Compare Discworld, which has strongly gendered magic but is made very clear that it’s a cultural construct and anyone can learn either mode (or both, though generally not at once) if they have the right mindset and inclination.

there’s an explicitly trans male character that channels the appropriate magic. he’s considered the weird woman who channels male magic until it’s dropped that satan literally cursed him to live as a woman. it’s a very binary gender system but if you’re going to have eternal souls, it’s not an awful way to handle trans characters. there’s a lot wrong with the gender politics and Jordan sucks ass at writing women so there’s much riper targets to criticize the series over than this.

Love to have a cis man come at me about what is and isn’t gender essentialism because he perceives me as being a treat defender and therefore the target of his life’s vendetta.

Calling it a shallow read doesn’t imply anything of the sort. As others pointed out in more detail than me, there are better places to critique the books and how they handle gender. Which is the point of what I wrote.

I fucking knew when I wrote that reply I’d get an arrogant, condescending reply like this. I don’t like the vibe you’ve brought to hexbear since you’ve been here, and I will not reply further.

Fuck that is bleak to think about