Reading excerpts from Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid Manon was incredibly humbling. A particular statement read: “The assumption is that being a masculine man or feminine woman is normal and that being us is an accessory.” was a real eye-opener to the ignorance surrounding non-binary and gender non-conforming people. Since I have no idea what it must be like to deal with this kind of judgment, I must admit that this excerpt was very informative. It must be traumatic to be thought of as someone who doesn’t have a real identity. Coming to terms with the bigotry and intolerance that gender non-conforming people—those who adamantly reject what society perceives as a man or woman—and non-binary people—people who are not fully male or female—have to deal with is depressing. As I read the excerpts, I also became aware of how ignorant I had been about the rules governing transgender and gender non-conforming people. I was unaware that transgender and gender non-conforming employees are not protected by civil rights law, according to the Department of Justice. All the critical and unpleasant comments in Alok’s book shocked me. Instead of welcoming others the way we would want to be welcomed, it appears that there is greater concern about what individuals are doing. Knowing that these issues are present in our day is stressful, and it motivates me to support those who are fighting for them since we shouldn’t have to worry so much about how other people live their lives.