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Discussions about gender reveal parties gone wrong seem to have reached a fever pitch lately, and between said parties and new narrow-minded legislative designed to hurt young trans women in sports, the emphasis on supporting those who identify as transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming individuals has also increased.
Such support is coming from one pop star, Demi Lovato, today, who re-shared a post by Alok Vaid-Menon, a gender nonconforming writer, performer, artist, public speaker and advocate.
“@alokvmenon with the real,” Demi wrote before reposting the caption. “Thank you for sharing your knowledge and educating us always.”
The lengthy post includes several slides breaking down how a binary celebration of coded and colored cis gender baby leaves no room for the other possibilities. “This is not about being politically correct, it’s about being correct,” Vaid-Menon wrote in the caption to their post that Lovato shared. “The refusal to acknowledge this stems from a misunderstanding of what transphobia is. Transphobia is not just prejudice or violence against an individual trans person, it is a belief system that presumes non-trans people to be more “natural” than trans people. Only individual people can self determine their gender.”
You might remember Alok’s work helping people understand the reaction to Harry Styles in a dress on the cover of Vogue, as cited by the inimitable AOC. Please scroll through the full slideshow if you’re still seeking to understand what’s at stake when assuming genitals determine gender.
The slides were designed by Nabi, and for any further questions considering purchasing Alok’s book, Beyond The Gender Binary and educating yourself.
