Blog: 11001 Deciphering the Binary Code
Written in honour of Non-Binary Awareness Week.
When I think of the term binary, my mind’s eye immediately launches me back to being 6 years old watching “The Matrix” for the first time. The cascade of green digits unfolding downwards on screen, the contrast of green and black so captivating for a young child only beginning to be exposed to the limitless opportunities of movie magic. Of course, by 2020, even ASDA adverts have such sophisticated CGI technology it’s hard for anyone post 90s to imagine what film and TV used to be like, but “The Matrix” is to this day revered by many as a pioneer of not only the science fiction genre, but viewed as a turning point for movies overall both in technology and political commentary with its overarching message: your perception of reality is wrong. And that iconic segment of emerald hued 1s and 0s flashing and falling faster than we can blink was my first introduction to binary code; 1 equals this, 0 equals that. There are no others, only two. Through hearing more about binary code, me in my childish whimsy (and as someone who never quite grasped mathematics in the first place) always thought “what about the other numbers?” But of course in the world of computers and binary code, it is only 1 and 0. And apparently, in this world of gender identity and expression, the same rules apply.
It is no secret that gay, bisexual and pansexual people have always existed. Similarly, Transgender and Gender Fluid people have been a strong part of even BC history, with evidence of various gender identities existing during Ancient Greek and Roman times and Ancient Egypt. However, in the modern day, Non-Binary, Gender Fluid and Agendered people are being met with bountiful criticism:
“It’s a phase…”
“You’re just a tomboy…”
“You were ‘she’ six months ago, what are you gonna be tomorrow?...”
“I’m with actual trans people, it’s all this ‘gender neutral’ nonsense I don’t get…”
“A man is born a man. A woman is born a woman. Get over it…”
“What’s next? Folk identifying as; ‘bins’; ‘sausage rolls’; ‘dolphins’; ‘someone richer’; ‘someone taller’…”
Non-Binary and Gender Fluid people are those who identify as neither male or female. For some of us it could be somewhere in between both genders, for others it’s absolutely nothing to with either gender and of course can encapsulate many other variations. Whatever our individual definition – we have always existed, through Ancient History and across numerous world cultures including but not limited to Indigenous Native American, Hinduism, Hawaii, Indonesia, Serbia and Mexico. The rigidity of the “Two Gender Only” system was implemented by white European settlers as many of these regions around the world were colonised, thus erasing much of the evidence that other gender identities existed and their visibility during that time. And so now, we are preconditioned even before we can walk and talk with this idea that there are two genders – men and women – and that both of these genders are inherently different. That means if someone comes across our path who is not immediately identifiable as either male or female, there is a glitch in our version of the matrix. And if they openly identify as living out with the binary, that is when we sometimes find that even the most tolerant of people find this a tricky concept to grasp. Non Binary people are required, out of the comfort of the general population, to make a decision under a huge magnifying glass of speculation from all angles. Which one are you? Blue or pink? Indoor or outdoor plumbing? Additionally, there is no way to “pick out” a Non-Binary person from a group of people. A person could have been assigned female at birth, wear a dress, makeup, long flowing hair and still be Non-Binary. Another could have been assigned male at birth, have a bushy beard that could rival good old Saint Nick, wear a tailored suit and, of course, could be gender fluid. Our assumption of someone’s gender based off of their clothing, amount of facial hair, body shape, voice or hairstyle doesn’t determine their actual identity. How masculine or feminine someone may dress is not necessarily tied to their gender as makeup, hairstyle and clothes can potentially be a way to express our gender but not for everyone.
This assumption and obsession with “man or woman” rears its ugly, scaly, venomous head every day for those of us living out with the binary, more so when we have celebrities attempting to chime in on the subject via Twitter as though they have acquired a PhD in Gender Studies overnight. Although it’s reassuring to have allies rush to our defence, therein lies a glaring issue: we are debating people’s existence. We are debating people’s right to be who they are. Is it fair to then publicly discuss whether or not a person is a valid part of society simply because someone else doesn’t understand us? But of course we all have our own beliefs and, as illustrated in “The Matrix”, we all have our own perception of what reality actually is. And so despite many thousands of people in Scotland and the UK being Non-Binary, for people that have never came across one of us Enbys or heard of us beforehand, it’s all too easy to reject our place in reality and substitute it with your own version that aligns better with your ideas and beliefs.
But of course when we ask what is “man or woman”, all too often this is tied exclusively to a more awkward question about reproductive organs:
“What’s between your legs?”
“What are your “chromosomes”?”
“Do you get pregnant or do you get people pregnant”
All questions I have either heard or been witness to before.
Regardless of inclusivity for Non-Binary people and being mindful of gendered language, these questions to denote someone’s gender is borderline laughable. When people who menstruate get their first period, they are often told “You’re becoming a woman!” As if it’s merely a few drops of blood uncontrollably leaving your body that makes you a woman. And so for Trans and Non-Binary people, the presence or absence of a cycle, coupled with advertising centred solely around the “come on girls” style of language, it makes us dread every month not only because of the usual aching cramps, rising stress levels and heightened emotions, but people may now have gender dysphoria, potential self-loathing and poor mental health to contend with. Not only does the tie with “womanhood” and periods affect Non-Binary and Trans people detrimentally, but also cisgender females and women too. If someone menstruates at 8 years old, are they now determined as a woman? If someone has gone through menopause, are they now not a woman? Someone who has to undergo a hysterectomy at 22, is their identity as a woman now erased also? People think that womxn are synonymous with breasts, despite many womxn having flat chests and many mxn having excess breast tissue. Similarly for the ability for cisgender men to achieve pregnancy with their partner – are they automatically not a man if they have a low sperm count? All of these plus so many more are examples of how such basic binary thinking is harmful to all groups of people and it’s not just us Theybies being special little snowflakes, desperate for attention and special treatment. Erasing these assumptions of gender will benefit everyone.
