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.

Loved this week’s reading. What is gender identity? Gender identity is the personal sense of one’s own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person’s assigned sex at birth or can differ from it. Gender expression typically reflects a person’s gender identity, but this is not always the case. Beyond the Gender Binary” attempts to give us the tools to build a better future. In doing so, Alok indirectly gives us the tools to more clearly understand how we feel. Beyond the Gender Binary, Alok Vaid Menon challenges the world to see gender not in black and white, but in full color. Taking from their own experiences as gender-nonconforming artists, they show us that gender is a malleable and creative form of expression. As a person, I should be able to do whatever way I want to show the world. I should not have to worry about what society will think about me. When the focus is placed solely on normative gender and sexual binary identities, it gives gender creativity an “abnormal” label and can prevent people from exploring a full and healthy range of gender identity and expression. That’s why interventions in health care that support moving beyond the binary are so important. Moving beyond the binary not only validates the spectrum/continuum of gender identities and expressions but also asserts that there is nothing wrong with existing outside of the gender binary. Some gender non-conforming people are nonbinary, and some are men and women. It depends on each person’s experience. Two people can look similar and be completely different genders. Gender is not what people look like to other people; it is what we know ourselves to be. No one else should be able to tell you who you are; that’s for you to decide. 

 I loved ‘Fem’s’Post. It was very powerful to me. It said “That means I sometimes identify as Girl? Boy? Neither? Or Both?. Honesty we should be able to identify ourselves as we wish to. It should not matter if I am Gay, Straight, Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgender, because we all are human beings and we all are equal. I believe it is the same as being tall or short, black-brown- yellow or white, being thin or fat, having a short nose to a flat nose or whatever. WE ALL ARE UNIQUE, the way God made/sent us. We all have the right to exist, equally. We don’t need to oblige anyone by believing their beliefs and faking our own life! Period. We should never fake ourselves to make someone else feel comfortable around us. We should find a way to educate people to understand that it’s okay to be Gay, or Straight, or Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgender. We want a world where boys can feel, girls can lead, and the rest of us can not only exist but thrive. This is not about erasing men and women but rather acknowledging that man and woman are two of many stars in a constellation that do not compete but amplify one another’s shine.

I found this week’s readings to be very informative but frustrating. In the book, ”Beyond the Gender Binary” by Alok Vaid-Menon we read about the injustices that individuals experience when they identify non-binary. Throughout the reading, we learn how non-binary individuals feel, what they experience, how society affects them, and insight on the four categories of dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope. Personally, throughout the reading I found myself agreeing with Alok Vaid-Menon when explaining change needs to happen so everyone can be accepted. However, I disagree with the tone they demand it in.

  In the book, ”Beyond the Gender Binary” by Alok Vaid-Menon, I believe Menon’s goal is to show the injustice of non-binary individual’s experiences on a day-to-day basis. Menon argues that the non-binary community is in danger by the society we live in today. Laws have been passed to specifically target them, there are attempts to isolate and degrade their community. For example in the book says, “the local, state, and federal levels targeting gender non-conforming people by attempting to prohibit curriculum about us, banning us from public accommodations, denying us access to legal protections at work, and barring our access to healthcare.” I happen to agree, coming from a huge city, I have seen institutions that ban their community with signs. I somewhat agree with Menon’s term on those who have “power.” I think recently people have been more accepting to the LGBTQ community because of reforms that have been passed. So I agree that society changes based on those who have “power” to an extent. Menon continues by explaining the stereotypes and biases of non-binary individuals only make the situation worse. These people who have biases are in these four categories, which are dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope. In each category, there are statements that these people who have biases say to brush off the non-binary community. I have heard a few of these statements in my life and it does frustrate me how small-minded these people are. One of these statements says, “If we allow people to self-determine their genders, then pretty soon people are going to start identifying as frying pans…” making a joke about a serious topic is very immature. People who say jokes like this don’t take the community seriously or want to have that long debatable discussion. When I read this statement I thought about my classmate, Sadira Mohammed’s snapshot. The snapshot shows a sticker that says, “I am gay, I am straight, I am lesbian, I am bisexual, I am transgendered, I AM HUMAN.” This community is human beings. They deserve to be treated equally as everyone else. Whatever they choose to identify as we all are human. 

