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?
Micah Rajunov is a writer, researcher, and advocate. Since 2011, Micah has created community resources for nonbinary identities through the site genderqueer.me. Micah’s personal transition story has been featured in mainstream publications as well as a full-length documentary.
Scott Duane is an author, advocate, and queer trans man who has been an accidental activist for nearly a decade. He devotes his efforts to creating resources and spaces where trans voices can be heard.
Table of Contents
Foreword: From Genderqueer to Nonbinary to . . . , by Riki Wilchins Introduction, by Micah Rajunov and Scott Duane Part I. What Is Gender? 1. War Smoke Catharsis, by Alex Stitt 2. Deconstructing My Self, by Levi S. Govoni 3. Coatlicue, by féi hernandez 4. Namesake, by michal “mj” jones 5. My Genderqueer Backpack, by Melissa L. Welter 6. Scrimshaw, by Rae Theodore Part II. Visibility: Standing Up and Standing Out 7. Being Genderqueer Before It Was a Thing, by Genny Beemyn 8. Token Act, by Sand C. Chang 9. Hypervisible, by Haven Wilvich 10. Making Waves in an Unforgiving Maze, by Kameron Ackerman 11. Life Threats, by Jeffrey Marsh 12. Just Genderqueer, Not a Threat, by Jace Valcore Part III. Community: Creating a Place for the Rest of Us 13. What Am I?, by CK Combs 14. Questions of Faith, by Jaye Ware 15. Coming Out as Your Nibling: What Happened When I Told Everyone I Know That I’m Genderqueer, by Sinclair Sexsmith 16. Purple Nail Polish, by Jamie Price 17. Uncharted Path: Parenting My Agender Teen, by Abigail 18. The Name Remains the Same, by Katy Koonce Part IV. Trans Enough: Representation and Differentiation 19. Lowercase Q, by Cal Sparrow 20. Not Content on the Sidelines, by Suzi Chase 21. You See Me, by Brian Jay Eley 22. Clothes Make the Gender/Queer, by Aubri Drake 23. The Flight of the Magpie, by Adam “PicaPica” Stevenson 24. An Outsider in My Own Landscape, by s. e. smith Part V. Redefining Dualities: Paradoxes and Possibilities of Gender 25. Not-Two, by Avery Erickson 26. Kitchen Sink Gender, by Nino Cipri 27. What Growing Up Punk Taught Me About Being Gender Nonconforming, by Christopher Soto 28. Rock a Bye Binary, by Jules De La Cruz 29. To Gender and Back, by Kory Martin-Damon 30. Rethinking Non/Binary, by Eli Erlick Acknowledgments Further Reading List of Contributors Index
