A review by serendipitysbooks
None of the Above: Reflections on Life Beyond the Binary by Travis Alabanza

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

 None of the Above is a series of seven essays, exploring the realities of being Black and existing outside the gender binary. Each is based around a phrase that someone has said to thee author about their gender identity. I found the essays to be honest, intimate and vulnerable and I really appreciated the author sharing their uncertainties about their gender identity. Things like believing they were not trans from birth but made trans in reaction to society’s strict gender binaries and being uncertain whether they were a woman or just wanted to present as one due to the difficulties of existing as clearly non-binary and gender non-conforming. This book really expanded my knowledge and understanding of gender, and particularly the nuances and realities, the sometimes messy uncertainties, of life beyond the binary. For those readers who are unsure of their gender identity, its message that gender identity is not necessarily set in stone or known from a young age, that it can evolve and change, will be an especially valuable and important one.

“I do not know what I will look like in ten years. Even if I decided now what I wanted to do with my body, I still would not know. Surgery and hormones are not magic wands, they are unpredictable and changeable. What I do know is that I do not want to be led by fear, or by sacrifice, or by others’ projections. I want to be led by my own desires, my choices, and my ability to carve my own rules.” 
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