Book Review: Go Figure! By Lisa Falco
Written by Lindsey, a WoLF Volunteer
Strangely, the answer to the question "What is a woman?" (an adult human female) has become controversial. Science knows far more about the differences between the sexes now than at any other point in history. One of the best ways to make it less controversial is for all of us to understand the science of the all-encompassing impacts of the uniquely female hormonal cycle, the anatomy, physiology, and changes that happen over a lifetime.
Lisa Falco's book Go Figure!, published in 2021, does a fantastic job of describing the science of the female body. The book is very detailed; it's filled with references from scientific papers (nearly 700 references!), and yet it is still highly readable and personal. She mixes personal and friend experiences with scientific studies throughout the book.
Go Figure! thoroughly examines the whole life cycle–puberty, fertile years (including menstruation, problems with menstruation, contraception, pregnancy, lactation, and postpartum experiences), and menopause. It also covers the impact of female hormones and female anatomy on all of the other body systems and organs. The cycle of female hormones impacts everything from the immune system, the heart and lung functions, bone density, memory, and even vision.
I recently assigned the book to my sixteen-year-old daughter as required reading. She also enjoyed the book and found it reassuring to understand the functions and cycles going on in her body. She says many of the technical terms in the book were new to her but that she found it interesting to learn how reproductive hormones affect nearly everything about the body.
There was one odd passage in the book. In the chapter titled, "What makes a woman?" the author states, "...even if we only consider the definition of sex, it is not straightforward… There is no clearly defined line, and what one would think was a purely biological question cannot be answered without being political." She then gives a beautiful, 275-page, purely biological description of precisely what is happening inside a female body without the slightest reference to “the political.” It is, in fact, a remarkably, refreshingly apolitical book!
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