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Non-Binary Lives - An Anthology of Intersecting Identities
What does it mean to be non-binary in the 21st Century? Our gender identity is impacted by our personal histories; the cultures, communities and countries we are born into; and the places we go and the people we meet. But the representation of contemporary non-binary identities has been limited, until now. Pushing the narrative around non-binary identities further than ever before, this powerful collection of essays represents the breadth of non-binary lives, across the boundaries of race, class, age, sexuality, faith and more.
Leading non-binary people share stories of their intersecting lives; how it feels to be non-binary and neurodiverse, the challenges of being a non-binary pregnant person, what it means to be non-binary within the Quaker community, the joy of reaching gender euphoria. This thought-provoking anthology shows that there is no right or wrong way to be non-binary.
Leading non-binary people share stories of their intersecting lives; how it feels to be non-binary and neurodiverse, the challenges of being a non-binary pregnant person, what it means to be non-binary within the Quaker community, the joy of reaching gender euphoria. This thought-provoking anthology shows that there is no right or wrong way to be non-binary.
244 pages, Paperback
First published April 21, 2020
89 people are currently reading
2155 people want to read
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June 11, 2020Thank you to Netgalley, the editors and Jessica Kingsley publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for a review ! This book was released April 2020.
This is my Pride Read of 2020.
I am choosing to not rate this book as it is a book of testimonials from individuals around their life journeys with regards to gender identity and expression.
As I am fairly well versed in queer politics, feminism and the various ways this intersects there was not much here that was news to me. I appreciated the honesty and courage that these people have in disclosing aspects of their life story to raise consciousness and the variety of ways different facets of their personhood and society interacted and influenced each other.
I really would have liked to hear from less educated individuals (as well) who do not have the politicized language to describe their experiences. Most of the individuals of the book were either professors, therapists, writers and/or artists. I would have liked to hear from retail workers, hair dressers, sex trade workers, home renovators, construction workers, health care aides etc.
This is my Pride Read of 2020.
I am choosing to not rate this book as it is a book of testimonials from individuals around their life journeys with regards to gender identity and expression.
As I am fairly well versed in queer politics, feminism and the various ways this intersects there was not much here that was news to me. I appreciated the honesty and courage that these people have in disclosing aspects of their life story to raise consciousness and the variety of ways different facets of their personhood and society interacted and influenced each other.
I really would have liked to hear from less educated individuals (as well) who do not have the politicized language to describe their experiences. Most of the individuals of the book were either professors, therapists, writers and/or artists. I would have liked to hear from retail workers, hair dressers, sex trade workers, home renovators, construction workers, health care aides etc.
January 19, 2020
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non-binary lives is a helpfull and important collection of essays about the non-binary experience(s). I found this book to be incredibly insightful as it tackled important subjects such as non-binary pregnancy,
My only issue is the overly biased point of view and opinions that were thrown into this book. I wished it focused more on the non-binary experience and less on politics, or the 'toxic binary'.
Loved how this book mentioned the language barrier and how we can't be seen, or recognized, as non-binary people through gender-coded languages such as Spanish, French or German. As a french non-binary native, this is a point that specifically moved me.
In general, as a non-binary person, I felt like my identity was well defined and represented, through its diverse forms. This collection was well compiled.
non-binary lives is a helpfull and important collection of essays about the non-binary experience(s). I found this book to be incredibly insightful as it tackled important subjects such as non-binary pregnancy,
My only issue is the overly biased point of view and opinions that were thrown into this book. I wished it focused more on the non-binary experience and less on politics, or the 'toxic binary'.
Loved how this book mentioned the language barrier and how we can't be seen, or recognized, as non-binary people through gender-coded languages such as Spanish, French or German. As a french non-binary native, this is a point that specifically moved me.
In general, as a non-binary person, I felt like my identity was well defined and represented, through its diverse forms. This collection was well compiled.
June 9, 2020
You’d think the pandemic would mean I have more time to read rather than less, right? But for some reason my reading speed has decreased rather than increased. I’m making more of a comeback, but it still took me a long time to read and review Non-Binary Lives: An Anthology of Intersecting Identities. That shouldn’t reflect on the quality of this book. Similarly, I’m going to explain later that I’m kind of over these massive anthologies on subjects like this, but that isn’t a problem with this book specifically. This is a great anthology if indeed you want an anthology of this kind.
