After reading excerpts from Alok Vaid-Menon’s Beyond the Gender Binary, I was overwhelmed with a sense of comfort in knowing that books like these exist and are accessible for people looking to learn, and also searching for something to inspire them to be themselves. Their true, authentic selves. Consuming works made by trans/nonbinary creators is very important to me.

I was thrilled when Alok mentioned one of the dismissive strategies that people love to use: referring to gender-nonconformity as an “internet fad,” because it’s something I’ve heard one too many times. Not only is it used by older generations, but it’s also commonly used by bigoted teens and young adults nowadays, as well. I had known that the gender binary was a pretty Western concept, but I hadn’t been able to name exact groups which included people living outside of the gender binary – until I read on! It was very exciting to learn the precise cultures and societies that were free from the pinks and the blues, even if there were only a few examples. I also love the acknowledgement of the fact that pink was once considered a masculine color in the Western world, too – something I love to point out to people when the situation calls for it! Things are always changing.

Something that I was pleasantly surprised with was also the mention of “needing gender dysphoria to be trans.” I’m very glad that Alok chose to include it. It’s a common thought that many people – some who call themselves trans allies, and some others who even are trans – can argue. However, everyone is different, and dysphoria is not a requirement. Like Alok said, there is no one way to be trans. Everyone deserves to be their true self.