Debra Soh — The End of Gender

The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths about Sex and Identity in Our Society is a book by Canadian sexologist and columnist Debra Soh. It was published on August 4, 2020, by Threshold Editions, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Soh conducted doctoral research on sexuality and the brain before leaving academia to become a writer.

What it is about

The book is structured around a series of views that Soh calls myths. She argues that sex is biologically determined, that differences between men and women have a partly biological basis, and that gender cannot be separated from this. She is critical of transition at a young age and believes that young people should reach adulthood before taking significant steps. She also argues that bans on conversion therapy wrongly treat sexual orientation and gender identity as equivalent.

Reception and criticism

The book was welcomed by readers who believe current policies go too far. Researchers and doctors who work with transgender young people disputed her interpretation of studies on gender dysphoria and described her tone as alarmist. The book is therefore an example of the divisions within the scientific debate.

The author

Debra Soh earned a bachelor's degree from Ryerson University and a master's degree and doctorate in psychology from York University. In 2016, she completed her PhD on brain research into paraphilic hypersexuality in men. She later wrote for, among others, Quillette, The Globe and Mail, Playboy, the Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal. From May 2018, she co-hosted the podcast Wrongspeak with Jonathan Kay; in 2021, she began her own podcast. Her second book, Sextinction: The Decline of Sex and the Future of Intimacy, was published in February 2026.

Structure of the book

The book is 336 pages long and examines nine claims, each in its own chapter. According to Soh, it is a myth that biological sex is a spectrum, that gender is a social construct, that there are more than two genders, and that sexual orientation and gender identity have nothing to do with each other. She also disputes the claims that children with gender dysphoria must undergo transition, that there is no difference between trans women and women who were born female, that women should behave like men in sex and dating, that gender-neutral parenting works, and that sexology and social justice are compatible. The organization Genspect has included the book in its reading list. Explanations of the terms used can be found under terms; the discussion of transition at a young age is revisited under young people.