If you had asked me why I requested this from NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers, I would have said at the time, “Because it’s everyone’s responsibility to learn more about the diversity of gender identity, but it’s especially the responsibility of us cisgender people.” Haha. Oops. Since then I’ve realized that transgender better fits me as a label, and I’ve transitioned … yet I still think this was a good and important read. In particular, I identify firmly with a binary label of trans woman. Therefore, while I can definitely identify with some of the experiences of the contributors to this book, I really don’t know what it’s like to be a non-binary person. So this book was helpful both in terms of educating me about that experience and also in terms of helping me explore my quickly evolving gender identity.
This book has a lengthy roster of contributors and chapters, so I can’t possibly review them all. The editors in their foreword claim they’ve tried to bring in voices from around the world but correctly identify an overall bias towards UK writers. I don’t see that as a negative, but it’s something to be aware of. The editors also warn the reader that they’ve tried not to be too prescriptive in the language and ideas that their contributors use to discuss their experiences, so we might encounter languages or ideas that we find uncomfortable. Honestly, I didn’t see much of that—maybe my reading wasn’t as thorough as it could have been? But it definitely didn’t make me grimace the way To My Trans Sisters did with regards to the inclusion of certain contributors.
Non-Binary Lives lives up to its subtitle: it definitely focuses stories about intersections of identity. I was most fascinated by the chapters where people discuss how being non-binary related to their religion. I’m an atheist, so I haven’t had to consider my transition within the scope of any organized religious beliefs. While I didn’t naively believe that religions are always closed to trans and gender-noncomforming people, I’m glad that this book helped me understand the complexity of this experience. Some religious communities are very progressive and open-minded; others are predictably less so. The struggles that some of these contributors relate, and the joys that they or other contributors eventually reaped, make this book worthwhile for trans and cis readers alike.
I struggled with this book for so long less because of the quality of book and more because of my own waning interest in massive anthologies of trans voices. I see the appeal, the logic behind wanting to boost more than one voice, especially from people who don’t have the desire or platform to publish an entire book of their own. Nevertheless, I think what this book helped me discover is that I’m burnt out on these soundbite-style explorations of identity. I crave meaty memoirs of trans experiences, even if that means I’ll be self-selecting for trans people who have the education and opportunity and desire to write such things. I need the deep dive rather than the survey of the field. For now.
If you had asked me why I requested this from NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers, I would have said at the time, “Because it’s everyone’s responsibility to learn more about the diversity of gender identity, but it’s especially the responsibility of us cisgender people.” Haha. Oops. Since then I’ve realized that transgender better fits me as a label, and I’ve transitioned … yet I still think this was a good and important read. In particular, I identify firmly with a binary label of trans woman. Therefore, while I can definitely identify with some of the experiences of the contributors to this book, I really don’t know what it’s like to be a non-binary person. So this book was helpful both in terms of educating me about that experience and also in terms of helping me explore my quickly evolving gender identity.
This book has a lengthy roster of contributors and chapters, so I can’t possibly review them all. The editors in their foreword claim they’ve tried to bring in voices from around the world but correctly identify an overall bias towards UK writers. I don’t see that as a negative, but it’s something to be aware of. The editors also warn the reader that they’ve tried not to be too prescriptive in the language and ideas that their contributors use to discuss their experiences, so we might encounter languages or ideas that we find uncomfortable. Honestly, I didn’t see much of that—maybe my reading wasn’t as thorough as it could have been? But it definitely didn’t make me grimace the way To My Trans Sisters did with regards to the inclusion of certain contributors.
Non-Binary Lives lives up to its subtitle: it definitely focuses stories about intersections of identity. I was most fascinated by the chapters where people discuss how being non-binary related to their religion. I’m an atheist, so I haven’t had to consider my transition within the scope of any organized religious beliefs. While I didn’t naively believe that religions are always closed to trans and gender-noncomforming people, I’m glad that this book helped me understand the complexity of this experience. Some religious communities are very progressive and open-minded; others are predictably less so. The struggles that some of these contributors relate, and the joys that they or other contributors eventually reaped, make this book worthwhile for trans and cis readers alike.