While I agree with most of Menon’s thoughts and the message they are trying to get across, I do not agree with the tone Menon uses. Personally, I think their tone is angry and it is forwarded to everyone who is not considered non-binary. Of course, they should be angry at the injustices they face by those individuals with biases and who do not want to conform, but I was frustrated that they were blaming all non-binary people. In the book, Menon uses blames people who pick genders for their babies, or the colors they choose to put on the baby, etc for the non-conformity society has. I don’t think this is fair to be blaming others. Parents should still have those choices. We should be working together, not having an us vs. them tone/mentality. Gender expression is not just man/women, it is not black and white,  we all have our own forms of expression and identity.

I found this week’s reading to be very interesting because it discusses in-depth length how Gender Binary is so important in our society than any other Gender people claim to be. It also explains how people of different Gender other than man/woman or male/female are being treated in our society. A member of our class Raquel Hernandez explains this through their snapshots. In their post, we see a written instruction that shows where people who identify as HE/HIM or SHE/HER are meant to enter or use but those who identify as THEY/THEM are restricted or have no place to enter all because such gender is not accepted in our society, also because the only gender known and valued is MALE/FEMALE, so any other gender people claim to be is against the culture and not recognized. The reading also provides us with an accessible understanding of gender fluidity showing us how a world Beyond the Gender Binary of man and woman creates more freedom for everyone.  

Alok Vaid-Menon writes about how the enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life. She said “Babies are born and divided into one of two categories. These categories of boy or girl affect how we treat the baby when they cry, what clothes we dress the baby, what toys we allow the baby to play with, and so on” (pp.29). She also talked about how before a baby is born, well-wishes and family often ask, “is it a boy or a girl” (pp.29) because babies become more important when their gender is known and knowing if the baby is a boy/girl is also part of the culture. 

Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themselves. They teach that boys are strong, aggressive, rational and girls are weak, nice, and emotional. This has always been done constantly and with so much authority that people do not recognize that they’re doing it or what harm it will cause. Sometimes we take this message lightly but later it becomes more serious depending on any of the genders we assign to them, boy or girl. We tend to harm children when people try to impose gender and responsibility on them. Beyond the Gender Binary also breaks down some arguments that are often leveled against people who lived beyond the gender binary. Some of these arguments were divided into four categories: Dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope. 

Also, the author states that “Gender is not what people look like to other people; it is what we know ourselves to be. No one else should be able to tell you who you are, that’s for you to decide” (pp.45). That said,” if people of gender non-conforming weren’t taken for granted and dismissed as a conspiracy, a lot of people would spend less time panicking about the future of the legal system and more time being concerned with the injustices we face today” (pp.57). 

  This week’s reading “Beyond The Gender Binary” By Alok Vaid was very interesting and eye-opening. This reading expanded on the daily struggles the LGBTQ+ community, specifically speaking on gender non-conforming and non-binary folks face on a daily basis. While reading this excerpt, I found myself in total shock. I was aware that this community, unfortunately, faced a lot of struggles because of how they chose to identify, however, I was not aware of its extent. 

In this reading, Alok explains many points that I found very interesting. The first point that caught my eye was when Alok explains that the majority of the conversations surrounding the topic of gender non-conforming and non-binary people are mostly about people’s views and opinions on the topic rather than these people being able to open up about and sharing their personal experiences. This is almost like a backhanded space for them. They portray this image of a safe space for these people to be able to express their experiences and feelings but are actually made to be spaces for others to drop their unprompted opinions. Another point that caught my eye was when Alok explained how the bias and discrimination against this community are not only continuing but also being given a “green light” or the OK for it to be done with no consequence. Throughout the years there have been multiple rules and laws against discrimination with punishments that can lead up to jail time, however when it comes to this topic, that goes out the window. So much for equality right? Lastly, I found it very interesting when Alok states that local, state, and federal levels have been targeting these specific groups of people by denying them healthcare, banning them from public accommodation, and much more. Some places have even banned them from being protected by civil law. There should be no reason – with no exception, to why people-just like everyone else can’t have the same medical coverage, go to certain public events, or even be protected by their own legal civil rights only due to how they chose to express themselves and love who they want. Why are people so pressed on other people’s love life? Seriously though, how do someone else’s love life and identity affect you. I always said if it’s not going to pay your bills, why to pay so much mind to it. Let people love who they love, be who they want to be, and keep it pushing with your life. 

