Beyond the Gender Binary

Pocket Change Collective

By: Alok Vaid-Menon

Narrated by: Alok Vaid-Menon

Length: 1 hr and 7 mins

Publisher's Summary

Pocket Change Collective was born out of a need for space. Space to think. Space to connect. Space to be yourself. And this is your invitation to join us.

"Thank God we have Alok. And I'm learning a thing or two myself." (Billy Porter, Emmy award-winning actor, singer, and Broadway theater performer)

"When reading this book, all I feel is kindness." (Sam Smith, Grammy and Oscar award-winning singer and songwriter)

"Beyond the Gender Binary will give readers everywhere the feeling that anything is possible within themselves" (Princess Nokia, musician and co-founder of the Smart Girl Club)

"A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change." (Kirkus Reviews starred review)

"An affirming, thoughtful read for all ages." (School Library Journal starred review)

In Beyond the Gender Binary, poet, artist, and LGBTQIA+ rights advocate Alok Vaid-Menon deconstructs, demystifies, and reimagines the gender binary.

Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today's leading activists and artists. In this installment, Beyond the Gender Binary, Alok Vaid-Menon challenges the world to see gender not in black and white, but in full color. Taking from their own experiences as a gender-nonconforming artist, they show us that gender is a malleable and creative form of expression. The only limit is your imagination.

©2020 Alok Vaid-Menon (P)2020 Listening Library

Critic Reviews

"There's no better time for a new conversation about the damaging effects of mainstream society's oppressive, dismissive, and silencing stance on who folks are supposed to be based on...what...? Thank God we have Alok. And I'm learning a thing or two myself." (Billy Porter, Emmy award-winning actor, singer, and Broadway theater performer)

"This beautiful book is a beacon, just like Alok. Having Alok in my life has saved me in so many ways, and now you can have a little bit of them with you, too. When reading this book, all I feel is kindness. This is a step-by-step education on what it means to respect non-binary people. Alok is a human being who has a deep love and commitment to other human beings. They have come to us from the future to show us what life could be like if we all loved a little harder and dug a little deeper." (Sam Smith, Grammy and Oscar award-winning singer and songwriter)  

"Beyond the Gender Binary is a literary vessel of light for those who are looking for hopefulness, honesty, and a stimulating education in the exploration of themselves. This book is a twenty-first-century survival guide for queer-identifying people of all walks of life - Alok provides a safe space of shared experiences, commitment, and love to expand the gender binary to create a brighter and more inclusive present and future. This book shares wisdom, knowledge, and the universal spirit of celebrating one's self by shattering the transphobic lens that hinders most gender non-conforming people. Beyond the Gender Binary will give readers everywhere the feeling that anything is possible within themselves, and that self-love through whatever choice of gender expression is truly attainable." (Princess Nokia, musician and co-founder of the Smart Girl Club)

Logical fallacy throughout and very poorly argued.

I came in as open minded as I possibly could into the book, looking to learn and understand, but from the very beginning when Alok described “men and women” as “opposite” I was put on guard. Men and women are biologically complimentary, two essential contributors to creating a human life. Alok accuses society as the oppressor and divisor, when they themselves have divided the world in their head without regard for if it is true or not. The book is filled with inconsistencies and poor logic, and I don’t care to write all of them out (the review will end up being longer than the actual book), but If this is the best non-binary ideology (and it is one) can offer, it will not convince many people.

A Must Read or Listen.

This is must read or listen for everyone. I finished it in two days. This opened my eyes to what needs to be considered, especially in public relations. It is also refreshing because Non-Binary people are just as adequate and valid as binary people. We must respect their pronouns and become their allies for liberation for all.

AMAZING

This book changed the way I see the world and how much the gender binary dictates the way we live our lives. I will be sharing this with all of my friends and look forward to advocating more for gender neutral rights, language, and law!! ❤️

A must-read for everyone on this planet

This book will rock your world view on gender, binary thinking and human society as a whole.

Beautiful story read by a beautiful soul

A must listen. Both affirming and eye opening. A wonderful perspective. They shared their experience in such an articulate expansive, and inclusive manner it’s hard to not relate.

Thank you

So informative. Thank you for being transparent and sharing your experiences. I loved listening to this!

Beautiful 💖 please give it a go.

This is a book I wish everyone made the time to listen to. Alok’s passion, drive and history are the reason for my inspiration. They’re a warrior at their core and the greatest teacher that’s here to show us ignorant people, how to stand up for our Non-binary family.

Breath of fresh air with profound clarity

ALOK clearly and eloquently explains the beauty of human diversity and the importance of self acceptance. With full self acceptance there’s no need to fear or look down on others. Amen. Concise yet thought provoking book.

An Educational Must-Read

This book is for everyone. I found the information very helpful in expanding my understanding of gender. I appreciate that the author included some personal experiences.

Listen to this book

If you went to the Women’s March or to protest when Roe was overturned, but are not going to marches or otherwise supporting LGBTQ+ (and especially trans) folks and their rights, listen to this book. If you live in a state with existing or proposed anti-trans laws and you’re not sure how to counter arguments lawmakers or people in your community are making to support these laws, listen to this book. If you’ve ever worried you’re not masculine or feminine enough or too masculine or feminine, listen to this book. If you’ve ever wondered if gender or sex are really binary, listen to this book.

Inspiring

Thank you so much! ❤️ This short audiobook has left me in tears. I have always known that I am feminine, but rarely allow myself to accept it and just be. I bought this book because I started dating someone who identifies as non binary but by the end of the book I realised more about myself than the other person. I would recommend this book to anyone.

thank you Alok

Small but mighty indeed, a wonderful summary that can be shared with family and friends.

Love it

This was such a short book but such an interesting one! It opened my mind to some aspects that I had never thought about.

Read this book!

Excellent and very important read for everyone. Full of kindness and compassion.
Grateful for and to Alok ❤️

very informative and affirming

I loved this book, short and sweet and to the point. this is a very important book.

Great little book

Very informative and gets straight to the point. A great way to learn about a complex topic in digestable pieces so it doesn't overwhelm you.

Amazing, groundbreaking work

This book is way beyond it's time, but hopefully, it can be speed up the change in our world. The author is an incredible thinker, someone who is brave and thinks outside of societal norms.
The elegance in the way they articulated their points gives me hope that maybe gender non-conforming people like myself will one day convince the world of our value and that our existence will be respected.
I can't recommend this enough to anyone willing to open their mind and take a look outside of the artificial boxes society has created for us.

Thank you so much to the author for writing this work. It was very much needed.

Should be mandatory reading

This book needs to be in the hands of young people all over the world, regardless of their gender identity. This book breaks down bullying and the core of pain that causes it in a way I have never seen written before. This book gives me hope for humanity healing.

Insightful

Very timely and insightful.
A must read for all generations. Thank you. Loving Humanity.

Loved this so much! A must read!

Alok is an amazing writer and thinker. Their thoughts are inspiring and eye opening. I’ve been following Alok for a while on Instagram and I’m really happy they have a book now.