I struggled with this book for so long less because of the quality of book and more because of my own waning interest in massive anthologies of trans voices. I see the appeal, the logic behind wanting to boost more than one voice, especially from people who don’t have the desire or platform to publish an entire book of their own. Nevertheless, I think what this book helped me discover is that I’m burnt out on these soundbite-style explorations of identity. I crave meaty memoirs of trans experiences, even if that means I’ll be self-selecting for trans people who have the education and opportunity and desire to write such things. I need the deep dive rather than the survey of the field. For now.
August 16, 2020
I am biased because I wrote a chapter of it!
The rest, though, is interesting and moving and engaging - a diverse range of non-binary gendered life experiences from around the English-speaking world.
The rest, though, is interesting and moving and engaging - a diverse range of non-binary gendered life experiences from around the English-speaking world.
November 6, 2022
It took me a while to read this, mainly because I kept having mixed feelings about some of the contributions and finding some of them quite hard to read. As a whole, I appreciate this anthology and as a non-binary person, I loved reading about so many different experiences and perspectives. Where the book shone were the contributions that went into intersecting identities, like disability. But like usually with anthologies like this, there were strong contributions and ones that were less so.
March 28, 2021
My friend Ali said this book is basically a non-binary therapist directory, and they are not wrong. A disproportionate number of the contributors seem to be therapists! My fave chapter was the one by Francis Ray White on fatness and non binary identity 🥰
July 3, 2022
Read this as part of a personal project I'm undertaking to keep myself sane post-graduation.
These essays are looks at personal experiences of various nonbinary people. It stayed pretty well on topic, and my only real wish is that there would have been more variety within the experience of non-binary identity. For all but a few essays, nonbinary is presented as almost a monolith of a particular set of gender expressions/experiences; although not nonbinary myself, I know the "third gender" phenomenon is a common complaint of friends and part of why this was one of my first reads was because I was interested in engaging with the different experiences of nonbinary people besides those I know personally. I don't think this was the intention of the editors - they explicitly state in the beginning that they know their selection of people is limited despite their best efforts - but it was still a little disappointing.
Definitely pursuing the writing of some of the essayists, though! Gave me some good guidance on where to start!
These essays are looks at personal experiences of various nonbinary people. It stayed pretty well on topic, and my only real wish is that there would have been more variety within the experience of non-binary identity. For all but a few essays, nonbinary is presented as almost a monolith of a particular set of gender expressions/experiences; although not nonbinary myself, I know the "third gender" phenomenon is a common complaint of friends and part of why this was one of my first reads was because I was interested in engaging with the different experiences of nonbinary people besides those I know personally. I don't think this was the intention of the editors - they explicitly state in the beginning that they know their selection of people is limited despite their best efforts - but it was still a little disappointing.
Definitely pursuing the writing of some of the essayists, though! Gave me some good guidance on where to start!
January 13, 2025
i could relate to a lot of what was said here, it was great to hear from so many people working in the medical/psychiatric field and offering multiple perspectives or theories. there are many ways to be marginalized, and many of those are completely overlooked by most of society. non-binary people have always existed, but for some reason there is still so much bigotry and misunderstanding. i hope that in the future this book will be a symbol of how far we‘ve come, even though i‘m scared of the current recession and waves of hatred towards trans people.
it was nonetheless beautiful to read and i can warmly recommend it to anyone interested <3
it was nonetheless beautiful to read and i can warmly recommend it to anyone interested <3
August 6, 2021
It's an amazing and important collection of essays, that let me take a look at many other non-binary people's lives and experiences. It's great to read such a book and realize other people go through the same thing I do, so I'd recommend it to any non-binary person out there, even if it's just to see that we are not alone in our way of experiencing ourselves and the world around us. The collection also featured non-binary people older than me and such topics as being non-binary and pregnant or a parent, which gave me a lot of hope for my own future. I will definitely come back to some of the essays and recommend them to my friends and family.
