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By: Bethel Tessera
For years, non-binary and gender-fluid individuals have been ignored and frowned upon by almost every community, including the transgender community. Some transgender social media influencers have been/still are harassing non-binary people, alluding that non-binary individuals are not a part of the trans community. They have fallen into the trap of seeking validation from straight, cis women and men.
Due to the hate, Kalvin Garrah, a YouTuber with a large presence and personality, stopped posting videos on YouTube. For almost a decade, Garrah invalidated and made fun of many individuals, including non-binary and gender fluid individuals, alluding that they are “faking” being non-binary and that they don’t belong into the trans community because “they don’t have body dysmorphia”. In one instance, due to Garrah’s video, a non-binary individual received so much hate, that they were admitted to a hospital and deleted all their platforms. With little to no hate and many agreeing with his beliefs, Garrah continued to enjoy his life, making videos continuing to bully and harass non-binary and gender-fluid individuals. Thankfully, due to our progressive and open communities, people stopped agreeing to his malicious views. Six months ago, he announced that he will no longer be uploading videos on YouTube. The individual he and his supporters bullied out of the internet, came back and is now uploading videos with their new supporters to support them.
Our values have progressed, but did the law? Only eleven states allow for third gender IDs, with those being California, Washington D.C. and New York. In 2016, a resident of Portland, Oregon, Jamie Shupe, was the first case to be legally identified as a non-binary individual in the United States. Even with progressive changes to the ideology of non-binary and genderfluid people, individuals are contunining to fight to be heard by the public and the law. Many of them provide resources and tools to better educate those who do not understand their community. They also participate in interviews to share their experiences as a non-binary or as a gender fluid individual. It is difficult now in current times to not come across a non-binary documentaries and interviews, which is great for the non-binary community because they are getting more recognition and more people are educated. People who are educated on topics like gender fluidity and non-binary individuals, are more likely to respect and support the community.
Being non-binary, many individuals feel the pressure to prove their existence. As we see recognition and representations for non-binary individuals, gender fluid individuals are more than often left out. Because people are just now learning about non-binary individuals, acknowledgingor understanding gender fluid people can be difficult for them. Often, people categorizegender fluid people as non-binary, which is not correct. Gender fluid individuals are all different and are not presumably fifty percent boy and fifty percent girl. It all depends on how the individual feels. Some change their gender in the matter of hours, while others, in months. They decide whether their identity changes are extreme or arbitrary.
Many people can agree that gender is a spectrum, rather than two genders. Gender is not presumably only defined as chromosomes, but also by psychology, hormones and physiology. With their fight to be understood and respected contining, non-binary and gender fluid people hope to be included in gender fluid and non-binary friendly laws. They also hope to be understood and respected by all individuals. With hard-work and open minds, I am positive that it is possible.
Works Cited
Hildreth, Cade. “Everything You Should Know about Being Gender Fluid.” Everything You Should Know About Being Gender Fluid, 5 Feb. 2021, cadehildreth.com/gender-fluid/.
“Nonbinary? Intersex? 11 U.S. States Issuing Third Gender Ids.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 31 Jan. 2019, www.reuters.com/article/us-us-lgbt-lawmaking-idUSKCN1PP2N7.