Nonbinary
Memoirs of Gender and Identity
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- €22.99
Publisher Description
What happens when your gender doesn’t fit neatly into the categories of male or female? Even mundane interactions like filling out a form or using a public bathroom can be a struggle when these designations prove inadequate. In this groundbreaking book, thirty authors highlight how our experiences are shaped by a deeply entrenched gender binary.
The powerful first-person narratives of this collection show us a world where gender exists along a spectrum, a web, a multidimensional space. Nuanced storytellers break away from mainstream portrayals of gender diversity, cutting across lines of age, race, ethnicity, ability, class, religion, family, and relationships. From Suzi, who wonders whether she’ll ever “feel” like a woman after living fifty years as a man, to Aubri, who grew up in a cash-strapped fundamentalist household, to Sand, who must reconcile the dual roles of trans advocate and therapist, the writers’ conceptions of gender are inextricably intertwined with broader systemic issues. Labeled gender outlaws, gender rebels, genderqueer, or simply human, the voices in Nonbinary illustrate what life could be if we allowed the rigid categories of “man” and “woman” to loosen and bend. They speak to everyone who has questioned gender or has paused to wonder, What does it mean to be a man or a woman—and why do we care so much?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Gender is explored by a diverse group of 30 writers who identify neither as male nor female and use nonbinary pronouns in this mixed collection of first-person narratives. Sand C. Chang, a Chinese-American psychotherapist, tries to free themselves from their internalized gender conditioning; Christopher Soto, a brown person and former punk, reflects on the acceptance a rebellious community brought them. Caleb Wilvich "long for a world where my actions weren't gendered and I could just interact as a human... the constant pressure of gender roles"; Genny Beemyn laments being misgendered by other trans people. Jaye Ware's Christian faith is shaken when rejected by their church community, and activist Jeffrey Marsh faces death threats due to being visibly gender-nonconforming. One of the most moving pieces is by "Abigail," a mother who struggles to understand, accept, and support her child when that child rejects their assumed place on the gender binary. Her account will be a boon to readers new to the topic. The essays sometimes lack finesse, but carefully chosen, particular, quirky details reveal the writers' personalities, and all the essays evince a sincere desire to candidly share difficult feelings on a complicated topic. This well-meaning book will be an asset in college classroom conversations about queer theory.
