While reading this excerpt “Beyond the Gender Binary” it really brings awareness to what so many non conforming people deal with on a daily basis . I relate to Alok so much when he says “ We are taught that masculinity belongs to men, femininity belongs to women, and that these are the only two options for self expression “. Unfortunately we all understand that society has put so much pressure on us telling us how we should behave , how we should dress , how to show emotion and who is allowed to . This leaves us with no freedom , no chance to just actually be ourselves because it’s folks constantly in your ear telling you how to express yourself and God forbid you don’t “fit into that box” you’ll be judged and ridiculed when in reality you are just being you. What is the crime in that? Throughout this reading Alok also touched on the difference between tolerance and acceptance, which I think is extremely important because at times people can tolerate you and your beliefs, however they don’t actually accept you. Everyone should be respected and not treated unjustly just because they are different. This is where acceptance comes into play , no one should be just tolerated but accepted as well , because it is one thing to tolerate but it is another to accept.