It was extremely humbling to read the excerpts from Alok Vaid Manon’s book Beyond the Gender Binary. One line in particular that was truly an eye opener to the ignorance surrounding non-binary and gender non-conforming people is the following: “The assumption is that being a masculine man or feminine woman is normal and that being us is an accessory.” Honestly, this excerpt was an eye opener because I cannot imagine what it is like to deal with this sort of judgment. To be regarded as though not a real person with a real identity must be traumatizing. It is disheartening to come to terms with all of the kind of bigotry and intolerance faced by gender non-conforming people (those that diligently resist what society understands a man or woman to be) and non-binary people (individuals who are not man or woman entirely). As I was reading the excerpts, I also came to realize just how unaware I was regarding laws for trans and gender non-conforming people. I, for one did not know that the Department of Justice had expressed that trans and gender non-conforming workers are not guarded by civil rights law. Additionally, I was shocked by how cruel all of the negative and hurtful comments in Alok’s book were. It seems as though there is more concern surrounding what people are doing rather than accepting others the way we would want to be accepted. It’s overwhelming to know that these problems are occurring in these times and it makes me want to support because there is no need to be so concerned with how others choose to live their lives.