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A review by jugglingpup
Nonbinary: Memoirs of Gender and Identity by Scott Duane, Micah Rajunov
4.0
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got an ARC of this book.
I spend a lot of my time reading about binary trans identities. That is the world that makes the most sense to me since I am a binary trans person. I lived in Berkeley for a while and absolutely hated it. I figured out it was because the trans space that was so anti-binary that it became a social death sentence to identify binary. I felt erased and hated. I wanted to read this book to start to put some of my own issues with the nonbinary community aside, since I didn’t have any issues with nonbinary people or the movement until I lived in Berkeley. I wanted to feel like the trans community was home again, all of it. This book brought me back to the nonbinary community I was used to. One full of power, love, acceptance, and courage. One that acknowledges that being binary isn’t sinful, but it just doesn’t work for them. One full of questions, lots of thinking, and lots of experimentation. The sort of community that gives me hope for the trans community, that is will one day come together instead of being filled with in-fighting.
The book covers really important topics ranging from being trans enough to what a transition looks like to feeling erased by the trans community. All of the feelings I have had throughout my transition being binary. The only difference being I had more support being binary that the nonbinary people in this collection did. I wish I could support them all. I wish I could have been part of the groups they joined trying to find a home. I would have been the first one to welcome them. No trans person should ever wrestle with the idea that they are or are not trans enough. They should never feel like they don’t belong in a trans space. We should all support each other. I hope this book finds people who are questioning their gender and their expression. It opens so many doors into what nonbinary could look like and asks so many questions. It will be a great resource for people.
The book really hit home for me and taught me so much about a world I only ever got glimpses of through friends and my own understanding of gender. It also affirmed something that has been in the back of my mind for years. It also made me feel more comfortable with my own body. I haven’t had bottom surgery. This book made me feel less pressure to have bottom surgery, to conform to the stereotype of a transition. I want bottom surgery, but it opened the door to really question why I want it. Do I want it because that is what I expect trans people to want? Do I want it because it is right for me? This book opens up so many ideas of what it means to be trans. The answer I got was easy: if you feel like you are trans, then you are trans. If you feel nonbinary, you do you. Do whatever sort of transition works for you. Don’t be ashamed, don’t be afraid, but if you are you are not alone.
I know this review was all about my binary gender, but that is the only lens I have to understand the people who told their stories. Their stories are not mine, but they had similar themes as my world. I want to be as confident as the people telling their stories.
I got an ARC of this book.
I spend a lot of my time reading about binary trans identities. That is the world that makes the most sense to me since I am a binary trans person. I lived in Berkeley for a while and absolutely hated it. I figured out it was because the trans space that was so anti-binary that it became a social death sentence to identify binary. I felt erased and hated. I wanted to read this book to start to put some of my own issues with the nonbinary community aside, since I didn’t have any issues with nonbinary people or the movement until I lived in Berkeley. I wanted to feel like the trans community was home again, all of it. This book brought me back to the nonbinary community I was used to. One full of power, love, acceptance, and courage. One that acknowledges that being binary isn’t sinful, but it just doesn’t work for them. One full of questions, lots of thinking, and lots of experimentation. The sort of community that gives me hope for the trans community, that is will one day come together instead of being filled with in-fighting.
The book covers really important topics ranging from being trans enough to what a transition looks like to feeling erased by the trans community. All of the feelings I have had throughout my transition being binary. The only difference being I had more support being binary that the nonbinary people in this collection did. I wish I could support them all. I wish I could have been part of the groups they joined trying to find a home. I would have been the first one to welcome them. No trans person should ever wrestle with the idea that they are or are not trans enough. They should never feel like they don’t belong in a trans space. We should all support each other. I hope this book finds people who are questioning their gender and their expression. It opens so many doors into what nonbinary could look like and asks so many questions. It will be a great resource for people.
The book really hit home for me and taught me so much about a world I only ever got glimpses of through friends and my own understanding of gender. It also affirmed something that has been in the back of my mind for years. It also made me feel more comfortable with my own body. I haven’t had bottom surgery. This book made me feel less pressure to have bottom surgery, to conform to the stereotype of a transition. I want bottom surgery, but it opened the door to really question why I want it. Do I want it because that is what I expect trans people to want? Do I want it because it is right for me? This book opens up so many ideas of what it means to be trans. The answer I got was easy: if you feel like you are trans, then you are trans. If you feel nonbinary, you do you. Do whatever sort of transition works for you. Don’t be ashamed, don’t be afraid, but if you are you are not alone.
I know this review was all about my binary gender, but that is the only lens I have to understand the people who told their stories. Their stories are not mine, but they had similar themes as my world. I want to be as confident as the people telling their stories.