more expansive or freewheeling - the opposite is true. The thing about Debra Soh's new book, The End of Gender: Debunking Myths About Sex and Identity, is that it wouldn’t have been published five years ago.

The end of gender dr debra soh