February 12, 2021
I ordered this book in at the library but am going to have to get my own copy asap as there were so many bits i wanted to highlight and come back to. As a nonbinary person there were so many moments throughout this book that I felt so seen and happy, not something that often happens in our ciscentric world. I found myself smiling, nodding, hurting and nearly crying. These stories were so special to read and really covered a wide range of nonbianry and gender nonconforming experiences, discussing lots of intersections that hadn't even crossed my mind. An amazing book to read as a nonbinary person but equally important for cis and binary people to read to gain a better, deeper understanding of what it can be like to be a nonbinary person. Spectacular, we need our stories to be told, our way.
June 4, 2021
As with any anthology, some chapters spoke to me more than others. Many of them, I wished were longer. I particularly enjoyed the sections on The Life Course and Bodies, Health and Wellbeing since many of the chapters touched on things that I think about a lot as an aging spoonie.
I found it odd at times that the editors asked individual contributors to including intersectionality (a tool for social analysis) in their individual memoirs -- some of the authors were able to make it work, but some authors seemed to really struggle with that directive. I've seem some reviewers comment about how academic this anthology felt, and I think this didn't help with that. (That said, I did really enjoy the introduction where the editors talk about why it's important to take an intersectional perspective!)
Two of them seemed borderline transmisogynistic-- in "Gender essentialist" and "Genderation" the authors talk about taking the "men" out and changing the spelling to womyn/humyn, which is something I so associate with terves that I was honestly flabbergasted to see those choices pass editorial review. Especially since the rest of those chapters seemed to support my concerns. I've seen trans women bemoan the transmisogyny in nonbinary communities, and now I'm seeing a little of what they're talking about. (Which is educational in its own right, but not what I bought this book for!)
It's hard to pick favorites, but some of the chapters that stood out to me most positively were by Kimwei McCarthy ("difficultators"), Dang Nguyen, Calvin Hall, Igi Moon, Mud Howard, Alex Iantaffi, H Howitt, Sam Hope, Francis Ray Wright.
I found it odd at times that the editors asked individual contributors to including intersectionality (a tool for social analysis) in their individual memoirs -- some of the authors were able to make it work, but some authors seemed to really struggle with that directive. I've seem some reviewers comment about how academic this anthology felt, and I think this didn't help with that. (That said, I did really enjoy the introduction where the editors talk about why it's important to take an intersectional perspective!)
Two of them seemed borderline transmisogynistic-- in "Gender essentialist" and "Genderation" the authors talk about taking the "men" out and changing the spelling to womyn/humyn, which is something I so associate with terves that I was honestly flabbergasted to see those choices pass editorial review. Especially since the rest of those chapters seemed to support my concerns. I've seen trans women bemoan the transmisogyny in nonbinary communities, and now I'm seeing a little of what they're talking about. (Which is educational in its own right, but not what I bought this book for!)
It's hard to pick favorites, but some of the chapters that stood out to me most positively were by Kimwei McCarthy ("difficultators"), Dang Nguyen, Calvin Hall, Igi Moon, Mud Howard, Alex Iantaffi, H Howitt, Sam Hope, Francis Ray Wright.
March 21, 2025
Givande att få läsa tankar om genus och hur det märks i olika aspekter av livet, av icke-binära.
Med 30 olika författare, som inte alla är författare, var det såklart varierande nivå på kapitlen.
När jag började läsa var jag egentligen mer intresserad av transpersoners upplevelser i Sverige men det var också spännande med de olika länderna, kulturerna och religionerna. De exotiska berättelser jag minns tydligast är berättelsen som beskrev maskulinitet i Malaysia och kväkaren som drev någon fråga om icke-binäritet från sin församling, upp genom kväkarinstanser, till nationell kväkarnivå i storbrittannien.
Ett problem med skrivuppgiften som skickades ut inför den här boken är att den fick alldeles för många att börja sina texter i barndomen. Jag hann verkligen tröttna på att få några sidors sammanfattning om hur den här personen avvek från könsroller under sin uppväxt, i början av varje text. De bästa texterna var de som avgränsade sig till en aspekt eller situation.
Efter att ha läst den här boken högt är jag nu allergisk mot "/", skriv och, eller eller våga välj ett ord!
Med 30 olika författare, som inte alla är författare, var det såklart varierande nivå på kapitlen.
När jag började läsa var jag egentligen mer intresserad av transpersoners upplevelser i Sverige men det var också spännande med de olika länderna, kulturerna och religionerna. De exotiska berättelser jag minns tydligast är berättelsen som beskrev maskulinitet i Malaysia och kväkaren som drev någon fråga om icke-binäritet från sin församling, upp genom kväkarinstanser, till nationell kväkarnivå i storbrittannien.
Ett problem med skrivuppgiften som skickades ut inför den här boken är att den fick alldeles för många att börja sina texter i barndomen. Jag hann verkligen tröttna på att få några sidors sammanfattning om hur den här personen avvek från könsroller under sin uppväxt, i början av varje text. De bästa texterna var de som avgränsade sig till en aspekt eller situation.
Efter att ha läst den här boken högt är jag nu allergisk mot "/", skriv och, eller eller våga välj ett ord!
December 24, 2021
3.5/5 - I had very high expectations for this book, but I am left feeling quite disappointed. Some of the chapters are brilliant, but the majority to me feel very underdeveloped, or like the author just threw in a bunch of buzz words/topics. Overall, I appreciate the care put into this collection, especially by the group of editors.
April 27, 2023
“Dreams
In a forest
With snow
Down a path.
I ask,
‘If a person is alone in a forest
Do they have a gender?’”
Couldn’t choose my fav chapter so have two:
-is it still a body? -H Howitt
-fleshing out non-binary -Francis Ray White
In a forest
With snow
Down a path.
I ask,
‘If a person is alone in a forest
Do they have a gender?’”
Couldn’t choose my fav chapter so have two:
-is it still a body? -H Howitt
-fleshing out non-binary -Francis Ray White
May 28, 2025
I can only warmly recommend this wonderful book - not only to non-binary/trans people but truly to anyone interested in the topic and open to reading personal perspectives from all walks of life.
One of my favourite books I have read this year, with the potential of becoming an all-time fave.
One of my favourite books I have read this year, with the potential of becoming an all-time fave.
June 14, 2022
4 ⭐ CW: bullying mention, discussions around homo/bi/transphobia, PTSD mentions, HIV/AIDs, medical discrimination, child sexual assault mention, suicide mention, self harm mention, hospitalization, opiate use
Non-Binary Lives: An Anthology of Intersecting Identities edited by Jos Twist, Ben Vincent, Meg-John Barker, and Kat Gupta is a collection of essays from Nonbinary people of different backgrounds mostly in the UK. This was a great read. If you are nonbinary, pick this up, I promise you will feel seen. If you are not, pick this up and learn about it.
I don't even know what to write about this anthology. So much of it resonated with me, and I had so many things in common with a lot of these people in the way that we feel about ourselves and how the world perceives us. Many of the authors were able to put my abstract feelings into words. I loved how intersectional this was as well. So many people with many different intersections instead of the same kind of nonbinary people we tend to see in the media (white, thin, able bodies, wealthy, vaguely masculine or androgynous).
This anthology illustrates that there isn't one way to be nonbinary or "look nonbinary." So much care and love was put into this book. The editors acknowledge the privilege they have being able to write this book and take care not to make sweeping generalizations to let each person speak for themselves.
The book is broken up into four sections: Cultural Context; Communities; The Life Course; and Bodies, Health, and Wellbeing. Many of the things I read felt like a mirror was being held up, while others were more of a window into intersections I don't hold, and allowed me to examine the privileges I do hold. One theme all the chapters had in common was the sense of not belonging, of not being trans or nonbinary enough.
Non-Binary Lives: An Anthology of Intersecting Identities edited by Jos Twist, Ben Vincent, Meg-John Barker, and Kat Gupta is a collection of essays from Nonbinary people of different backgrounds mostly in the UK. This was a great read. If you are nonbinary, pick this up, I promise you will feel seen. If you are not, pick this up and learn about it.
I don't even know what to write about this anthology. So much of it resonated with me, and I had so many things in common with a lot of these people in the way that we feel about ourselves and how the world perceives us. Many of the authors were able to put my abstract feelings into words. I loved how intersectional this was as well. So many people with many different intersections instead of the same kind of nonbinary people we tend to see in the media (white, thin, able bodies, wealthy, vaguely masculine or androgynous).
