I am not half of anything. I am the whole of myself. I am not between — i am beyond. I am chocolate.
In this special episode of Chocolate: The Podcast, I officially come out as non-binary and unpack what that means for me—emotionally, spiritually, and politically. We also journey through history to explore how gender diversity has always existed across the globe. From the Two-Spirit people of Indigenous North America to the Hijras of South Asia, the Orisha of Yoruba cosmology, the Fa’afafine of Samoa, and the gender-shifting deities of ancient Europe, non-binary identities are far from new. We talk about how colonialism tried to erase these rich traditions—and why reclaiming them matters today. This episode is both a celebration and a reclamation of gender beyond the binary.
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Episode References:
Farmer, Nic. Hey, I'm Non-Binary, Let's Talk | BLACK NON-BINARY. YouTube, 10 June 2021, https://youtu.be/vv05K8I72Fg.
Palmer, Patrice. Are You a Man or Woman? …I’m BLACK | Patrice Palmer | TEDxCSU. YouTube, uploaded by TEDx Talks, 6 May 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQCWLS_Atj0.
American Psychological Association. Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People. APA, 2015.
https://www.apa.org/practice/guidelines/transgender.pdf
Besnier, Niko, and Kalissa Alexeyeff, editors. Gender on the Edge: Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders. University of Hawai‘i Press, 2014.
Feinberg, Leslie. Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman. Beacon Press, 1996.
Human Rights Campaign. Glossary of Terms. HRC.
https://www.hrc.org/resources/glossary-of-terms
Indian Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Two-Spirit People.
https://www.ihs.gov/lgbt/health/twospirit/
Lang, Sabine. Men as Women, Women as Men: Changing Gender in Native American Cultures. University of Texas Press, 1998.
Madunagu, Bene. “Feminism, Culture and the Family.” Women in Nigeria Today, edited by Amina Mama, Zed Books, 1996.
National Center for Transgender Equality. Understanding Non-Binary People: How to Be Respectful and Supportive. NCTE, 2016.
https://transequality.org/issues/resources/understanding-non-binary-people-how-to-be-respectful-and-supportive
Nanda, Serena. Gender Diversity: Crosscultural Variations. Waveland Press, 2000.
Oyěwùmí, Oyèrónkẹ́. The Invention of Women: Making an African Sense of Western Gender Discourses. University of Minnesota Press, 1997.
Planned Parenthood. “What’s Non-Binary?”
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/gender-identity/sexual-orientation/whats-non-binary
UNDP and India Government. Hijras/Transgender Women in India: HIV, Human Rights and Social Exclusion. UNDP India, 2010.
https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/publications/hijras-transgender-women-india.pdf
UN Free & Equal. “Being a Fa’afafine in Samoa.”
https://www.unfe.org/faafafine/
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