I found this week’s reading to be unique and absolutely intriguing. I really liked this week’s reading. It would be crazy for me to say that after this week’s reading, I have fully grasped the concept of gender identity, helping me answer ‘what is gender identity.” That is definitely not true. However, after reading the excerpts in “Beyond The Gender Binary” by author Alex V. Manon, I felt that I got closer to fully grasping the concept and understanding the definition of gender identity. Gender identity is something we as individuals identify as our own gender. Gender identity can relate to your sex given to you at birth, however, it can also be polar opposites. Gender expression also tends to relate to a person’s gender identity, but, like many things in life, there is not a solid explanation for everything. The excerpts from “Beyond The Gender Binary” tries to provide the readers with the necessary knowledge so they can form a better society in the future that is inclusive of all gender expressions and lifestyles. After reading the excerpts, I was somewhat able to identify myself a little better. I was able to further grasp what I thought was truly my gender identity, which I assume was also a reason as to why Manon wrote these excerpts. In “Beyond The Gender Binary,” Alok also tells readers to try and see gender not in black and white, but in full color. By explaining to the readers using their real-world experience as non-conforming gender artists, Manon shows readers how gender can be bent, changed, and shaped in many ways. Individuals should be able to express their gender however they like. We all belong on this planet and it is our home. We should be able to express how we want in our home. There really is no “normal” gender or gender expression. Cis gender is not the only way of expressing. The whole spectrum should be considered as ‘normal’, not just a small portion. However, what would really be the best option is to not normalize anything. The reason is because, once you normalize something there is bound to be something that is quote ‘not normal.’ And that is what we want to avoid. No one should be abnormal as everyone’s unique expression is beautiful. However, sadly, in today’s America, this is still not the case. Many individuals are still being targeted based on their gender expression, and that is extremely sad. We hear cases of gay bars being shot up in the middle of the night while people are having fun. It is also common to hear about how people who expresses themselves uniquely from others tends to also be bullied a lot in school and many lead to themselves into the dark hole of depression and sometimes worse, suicide. Many still lean towards hiding themselves because they are afraid of what others might do to them if they came out. Hopefully, this will change sooner rather than later. One method that will aid in solving this issue is definitely education. Schools across the country really need to continue the education of gender and sex so all spectrums can be accepted and no one’s lives are put in danger. Education will promote understanding and hopefully we can all live together happily and safely.