This anthology illustrates that there isn't one way to be nonbinary or "look nonbinary." So much care and love was put into this book. The editors acknowledge the privilege they have being able to write this book and take care not to make sweeping generalizations to let each person speak for themselves.
The book is broken up into four sections: Cultural Context; Communities; The Life Course; and Bodies, Health, and Wellbeing. Many of the things I read felt like a mirror was being held up, while others were more of a window into intersections I don't hold, and allowed me to examine the privileges I do hold. One theme all the chapters had in common was the sense of not belonging, of not being trans or nonbinary enough.
April 3, 2020
Non-Binary Lives - An Anthology of Intersecting Identities is a thoughtfully curated, boundary crossing collection of essays from non-binary authors. As a person who is also non-binary and who is interested more and more in what gender looks like on an individual level outside the binary, this collection both personally resonated with my own narrative and shed light on areas outside the realm of my own experience.
I feel people with a base level of understanding of the LGBTQIA+ community would benefit the most from the perspectives offered within this anthology. While every story contained within offers an informative and important lens through which to view the meaning of non-binary, I wouldn’t suggest it as a starting point for someone who is only beginning their exploration and understanding of what being non-binary means. But, if that understanding is already present, I would consider this a must read for those who wish to deepen that knowledge. I know I will be purchasing this book for my own collection and adding it to my go-to recommendation list as well.
Thank you to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I feel people with a base level of understanding of the LGBTQIA+ community would benefit the most from the perspectives offered within this anthology. While every story contained within offers an informative and important lens through which to view the meaning of non-binary, I wouldn’t suggest it as a starting point for someone who is only beginning their exploration and understanding of what being non-binary means. But, if that understanding is already present, I would consider this a must read for those who wish to deepen that knowledge. I know I will be purchasing this book for my own collection and adding it to my go-to recommendation list as well.
Thank you to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
June 30, 2022
Essays on people's experiences being nonbinary and how that impacts their other identities and experiences and vice versa.
This book made me feel seen in ways I didn't even realize existed. Seeing so many people call themselves genderqueer after being the only person I knew with that identity was something I didn't realize I had needed.
It talks about how disability impacts gender, how being fat impacted their gender positively, how being apart of other cultures impacted how they could explore and express themselves and its really opens your eyes to the diversity of nonbinary. There's often a narrative of nonbinary being confused, thin, white, able-bodied, AFAB people that this book goes directly against and it's really impactful and needed
This book made me feel seen in ways I didn't even realize existed. Seeing so many people call themselves genderqueer after being the only person I knew with that identity was something I didn't realize I had needed.
It talks about how disability impacts gender, how being fat impacted their gender positively, how being apart of other cultures impacted how they could explore and express themselves and its really opens your eyes to the diversity of nonbinary. There's often a narrative of nonbinary being confused, thin, white, able-bodied, AFAB people that this book goes directly against and it's really impactful and needed
May 7, 2024
What a great book! A useful, relatable, well curated and edited resource that i found helpful in my enby journey. Among the themes I appreciated was one of not being held to others’ definitions of what it means to be non binary. An affirming and supportive feeling read, with reminders of all the possibilities for living one’s life.
December 5, 2021
An incredible anthology showing the diversity within the nonbinary community, and one that will always have a special place in my heart because I got my copy at a little bookstore in San Francisco days before getting my top surgery ❤️
March 19, 2023
I enjoyed reading this so much!
Fascinating to hear a lot of different experiences.
I would actively ask lots of different people to read this. Open your understanding of people!
Fascinating to hear a lot of different experiences.
I would actively ask lots of different people to read this. Open your understanding of people!
June 8, 2024
I loved this book. If you're non-binary and/or would like to learn about the experiences of a wide variety of non-binary people, I highly recommend this!
October 12, 2024
Like most anthologies, some essays are stronger than others. Some chapters were quite challenging and I learned a lot.
June 20, 2022
Absolute gem, it would give it 10 stars if i could!!!
