What does it mean to move beyond the gender binary for Alok? Even for people who identify as cisgender, gender is fluid and complex. We all express and experience our gender in different ways, and for most of us, some aspect of our gender identity goes against the binary norm. In what ways does your gender identity go against the binary norm and in what ways does it fit the binary norm?
Ways that gender identity would go against the form would be just as the author Alok said such when you get any type of ID (passport, Drivers license). Your birth certificate would go against the norm as well because is addressing a gender on to you within your first week of living. Peoples gender would fit the norm when they listen to music, some artist make music not for a specific gender but for everyone. Now a days you see some public bathrooms are for all genders instead of just the female or male.
The author included in the book their experience as a nonbinary artist, their experience growing up and how those around them would treat them. To move beyond the gender binary is to communicate with each other about gender because the truth us that there no right or certain way to look. Reading about Alok’s experience its upsetting how those who are close minded treat non binary, some states instead of providing support just close their doors on them. Texas would prohibit them from using public bathrooms and would deny their right to own a business. Tennessee would ban them from open space such as parks, high school and highways. Even today there’s people dealing with discrimination not only for their gender but because of their skin of color. The situation would be worse for an induvial who was non binary and black such as Alok Vaid Menon, being afraid for your safety every time you went out does not sit right with me. Having strangers interrogating you about your body, having your personhood reduced to a prop just for expressing how you feel by the way you dress is a disrespect because it has nothing to do with your persona. Alok said “ how are supposed to be believed about the harm you experience when they don’t even believe you exist”
When those around you can’t take your gender which is one of the many things that identify you then how would you expect others to do so. What stood out as well was a line that the author said which was the “emphasis of our appearance distract us from the real focus, Power.” When you analyze the line, you realize that the government would make a big deal out of the LGBTQIA community and use it as a distraction to blind the us from real problems that are happening right now.
REFLECTION 2: ALOK said something around the lines of society wanting to put people in the LGBTQIA community in a box because they feel uncomfortable, the unfamiliar becomes a threat instead of an opportunity. Being ourselves, thinking outside the box instead of sticking to a roll society wants us to play, is something that make us “weird” in other people’s eyes. A bit off topic but I would relate this with the way we all make money, the government will make you believe that you must go to school (college) to make money. This plan does not work for everyone, the government doesn’t want you to make money if its not by following their system, they want us to be in debt, take loans. A small percent of people learns about crypto and stocks, no education needed yet it’s something you have to invest time in. I keep saying government, but this would include those in power such as those in the house of representatives and senate.
As I read more pages if the book, I learned more words and their meaning, gender language would be talking about the experience of an individual while gender neutral language would be more inclusive when talking about groups. I identify myself as a female she/her and I am in favor to help those groups who struggle explaining themselves to the others about their gender. I feel that maybe posting on social media articles about different types of genders and putting out there the correct vocabulary to identify groups and individual would make a change. I like many others didn’t have the resources to educate myself on the different key terms in gender.
