Scan barcode
A review by atreegrowsinbooks
None of the Above: Reflections on Life Beyond the Binary by Travis Alabanza
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
5.0
Wow wow wow. Simply incredible! I don’t feel like my review will do this book justice but I will try.
Alabanza’s words were sad and also inspiring. I don’t know what it’s like to live as a black gender non conforming person but I can empathize with them and other folks who don’t fit into the binary box. I thought it was a unique approach to the book formatting, to have each chapter be a reflection on a phrase that at one point was spoken to or about them.
I can’t believe that we live in a world where we have so much focus on our gender and the gender binary. Why put us in a box. We need to love and accept our gender non conforming siblings because they deserve to live and thrive as humans.
Such a profound book! Alabanza is a fantastic writer. I would love to read more from them. One concept that they brought up that I thought was interesting was that they thought they might not be trans, if they didn’t grow up in a world with a gender binary. I hadn't thought about it like that before. Since we have a binary, we have words like trans and non binary for all the folks that aren’t in the binary. But what if we lived in a world where there wasn’t a binary and we just were.
I will be thinking back to this book a lot as I continue to push myself into thinking outside the binary.
Alabanza’s words were sad and also inspiring. I don’t know what it’s like to live as a black gender non conforming person but I can empathize with them and other folks who don’t fit into the binary box. I thought it was a unique approach to the book formatting, to have each chapter be a reflection on a phrase that at one point was spoken to or about them.
I can’t believe that we live in a world where we have so much focus on our gender and the gender binary. Why put us in a box. We need to love and accept our gender non conforming siblings because they deserve to live and thrive as humans.
Such a profound book! Alabanza is a fantastic writer. I would love to read more from them. One concept that they brought up that I thought was interesting was that they thought they might not be trans, if they didn’t grow up in a world with a gender binary. I hadn't thought about it like that before. Since we have a binary, we have words like trans and non binary for all the folks that aren’t in the binary. But what if we lived in a world where there wasn’t a binary and we just were.
I will be thinking back to this book a lot as I continue to push myself into thinking outside the binary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Transphobia
Moderate: Suicide, Dysphoria, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content and Medical content