Journal 2

Understanding Binary systems is complex, and this happens not because the definition is hard to understand, but because the cultural norms we live in have built our ideals for hundreds of years. We have internalized these ideals and therefore acknowledging something like gender as a binary system can categorize you as being “less of a man”. Binary systems are socially constructed systems that categorize you between two things. These two categories are opposites, and if you do not fit into one, it assumes you are the opposite. They will additionally, always have one category in power (men in power over women) and vary by identity (such as class, race, etc.) which is another reason why this system will not work. I believe that you can acknowledge binary systems as problematic without feeling less of your identity. There is no correct answer to what it means to be a woman or a man. But now that we understand gender is a binary system, it is important to know how to approach this. A system developed to understand this has to do with our gender, sex, and sexuality, named the Genderbread. Sex has to do with your biological composition, gender with your identity and expression, and sexuality with your attraction. The most important thing is that one does not have to do with the other, so recognizing gender as non-binary will not affect your sexuality and so forth. This is vital information in conservative and traditional countries because we are not trying to convince you to be one way or the other, but we are just giving you the information we know so you can form your own perspective. I see this specifically within many Latin communities, if I were to spontaneously say my gender is non-binary, I will be looked as completely out of my head or as if my sexuality changed because of it. This is due to culture norms and goes further than that of prejudice or stereotypes, it can be a cause of lack of education.