Beyond The Gender Binary - Alok Vaid-Menon Shows Us The Only Limit To Gender Is Our Imagination

Beyond The Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon

Poet, artist, and LGBTQIA+ rights advocate Alok Vaid-Menon deconstructs, demystifies, and reimagines the gender binary.


In this book, Alok "challenges the world to see gender not in black and white, but in full color. Taking from their own experiences as a gender-nonconforming artist, they show us that gender is a malleable and creative form of expression. The only limit is your imagination."

Love these blurbs about the book:

"Thank God we have Alok. And I'm learning a thing or two myself."--Billy Porter, Emmy award-winning actor, singer, and Broadway theater performer

"When reading this book, all I feel is kindness."--Sam Smith, Grammy and Oscar award-winning singer and songwriter

"Beyond the Gender Binary will give readers everywhere the feeling that anything is possible within themselves"--Princess Nokia, musician and co-founder of the Smart Girl Club

"A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change." – Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Add your review of "Beyond The Gender Binary" in comments!

Mx. Sam Smith Speaks About Coming Out As Nonbinary with ALOK in OUT Magazine

One of the amazing photos from the article.

The Out100 Evolution of the Year: Mx. Sam Smith article was really great, and fascinating, and made me want to cheer on Sam even more!

Note: S is for Sam, and A is for ALOK. Here's a brief highlight:

S: In changing my pronouns, I felt incredible freedom. It’s like a brick was lifted off my chest, and with that freedom comes another kind of pain. Feeling this free in our skin is answered with abuse. And that’s really hard. For the last year and a half*, I’ve thought about changing my pronouns. I’ve always hid behind my “he, him” pronouns because I was too scared. I thought living a life playing pretend would be less painful than being authentic. But I’d rather be myself, even if it means being abused for it. I’d rather get all this shit for being myself than lie to myself. That’s not a way to live.

A: There’s something here about what it means to be an artist: If you don’t access this truth, then you’re not able to make creative work for yourself. It becomes for other people.

S: I don’t think you can sing, write music, or make art without having an open heart. There was something blocking me when I was writing my last album because I felt like I was playing this “Sam Smith” character that I created. I was depressed because I was this person in suits who other people wanted me to be. I can wear a suit now, actually, and can feel completely different in the suit, but at the time I felt, I’ve got to be butch for other people. I feel my music suffered. I think people can hear that. As soon as I came out with “Promises” and “Dancing With a Stranger,” I started playing. I started having fun. I started being myself. My art has become truer and more honest after coming to peace with being nonbinary.

Read the full, inspiring interview here.

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

*The article was published in November 2019 - and I'm happy to share it with you now!

Alok Vaid-Menon: Gender Selfie-Determination

This hour and fifteen minute lecture by Alok Vaid-Menon at the Annenberg Space for Photography is brilliant, and thought-provoking, and very moving.

Some highlights:

On speaking of themselves and fellow Trans and gender non-conforming people, Alok says,

"the reason we are punished is not because we are different but rather because people recognize a part of themselves in us that they had to destroy in order to get here."

and

"There are as many genders as there are people in the world."

"I am not actually gender non-conforming. You only see me as such because you are filtering my image through your gender binary."

"You are not who you look like, you are who you are."

"When we're talking about being tortured in the streets and you call us beautiful..." means you see us as "walking portraits and not actually as people."

and

"I'm fighting to be recognized as a person, but we exist in a culture right now where trans people are not people."

Alok's talk is important and, as a starting point, I wish every GSA would watch and discuss. I encourage you to watch and discuss it as well!

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee