Going beyond the Gender Binary

 

´Imagine how beautiful it would be if the way we navigate the world was about creative expression, not conformity to arbitrary norms´.

Understanding is very important and books have the role, among others, to facilitate it. Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon published by Penguin has the role of creating awareness about what does it mean to be non-binary and particularly what we, the other people, should behave and acknowledge about it. 

An exercise in self-love and a first person story of finding a place in a non-emphatic world, Vaid-Menon is making a successful exercise in explaining. However, understanding is not always the key, just accepting that other people are different may be enough. ´They can´t even consider that maybe we look this for oneselves, and not for the other people. We are reduced to spectacle´. 

Gender definitions and roles are largely political and engeder serious consequences in the field of health, employment and educational policies. This book is helpful not only for the general public, but also for the decision makers and educators, as well as for parents who may be faced with non-binary children or colleagues of their children. 

First and foremost, exercises in empathy, of any kind, towards any human being, is one of the most helpful attitude. No one needs the condescendance of majorities, but learning empathy and tolerance is key for a better society and life in general.

Rating: 5 stars