Non-Binary People Don't Owe You Androgyny

Abstract

Research and study regarding gender and the spectrum is still fairly new. Gender is not definitive between a black and white scale. It’s not all or nothing. Gender exists on a spectrum where gender expression widely varies from person to person. This project reflects from my own experience of being a non-binary person who uses they/them pronouns. More and more studies have been done in recent years surrounding those who identify with being non-binary, non-gender conforming, or genderqueer. The purpose of this project is to examine the visual culture attached to how non-binary people are represented in mainstream media, and how there are both positive and negative outcomes from these representations. While there is more inclusion now more than ever in media and entertainment, the popular aesthetics we see don’t always reflect in every identifying non-binary person. It is also important to note that non-binary aesthetics differ from person to person. How one person chooses to present themselves, may not hold the same truth for another person. The project will be geared towards an epistemology approach with relation to social constructionism. Though my experience does not reflect that of all genderqueer/non-binary people, I know there is truth behind the critique surrounding pop culture and mainstream media and how non-binary people are portrayed. This zine is less of a guide to understanding the non-binary person and more focused on stigmas and stereotypes perpetuated by the visual culture in mass media.