Mentioned in Podcasts

Episode · The Ezra Klein Show · 2023-10-10

Books mentioned on We Need Better Narratives About Gender

5 books · With Masha Gessen · Watch on YouTube

Lydia Polgreen discussed The Dialectic of Sex by Shulamith Firestone and Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon. Masha Gessen recommended Conundrum by Jan Morris and Who’s Afraid of Gender? by Judith Butler, and discussed The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson.

Books mentioned, in the order they came up

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  1. The Dialectic of Sex

    Shulamith Firestone · at 18:22

    Discussed
    “and you know I often assign to my students shouth firestone's chapter down with childhood from the dialectic of sex”
    Lydia Polgreen We Need Better Narratives About Gender 2023-10-10 Listen at 18:22
    Where to get it
    AmazonListen on Audible

  2. The Argonauts

    Maggie Nelson · at 25:34

    The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson is a genre-bending work of autotheory that intertwines memoir, queer theory, and cultural criticism to explore pregnancy, love, identity, and gender transition.

    Discussed
    “and you know there's um there's a lovely passage in Maggie Nelson's the the Argonauts where she kind of accidentally or or coincidentally Compares gender transition to aging”
    Masha Gessen We Need Better Narratives About Gender 2023-10-10 Listen at 25:34
    Where to get it
    AmazonListen on Audible

  3. Far From the Tree

    Andrew Solomon · at 52:50

    Andrew Solomon's Far From the Tree is a comprehensive non-fiction exploration of how parents and children who are significantly different from each other navigate their relationships.

    Discussed
    “Andrew Solomon has this wonderful book far from the tree which is all about a variety of the horizontal identities so identities that are not passed on from parents to children”
    Lydia Polgreen We Need Better Narratives About Gender 2023-10-10 Listen at 52:50
    Where to get it
    AmazonListen on Audible

  4. Conundrum

    Jan Morris · at 1:04:08

    Conundrum by Jan Morris is a celebrated memoir that chronicles the author's pioneering journey as a transgender woman and renowned travel writer.

    Recommended
    “um I love Jan Morris's Memoir conundrum Jan Morris was the British travel writer the incredible travel writer who transitioned fairly late in life”
    Masha Gessen We Need Better Narratives About Gender 2023-10-10 Listen at 1:04:08
    Where to get it
    AmazonListen on Audible

  5. Who’s Afraid of Gender?

    Judith Butler · at 1:04:30

    Who’s Afraid of Gender? by Judith Butler is a critical examination of contemporary political panics and the organized backlashes against gender theory and queer studies.

    Recommended
    “and Judith Butler is coming out with a book called who's afraid of gender turns out a lot of people are afraid of gender”
    Masha Gessen We Need Better Narratives About Gender 2023-10-10 Listen at 1:04:30
    Where to get it
    AmazonListen on Audible
Link to this list from the episode’s show notes

For the whole show, see the The Ezra Klein Show page.