Of course the biggest argument used against Trans and Non-Binary identities is the good old “chromosomes”, featuring our pals XX and XY. While chromosomes are valid in scientific research for plants and mammals, perhaps I’m a bit of a diva when I say that my identity and my existence is more complex than that of a daffodil? Or perhaps that’s just what Cher has empowered me to believe all these years! But even in cisgender men and women, the answer of their being doesn’t always boil down to simply XX or XY. And that is even more so for Intersex people. Intersex is a term used for a variety of situations in which a person is born with reproductive anatomy that doesn’t fit in the boxes of “male” or “female”, and all too often surgeries are performed on newborn infants in an attempt to make them fit these ideals – yet another reason how implementing the gender binary can be harshly unfair. Often times people don’t even find out they are Intersex until well into adulthood; some people try to get pregnant only to be informed they were born without a uterus for example. There are varying situations where a person is Intersex and not every Intersex person is also Non-Binary (just as not every Non-Binary person is Intersex) but this further conveys the extremes that gendered language has embedded itself into everyday life, culture and medicine.
“But you can’t have pronouns that are They or Them because that’s plural and you are singular.”
Yes, they/them is used to refer to a group of people, that’s correct. But say for example we found someone’s house key on the floor of a shop, if we hand it to a staff member, would we not say “Hello, someone dropped their keys…” it’s likely we would. They/them has always been used to refer to a singular person as well as a group of people, even for the most grammatically conscious of us out there.
Gender identity is far too different to use as any sort of ‘one size fits all’ approach and we should appreciate that everyone’s story is vastly different. For some, gender has the ability to be fluid, much like other parts of our identity and may change slightly or dramatically as the years progress. And for others, gender is rock solid and will not budge an inch throughout the course of their life. I give my viewpoint of my experience as a Non-Binary person, but this is not exclusive for every other Trans or Non-Binary person out there. One of us cannot speak for all of us and so I would encourage allies to follow more Non-Binary people on social media in order to hear other perspectives and experiences. If people are confused or struggling to understand Non-Binary people, I would say that’s absolutely okay! One of my very close friends is Greek and though I am trying my hardest I am really struggling to learn the Greek language so as to converse with her and her family more efficiently. Because I am struggling to understand it, does this mean the Greek language is fabricated out of thin air? Does it mean Greek must not exist because I can’t speak it fluently and with ease? Is it somehow less valid than English? Of course not. I respect it though I cannot understand it – yet. But even if I didn’t want to learn the Greek language, there’s no arguing that it is there.
And this circles back to “The Matrix” in a way that beautifully portrays the shattering of the thin veil the construct of strict gender rules uphold. Given that the creators of the film franchise are Trans women, I often wonder if they realised just how powerful this film would be for so many of us Theydies and Gentlethems watching at home. The character of Switch was always my favourite, everyone else in their black duster coats and leather biker trousers, the image of Switch in their crisp snow white suit and peroxide hair made them stand out in such a captivating way to a young person still confused and unsure about what was for “boys” and what was for “girls”. Chatting with a friend while watching the film a few months ago, it was the first time I realised that you never find out Switch’s gender – they are only ever referred to as Switch. The original intention for this character was, whilst in “The Matrix” (ie the fake reality we are all programmed into), Switch was going to be portrayed as a female and in the real world was to be male, portraying a Trans story line for the character. Though this idea was reworked for the final version, having them as an Agendered character was equally groundbreaking for someone who growing up was constantly inundated with pink and pretty Disney princesses. I would be constantly be trying to decipher if Switch was a “boy” or a “girl” any time I watched, confused as to why this part of the character was never explained – as I grew up, I grew to be so inspired by the fact it wasn’t.
Choosing “The Matrix” to illustrate my feelings of being Non-Binary are apt because the whole film is depicted as a battle between reality and what others are programmed to believe to be reality. This is similar to feelings of living out with the gender construct – everyone around me is a 1 or a 0 and I appear to be unlucky number 3. There is of course other 3s, and 18s and -6s and all other numbers available, but not allowed in this version of reality just yet. In a way, like “The Matrix”, strict gender rules are merely a program – that same downpour of green 1s and 0s in the movie are what we see every day with pink shirts and blue shirts, boys and girls, his and hers towels. The program is slowly updating its software to expand from 1s and 0s, but there definitely some bugs still in the system. Being Non-Binary is not an attention stunt, it’s not a way to appear quirky or interesting, it’s simply a rejection of the rules enforced on us by other people – not because we are inherently rebellious, but because it’s just not who we are. It seems almost impossible to distill down an entire range of identities and expressions the brain can experience to just two options, but this can be difficult to understand unless you are someone living between or separate from the two options. Binary code is for computers – words, thoughts and feelings, the patterns created by the human brain are far more complex.