A review by iiitsmarissaaa
Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon

4.0

“I learned about gender through shame. In so many ways they became inseparable for me…The thing about shame is that it eats at you until it fully consumes you. Then you cannot tell the difference between their shame and your own. Between a body and an apology. It’s not just that you internalize the shame, rather it becomes you. You no longer need the people at school telling you not to dress like that, you already do it yourself.”

I think if you’re beginning your journey into gender studies, this is a great read. The book is about 60 pages or 1 hour as an audiobook. It is a compact and thorough overlook of the history of gender and how societal expectations of gender has changed. Alok also writes about their own experiences as gender nonconforming which is a beautiful and impactful addition to the book.

I have a bachelors degree in Gender Studies, so I have consumed a lot of literature about gender. I say this to preface that I wanted a bit more from this micro book. I was personally hoping that Alok would delve into more nuanced and complex discussions about gender than was already presented in the book. But I recognize that this book is meant more to serve as an educational foundation to gender studies.

Anyways I really recommend checking out this micro book!