February 9, 2021
I found this book fascinating and thought provoking, and I recognised a lot of my thoughts and feelings in the accounts of other people. Well worth a read.
September 25, 2022
This book felt like warm hug. On every day that I had negative experiences (like being misgendered) or felt weird about myself, I picked up this book and read some of the contributions. I learned so much about the intersections of different identity categories and issues. While all these people’s experiences are different from mine, the fact that we all share this feeling of not fitting into the binary, made me feel so understood and grateful.
September 6, 2024
Personal favourite, loved it <3
Took quiet a long time to read is, not a one-session book — but worth it in my opinion as a nonbinary person :)
Took quiet a long time to read is, not a one-session book — but worth it in my opinion as a nonbinary person :)
July 7, 2022
I couldn't possibly name all the chapters I loved from this anthology, but I was so pleased to find a piece of myself in every story. For me, the best part of being Non-Binary is the way we can affirm each other and connect over our gender(s) even if they are very different.
April 19, 2020
NON-BINARY LIVES is a unique collection of personal narratives by non-binary people. It’s also a mix of things I don’t normally pick up—anthology, essay, and nonfiction. What drew me to this book was the idea that I could read a collection of experiences by people who had something in common with me.
I’m non-binary, and I don’t usually get to see myself in books, no matter what the genre. I’ve worried on many occasions that I’m faking my gender, that I’m as confused as some people say, and that I don’t really fit anywhere because of my gender and the expression I choose for it. NON-BINARY LIVES is an incredibly affirming collection of essays from people who are like me, but also people who are very different from me. The book includes intersectional identities of gender, sexuality, race, class, disability, and more. While there are too many perspectives in the world to encompass in a single book, NON-BINARY LIVES is self-aware in knowing that the creators did their best to include as many of these identities as possible while acknowledging that there are more experiences they were not able to include, even within the same communities.
These essays are validating for non-binary people like myself, and the spectrum of gender identity they encompass is vast and inclusive. The message is that no non-binary gender expression is wrong, that you can be non-binary in your own way. In other words, this is a message that all people—not just the non-binary people who need this validation, but those who insist we are confused, that we must conform to the gender binary, and those who simply haven’t heard of us—need to hear.
Each contributor to this collection wrote thoughtfully and powerfully about their experiences. From narratives depicting struggles with getting healthcare and accessibility to being able to enter or even stay included in certain spaces, each essay in every section showed challenges that we don’t always think about if we haven’t experienced them. And if we have experienced them, it helps us feel seen and heard.
NON-BINARY LIVES is an important step in creating a world that not only recognizes but includes our identities. I love how much thought and care went into writing, editing, and putting this book out into the world. Thank you so much for making it available and for putting it into the hands of people who need it.
I’m non-binary, and I don’t usually get to see myself in books, no matter what the genre. I’ve worried on many occasions that I’m faking my gender, that I’m as confused as some people say, and that I don’t really fit anywhere because of my gender and the expression I choose for it. NON-BINARY LIVES is an incredibly affirming collection of essays from people who are like me, but also people who are very different from me. The book includes intersectional identities of gender, sexuality, race, class, disability, and more. While there are too many perspectives in the world to encompass in a single book, NON-BINARY LIVES is self-aware in knowing that the creators did their best to include as many of these identities as possible while acknowledging that there are more experiences they were not able to include, even within the same communities.
These essays are validating for non-binary people like myself, and the spectrum of gender identity they encompass is vast and inclusive. The message is that no non-binary gender expression is wrong, that you can be non-binary in your own way. In other words, this is a message that all people—not just the non-binary people who need this validation, but those who insist we are confused, that we must conform to the gender binary, and those who simply haven’t heard of us—need to hear.
Each contributor to this collection wrote thoughtfully and powerfully about their experiences. From narratives depicting struggles with getting healthcare and accessibility to being able to enter or even stay included in certain spaces, each essay in every section showed challenges that we don’t always think about if we haven’t experienced them. And if we have experienced them, it helps us feel seen and heard.
NON-BINARY LIVES is an important step in creating a world that not only recognizes but includes our identities. I love how much thought and care went into writing, editing, and putting this book out into the world. Thank you so much for making it available and for putting it into the hands of people who need it.
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