Abstract
What Even Is Gender? by R. A. Briggs and B. R. George is an essential read for anyone who is looking to grasp the practical challenges of gender rather than just its abstract philosophical aspects. Authored by two nonbinary, trans scholars, this book seeks to unpack the diverse meanings frequently associated with the term, ‘gender,’ to suggest methods for distinguishing among them and to illustrate how combining these meanings under a single term can be problematic. The book clearly states that its target audience consists of “people who have trouble reconciling their own gendered experiences” and “people who, while broadly sympathetic to the goals of trans inclusion and trans liberation” (p.3) feel some discomfort with the conceptual ambiguities, seeming contradictions, and metaphysical uncertainties within the prevailing discourse of trans politics. While books written for the first category of readers are not that uncommon, an academic discussion is unusual that aims at people who are not threatened by trans politics yet are confused by ‘gender critical’ arguments.
The book is divided into six chapters, each core chapter analyzing a different notion of gender identity. The introduction sets the stage by exploring contemporary issues surrounding gender, analysing various conflicting perspectives, and examining how these render nonbinary identities unintelligible. The book, from its very beginning, acknowledges the fact that trans people can often seem dangerously unintelligible. However, the authors explain this apparent lack by pointing out the ‘hostile epistemic environment’ that disrupts the ability of trans people to achieve knowledge and an understanding of trans lives and, therefore, interferes with their capacity for making their perspectives understandable to others who are not trans people. Briggs and George also call attention to ‘a hermeneutical injustice’ present in the gender discourse that “unfairly impairs society's ability to make meaning out of trans lives” (p.9). In the second chapter, titled ‘All the Feels: Against Gender Identity,’ the authors present their provocative perspective on the discourse surrounding gender identity, describing it as an overburden and an “unhelpful oversimplification” (p.14), proposing an alternative to gender identity – gender feels. Briggs and George introduce a rather interesting term ‘sexed biology’, a gendered trait that is biological but not necessarily natural or endogenous, which plays a crucial role in gender feels.
As the book moves forward, it critiques the detrimental impacts or the ‘norms’ of the gender system. These norms are analysed under three main traits – category, behaviour, and biology – and their combinations, another novel approach to understand the shortcomings of gender identity. The authors also touch on gender abolitionism, arguing that many abolitionists emphasize eliminating gendered behaviours and categories rather than targeting the underlying norms that negatively affect society. A huge part of the book is dedicated to affirming the legitimacy of self-reported gender experiences “not because there is anything morally distinctive about gender feels, but because our default presumption should be to take one another's inner lives seriously” (p.102). Briggs and George also examine the various ‘brainworms’ used by critics to undermine the desires of trans individuals, while challenging numerous prejudices and patriarchal conditioning surrounding trans bodies.
Gender self-determination, a controversial topic in gender critical rhetoric, is discussed in Chapter Five, titled ‘Our Princess is in Another Castle: There is no Essence of Womanhood’. Expanding on Bettcher's (2009) and Bornstein's (1994) idea of ‘ethical first-person authority’ and ‘consensual gender,’ respectively, Briggs and George argue that “gender categorization should be self-determined” (p.137) while gender categories remain irreducible. The latter part of the chapter addresses the gender-critical rhetoric and challenges often raised in popular discourse such as, ‘then define a woman.’ However, despite a genuine effort to explain self-determined gender categorization and its legitimacy, the explanation becomes increasingly complex and difficult to follow given the intended readership. The concluding chapter revisits the problematic slogans of gender identity and criticizes its essentialist approaches.
What Even Is Gender? makes a substantial contribution to both academic and popular discussions on gender by introducing the concept of ‘gender feels’ and its various components as opposed to gender identity. The book equips trans individuals with language to advocate for medical interventions and to dispel gender-critical misunderstandings. In sections following each new argument, Briggs and George address potential readers’ concerns and doubts. For instance, when the arguments get fuzzy, the authors acknowledge the fuzziness and explain why. Similarly, when the term ‘feels’ sounds silly in an academic sense, they dedicate a session to explain why it is not. However, the work could have been strengthened by addressing a few policy concerns, given that its primary focus was urgent practical concerns rather than abstract philosophical dimensions. The book draws a lot from feminist epistemology and targets both trans-feminists and trans-exclusionary radical feminists simultaneously. Overall, What Even Is Gender? offers a practical language for navigating gender discourse and to help understand trans lives.
