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donttellmomwhatimreading's review against another edition
It read very much like a text book and I just am. It in the place for that.
zellreads's review
3.0
Interesting concepts but I felt that this went way too broad and kind of all over the place, and didn't dive deep like I wanted it to into gender and sexuality binaries. It is definitely educational, but not what I was hoping for.
erinjp123's review
4.0
I loved the thinking break and thought the intersectionality was super important. Worth reading.
mollysmith1313's review
3.0
I really liked other books Meg-John has contributed to, so I thought I’d check this out. It’s full of a a lot of thought provoking ideas on how to challenge a ton of the binaries we use in everyday life. I gave 3 stars because some parts of the book dragged a little bit for me, but admittedly maybe I just wasn’t connecting with some of the material. And it’s a book I don’t feel the desire to reread. That being said, if you love journaling and meditating on these ideas, I highly recommend this book to you.
shannenlc's review
Life Isn't Binary is a sociological non-fiction which examines the binary frameworks that exist Western society and the restrictive and damaging impact of these binaries on us as individuals. It's divided into six chapters - 1) sexuality 2) gender 3) relationships 4) bodies 5) emotions 6) thinking - and focuses on social justice, drawing on a variety of philosophies, academic theories and frameworks that the authors resonate with such as feminism, queer theory, spirituality and more.
This is a thought-provoking read, which challenged me to confront and debunk the binaries I have unconsciously fed into my entire life. Our black and white ways of thinking and categorising ourselves, each other and the world around us has become so normalised, that it's easy to forget how ridiculous it is. This book holds a magnifying glass up to that, reminding the reader how complex humans and society are and how rarely any of us ever fit into the binaries that we are forced into.
The authors' had a unique voice and their willingness to share their own perspectives, to be honest about their positionality and values was refreshing and insightful. I also appreciated that they actively sought to incorporate the voices of others (particularly those of marginalised communities) to enrich each chapter.
There's a lot of value to be found within these pages. As a queer person, I didn't learn anything new from the sexuality or gender chapters (although I appreciated the validation I felt from reading these chapters!), but as the chapters progressed I gained more insight and learnt many new things. There are valuable insights and lessons here for everyone regardless of how they identify. It encourages us all to embrace the greyness, the ambiguity, the complexity, the multi-layered nature of human identity and experience.
I think this would be a particularly valuable read for younger people who are looking for an introduction into this topic. It's an accessible read and the reflection and activity sections included allow the reader to pause and take in what they've read or to reflect on their own identity/emotions/thoughts etc. Because of its accessibility, there was a lack of nuance in some chapters and times where I felt like I wasn't necessarily the intended audience.
Nonetheless, I am glad I read this book. It gave me a lot of food for thought and has given me the tools to actively challenge my own binary ways of thinking. Also as a queer person, it's helped me to feel more comfortable with identifying in ways that are outside the binary and may not necessarily make sense to others, but that make me feel at home within myself.
This is a thought-provoking read, which challenged me to confront and debunk the binaries I have unconsciously fed into my entire life. Our black and white ways of thinking and categorising ourselves, each other and the world around us has become so normalised, that it's easy to forget how ridiculous it is. This book holds a magnifying glass up to that, reminding the reader how complex humans and society are and how rarely any of us ever fit into the binaries that we are forced into.
The authors' had a unique voice and their willingness to share their own perspectives, to be honest about their positionality and values was refreshing and insightful. I also appreciated that they actively sought to incorporate the voices of others (particularly those of marginalised communities) to enrich each chapter.
There's a lot of value to be found within these pages. As a queer person, I didn't learn anything new from the sexuality or gender chapters (although I appreciated the validation I felt from reading these chapters!), but as the chapters progressed I gained more insight and learnt many new things. There are valuable insights and lessons here for everyone regardless of how they identify. It encourages us all to embrace the greyness, the ambiguity, the complexity, the multi-layered nature of human identity and experience.
I think this would be a particularly valuable read for younger people who are looking for an introduction into this topic. It's an accessible read and the reflection and activity sections included allow the reader to pause and take in what they've read or to reflect on their own identity/emotions/thoughts etc. Because of its accessibility, there was a lack of nuance in some chapters and times where I felt like I wasn't necessarily the intended audience.
Nonetheless, I am glad I read this book. It gave me a lot of food for thought and has given me the tools to actively challenge my own binary ways of thinking. Also as a queer person, it's helped me to feel more comfortable with identifying in ways that are outside the binary and may not necessarily make sense to others, but that make me feel at home within myself.
telltalepage's review
5.0
While I am not nonbinary, I have found myself surrounded by many people who are important to me and who are nonbinary or who don't fit into gender norms. As a way to make sure I'm not treating these people as textbooks, I've been trying to find books and resources to read to become familiar with life experiences of people who fall under the trans umbrella. This book in particular was very helpful in the informative way of offering information, self-care and personal experiences. I learned a lot of ways I can help and support the people around me with new outlooks on life and gender expression and experiences and tools to keep in mind as well. I know that no one life is the same and everyone will be experiencing their gender differently but I'm thankful to find books like these that give me (a cis but also queer person) an insight into identities I cannot personally relate to so I can better understand and support the people in my life.
The introduction of this book said that it was written for people who were figuring out their nonbinary (or gender nonconforming) identities, but I feel like as a cis ally, this was a very well written and helpful book for me to read as well. I encourage anyone who is interested in supporting trans-umbrella folks to also take a look at this: it might surprise you how much you'll learn.
I also think this goes far and beyond gender identity in the way it talks about all sorts of binary pairs in the society we live in. For example, the Emotions chapter (rational/emotional) really spoke to me on a personal level and paired nicely with my current therapy experiences and tools and what I've been working through over the last two years. I feel like this book is really great for anyone who wants to break out of society’s binary structure to try to approach life differently and with more compassion and understanding.
The introduction of this book said that it was written for people who were figuring out their nonbinary (or gender nonconforming) identities, but I feel like as a cis ally, this was a very well written and helpful book for me to read as well. I encourage anyone who is interested in supporting trans-umbrella folks to also take a look at this: it might surprise you how much you'll learn.
I also think this goes far and beyond gender identity in the way it talks about all sorts of binary pairs in the society we live in. For example, the Emotions chapter (rational/emotional) really spoke to me on a personal level and paired nicely with my current therapy experiences and tools and what I've been working through over the last two years. I feel like this book is really great for anyone who wants to break out of society’s binary structure to try to approach life differently and with more compassion and understanding.