Beyond the Gender Binary

Alok is living in the future and I want to be there too. A thoughtful and well-written introduction to the gender binary, and why we should break free.

I thought this book was rather meh. The beginning of the book opens up the discussion about gender-nonconforming people quite well, but when we get to the part where they start listing questions and statements the book loses me. Although I get the frustration as a queer person, I wish the conversation would have been had in a different way. To constantly be on the defense is simply exhausting. The questions could have instead been incorporated in a convincing and well-researched text.

3-stars for all the info given. As some people have mentioned before, if you're already well-versed in the topic you really won't learn anything new.
The audiobook didn't really provide any sources or direct quotes, but I'm hoping and guessing the paperback did.

A must read for those who want to learn, unlearn and relearn concepts around gender. This is like a memoir-essay in Penguin's Pocket Change series, so it's not fully fleshed out like a full memoir or non-fiction book, but it does what it seeks out to do.

Short, concise, heartfelt. I think I read a longer more in-depth treatment of when and how we use gender on ID documents/sports with the same name if you wanted something with more meat.

Alok Vaid-Menon breaks down everything you could ever want to know about the term “gender binary” in Beyond the Gender Binary. They explain about the history of binary humans and the use of non-binary terminology. This term and idea goes back thousands of years. They also break down every myth and argument that people bring up regarding “gender binary” humans.

Vaid-Menon does all of this in an easy and sometimes funny manner. Beyond is a very quick read, but with a wealth of information. They manage to cover such a broad range of information in such a short period that when I finished with the book, I thought I could teach a class. In today's world it is important to know each other and Vaid-Menon gives us an opportunity to understand gender binary and all of the terms it encompasses.

A must read. A huge thank you to Alok Vaid-Menon and the Pocket Change Collective for producing high quality and needed LGBTQIA+ information and reading material. I would also love to give a shout-out to the SAILS Library network for carrying this book, otherwise I would have never been able to read it.

I got this book from my library. I love my local library and you should check out yours too. Request LGBTQ+ books and they will stock them! #ebooksforall