misgendering

non-binary, noun: 'a catch-all category for gender identities that are not exclusively masculine or feminine—identities which are thus outside of the gender binary and cisnormativity'

gender feelsy stuff because I'm always pretty feelsy about gender. As much as I am happy being non-binary and am very proud of my identity, it's still a daily struggle when the body you were born in doesn't fit the way you feel inside, your family, friends and colleagues use incorrect pronouns and your own government refuses to acknowledge you even exist. NB people face the extra challenge of 99.9% of people they meet instantly assigning them 'male' or 'female' even though we are neither. Everyone does this, even if it's not a conscious decision, but it's something that needs to be unlearned. I have to tolerate this on a daily basis and being referred to as 'she' or 'he' can range from being slightly irritating to deeply upsetting depending on my mental state (which gets severely impacted by consistent misgendering). Adding in the gatekeepers in the transgender community who insist that we are 'non trans enough' and it can at times be a very difficult experience. 

However times are changing and our voices are being heard; this weekend my good friend Maria came out as non-binary to President Barack Obama (now there's a conversation starter) and since then has spoken to various media outlets about their experiences and has been educating the masses about our community. While we're still a long way from getting legal recognition this is a huge leap forward in term of visibility and education, and I am super proud of Maria for what they've achieved so far <3

I am always happy to discuss gender/LGBTQIA issues with people, and answer any genuine questions you might have, so feel free to get in contact! You can also contact me via Tumblr if you'd rather be anonymous. 

UPDATE: I have reported over a dozen Instagram and Facebook accounts for reposting this image without permission or credit, some of which were awful enough to crop my name out. If you see this image on any other social media platforms (often posted by LGBT pages) then please alert me so I can report it. DO NOT REPOST THIS IMAGE unless I have given you explicit consent to do so.

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