3 minute read
Feminist Five
"Beyond the Gender Binary will give readers everywhere the feeling that
Advertisement
“ anything is possible within themselves"--Princess Nokia, musician Documents centuries of techniques designed to limit progress in the black and co-founder of the Smart Girl Club community. Although some of the material may be upsetting, this is a book that should absolutely be included in the curriculum." – Starred review, School
In Beyond the GenderLibrary Connection Binary, poet, artist, and LGBTQIA+ rights advocate Alok Vaid-Menon deconstructs, demystifies, and reimagines the gender binary. When America achieves milestones of progress toward full and equal black
participation in democracy, the systemic response is a consistent racist
backlash that rolls back those wins. We Are Not Yet Equal examines five of these moments: The end of the "Thank GodCivil War andwe have Alok. Reconstruction And was I'm learninggreeted with a thing or twoJim Crow laws; myself."--Billythe promise of Porter, Emmy award-winningnew opportunities in the North actor, singer, and Broadway theater performer during the Great Migration was limited when blacks were physically blocked from moving away from the South; the Supreme Court's landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision was met with the shutting
"When reading this book, all I feel is kindness."--Sam Smith, Grammy and Oscar award-winning singer and
down of public schools throughout the South; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 led to
songwriter
laws that disenfranchised millions of African American voters and a War on Drugs that disproportionately
"A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change."-- Kirkus Reviews, starred reviewtargeted blacks; and the election of President Obama led to an outburst of violence including the death of black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri as well as the election of Donald Trump.
Artist
and activist Vaid-Menon
demonstrates how the
normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts
physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and
how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link
between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against
gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power. ” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
