Anybody Wondering What Non-binary Means?

[Igneococcus]

Not even reading Travis Alabanza's book "None of the Above" will provide an answer, it seems.
Sarah Ditum's review in the Times:
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a334e5b2-18a1-11ed-b1f4-627a202c7457?shareToken=5957646076d48bae97b3241925e900a5

Wanker

It does feel a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, giving something like that to Sarah Ditum to review.

I'd almost be more interested in seeing someone on-side with Alabanza attempting to review it. What could they say about the book in the same number of words?

Anyone got any links to a review from an alphabet person? I'm open to either comically effusive praise about how insightful it is, or bitter carping about how it's super problematic.

At one point, Alabanza wonders angstily: “What if I am just a male body of genitalia and bones that is in a prolonged game of dressing up?”

What if indeed?

Non-binary is essentially self defeating, you can only lay claim to this specialness by mentally putting everyone else in a binary box which IIRC is a form of oppression and literal violence.

Oh Ffs, art degrees were invented for people like this.

Who forgot to bolt the door?

I can say that as I did one

I think it's a comfort blanket. People love labels and if you perceive yourself as 'gender non conforming' whether you are uncomfortable or proud this is a way of explanation to the world, it also gives you a tribe.

In my day, more simple times, it was goths and rockers, but it's all about activism and ideology now, and identifying into an 'oppressed group', not the music.

warrriorN that made me laugh!
musomama eloquently put!
it seems just about being narcissistic and pouting in a photo now, without the music or talent to back you up. I think even art students created something to show their tortured angst, but now it seems you pout in insta and advertise florists. Seems a shame, and to me, pretty vacuous.
havent people been going into the wrong loos in night clubs etc for years? I know we did, there was never a queue in the mens! There was often a man in a dress in the ladies too, being outre and loving the attention. Seems exhaustingly political to be doing it now.
It’s the same as Marion and boy George, Bowie, ( cept they had talent and created stuff), etc etc, and I have a quote from an Elizabethan book where the chap is bemoaning that you can’t tell the boys from the girls with their long hair.
so 17th century!
Omg, I’m far too involved in this! Time for coffee!

Haha brilliant review.

Personally I find the answer to the question "what is non-binary" is usually "attention seeking twattery" and this dress wearing person proves that rather.

LOOK AT ME! I'M SPECIAL! I REJECT THE BINARY AND SAY LOTS OF CLEVER STUFF TO SOUND INTELLIGENT AND WORTHY OF YOUR ATTENTION!

I find identity politics very narcissistic and draining.

This.

Mary Harrington reviewed this book.

unherd.com/2022/08/what-does-it-mean-to-be-non-binary/

Reminds me of this review of the Nonbinary Mayor's book....

grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/oppression-cosplay

TA is only 26? Feels like they've been around for a lot longer. Must just be fatigue from all the eye rolling.

Sarah Datum on great form there.

I just was musing on this on another thread here.
I don't understand the concept of all of non-binary. I mean if you have non-binary, then you must have NON-non-binary, to represent those who aren't non-binary; aka binary.
So you're putting yourself right back in a binary box.

It doesn't make sense at all when you think about it for more than 3 seconds.

Sarah Ditum has top notch self discipline. She really is able to read some terrible books

I'm just curios as to how you can be mom binary and still expect to use womens spaces.

How us one triggered by misgendering and simultaneously not triggered by being around women. Makes mo sense.

I mean how can you be non binary when there are over 100 genders so thats what non - centary.

If its a third category then surely its non- trinary.

Or it separates you into binary and non binary making you binary again.

Which is it?.answers on a post card.

Well the way I see it there are two (competing) systems of classifying humans so the same people exist in both systems but the words to describe them might be different.

The assertion is that 'new progressive' is kinder or more inclusive or both - this is an assertion I disagree with (and am GC) however

non binary is the label for people who do NOT identify strongly with having a Woman GI OR a Man GI although there does not seem to any particular assertion of it being a GI of its own ; which makes it indistinguishable from agender. AND /OR nb might be for you if you are not comfortable with all the typical expectations of dress and behaviour of the gender you were assigned at birth.

Therefore under system 2 classifications I am a non-binary pansexual, as is my husband. We're all special hon.

I'm sensitive to over generalisations, probably, so forgive me. But
'They're all attention seekers'
'They're all vulnerable'
'They're all actually gay'
'They're all non-neurotypical'
'They've all got abusive parents'
'They've all got spineless parents'
Seems to be the themes of these discussions. No one in particular, all comments are interesting and I don't disagree with them. But
I am comfortable with the realisation that there is more complexity than this. There are interesting things too about the way young people are rejecting gender stereotypes.
Why did I decide to go vegan or like U2 when I was a teenager (because of a boy I liked, because I thought I ought to). Why did I decide to wear heels on a night out (because it was a cultural norm). I grew up. I'm mostly vegan and I like Country music. Their culture for better or for worse influences their speech, appearance and choices. I am gender critical, and I am supportive of the free speech of people with different beliefs and of debate of the (imo flimsy) ideas underpinning gender ideology. But condemning and damning generalisations seem unfair to young people. Their critical thinking is developing, they have been fed weird lies about biology, and they are completing a developmental task of trying to be different yet the same (acceptable).

I posted a thread a few days ago about a review by Mary Harrington of this and another book on the topic 'Can you really be non-binary?'