With the topic of identity in mind, there was a snapshot posted by a classmate, Kevin Kimble that I enjoyed and thought would go great with this response. This snapshot was two pictures of Jaden Smith. In one picture, Jaden was wearing a dress, and in the other picture, a skirt. In this image, Jaden is breaking the gender role that men need to dress up in suits and ties or jeans and a basic tee, while women can only wear dresses/skirts. Wearing these outfits doesn’t make Jaden any less of a man nor does it change their identity, it simply means they are comfortable wearing this and are able to express themself this way. Clothes are meant to be worn as a form of expression of yourself. This is how a lot of people express themselves and their creativity while also being comfortable. There should be no gender role and there is no need to bash someone or make them feel any less of themselves due to what they feel comfortable wearing. 

I thought the read was interesting and insightful. When Alok said “A lot more airtime is given to other people’s views of us than our own experiences” I thought about the media I see when it comes to the gender binary and discrimination and I tend to hear on larger platforms from cis men and on social media and mutual aid organizations from people who are actually a part of these communities. Gender fluidity even while living in New York, may seem more supported, is societally discriminated against. In NY, where we often hide behind our alleged progressiveness we ignore police brutality, evictions in the state of a pandemic emergency, and other atrocities that are swept under the rug – discrimination against those who don’t fall under being a cis man or woman, is widespread. As Alok said “Bias and discrimination are not just being endorsed, they’re being given the green light.”

America does not want to admit that being pro LGBTQA+ and supporting the gender spectrum, does not align with its’ innate beliefs. America has been run by it’s two gender system, it’s gender roles, the two parent household run by a doting wife and a hard-working husband. Until America, as a whole, realizes how much harm they are doing by not supporting people to be diverse, individual, etc – people will continue to be divided and it will continue to be a dangerous climate for those who don’t stick to their respective gender roles. Cis women and men need to step down from their pedestals where they claim to be inclusive, instead of them continuously taking the mic on subjects that are not in their experience; they need to step down and offer up their platforms and resources to those who are underserved and discriminated against. People love to spout rhetoric that they are supportive and loving of everybody, from their very privileged perch without actually doing any listening work from people who are experts in this topic of conversation.

It is a very dangerous climate for trans women and men, specifically trans black women. With already 35 murders of trans women across the country and no media coverage on big station news, this is a real problem and will only continue happening if the country as a whole does not create policies that specifically protect these communities. It is not enough for government officials to just say that they are sorry and don’t condone this behavior. Real change needs to happen from every level and people have been working non stop from the ground up to make sure that people are protected.

It’s fascinating how we treat others that we believe not to be in accordance to our norms and social construct, to people that don’t behave according to our perceived way of living. We tend as a society to react awkward to non binary and gender non conforming people. We have made a general if not a universal claim on what one is supposed to be like from birth, how one is supposed  to be treated pertaining to the type of gender or sex since infancy.  Even if there’s a little tolerance it isn’t acceptable by the lot. There were instances where even organizations and people in power say governments have laid down certain delegations that discriminated.

In light of this, some arguments have been mastered to either in my view continue discriminating against people that don’t consider themselves as part of any gender or sex which is binary or to keep abusing them one way or the other, have been divided into four main categories which includes the dismissal, inconvenience, biology and the slippery slope. This arguments will be carefully scrutinized and discussed starting with dismissal. In this argument it is believed that every human should have a common knowledge or sense that only two genders and sex exist and one can’t be either both or outside that circle, anything beyond that is a disorder that needs to be remedied. It is believed that most at times it’s just the internet in this modern times trying to provide a framework to accept different values when actually only two gender and sex do exist. 

In addition, inconvenience. Social and cultural construct of gender have forced people to either choose a gender or be left out, individuals have been forced to join the majority as the minority which belongs to people who feel different and have accepted that style and attribute have been subjected to shame as the minority and have been abused one way or the other. It is now a norm for one to hide just for being different because there would be no one to support you therefore we are all subjected to avoid being neutral because it erases us from being either a man or woman and so therefore can’t enjoy any benefits allocated to any sex nor gender.

Also, biology. While gender is a cultural and social construct, Sex is biological and it is believed that’s how reproduction takes effect and so therefore one must be of natural cause being created or reproduced as either a male or female. There are researches that shows that men and women do have a lot of distinct features and that is enough for us not to doubt science that only two sexes and gender actually do exist where anything beyond is abnormal and should or must be treated as such.

Finally the slippery slope. It is widely known that this method of argument is employed so as to avoid some fallacies and troubles from occurring, it is believed that there will be chaos if we allow everyone to choose to belong to any gender, that to some extent anyone can choose to be something they are not and can’t or shouldn’t be. Should that not even be the case, it is definitely going to be of benefit to some particular group of people especially men and leaving women behind because society mostly enjoys hailing men as compared to women.