A person’s nonbinary gender is defined by what it is not: that is, an identification with the binary options of man and woman. Patriarchal societies rely on this strict division of social categories. Nonbinary gender identifications take distance from this strict social construction of gender. The expression of a person’s nonbinary gender might be signalled by the use of different pronouns than those used for binary men and women. This use of language is one way to express how a person may feel to be on a spectrum between woman and man, sometimes leaning towards one gendered category more than the other, or for others nonbinary refers to experiencing fluidity within the two. Nonbinary is an important part of the history of gender politics and social identity, and still forms a crucial site for political contestation. Nonbinary identities are vital for revolting against gender norms, as well as challenging how physical and emotional expressions are disciplined and policed.
Ancient knowledges contain extensive legacies of nonbinary figures and experiences. Taking this into consideration, one can counter those ahistorical arguments that claim nonbinary identity is a result of contemporary conditions. There are indigenous, and even colonial, documentation of gender expression that show the limited and even relatively recent invention of Western, imperial binary genders, based on a particular white, religious and civilised notion of men and women. Examining this deep history easily disputes claims made in recent years that nonbinary gender identities, experiences, and social practices only surfaced due to exposure to contemporary media. Following feminist and transgender research methods, this exhibition has interrogated practices of knowledge production, specifically on gender, and binary classification of gender. It aims to bring this critical interrogation of binary and nonbinary gender forward in order to move past patriarchal codifications of gender that objectify and often (partially) erase peoples living outside of rigid binary expressions.
Map design: Anja Tsalko, Jennifer Koning, Abla Hazourli, Diletta Bisio. Fullscreen map
In its current usage, nonbinary is a term that allows a person to identify outside of the binaries of man and woman, however, in doing so we recognize that it can solidify this binary into a more rigid existence. Unavoidably gender arises as a socially co-constructed meaning, because it names a way of relating to the world and necessarily to others. However, we must also seek understandings, that people are who they say they are, and thereby give credibility to individual expressions of gender (or of sexuality). Additionally, sexuality and gender are not always easily split apart as either an experience, or as a cultural phenomenon. However, in this piece we have chosen to focus on gender as a primary site of social organisation and self-understanding. Gender diversity and gender relations vary from culture, location, and time period. Often (anglophone) language cannot encompass the nuances of genders. Even though using nonbinary as a term can be understood as an idealisation of rigid gender binaries, we find nonbinary still a useful word as a starting point to indicate the possible nuances that exist. It is used as a working, or heuristic, term that can change and must be considered in a flexible way. Nonbinary aims to indicate the variety and beauty of different ways of expressing gender and the multiplicity of it. Hereby we want to acknowledge that while the term nonbinary is loaded and controversial, nonetheless an ever-growing number of people have found comfort and meaning within it.
We use the term nonbinary to discuss gender expressions in a wide variety of cultures, covering multiple and at times very different ways of expressing gender. This has been a complicated decision as the word nonbinary is largely a western term, and thus does not adequately encompass the way some people, cultures, and places express gender. We have selected it because it most forcefully refers to genders existing outside of patriarchal, oppositional notions of gender.
Graphic Design by Olga Ganzha
We explored this subject historically and in contemporary society. We used academic references and research to sketch a picture of the scope of gender identities world-wide. However, we would like to point out that academic disciplines such as anthropology and religious studies, which most widely documented gender diversity, also have a history of being a part of colonial conquest, violence and the banal evil of administration. Such scholarship should be understood as part of larger power structures that observed in a dehumanising mode, or even sought to erase gender identities that existed outside of patriarchal binary understandings of woman and man. To account for this double bind, we have produced a critical reading of the references that we used. Due to the original context of our source material, there may be inaccuracies in this work and we would appreciate being alerted if this is the case. Please reach out to studio@masharu.nl if you have any concerns or questions.
Illustration by Jack P
Artist statement
I grew up in a place where the language was very gendered. The way I spoke about myself, like ‘I went to the shop’, or ‘I am tired’ was gendered too. This gendered language included verbs and adjectives, not only pronouns. For this reason I have not only heard people talking about me, but also talked about myself in a way that didn’t feel right. A few years ago I started communicating within my personal and professional environments that I find it essential to be referred to in a gender-neutral language. However with this switch in language use nonbinary gender was assumed. Sometimes I was asked for my motivation for using gender-neutral language. I would say that I do not identify as a man, or woman. I started using the term nonbinary as it felt convenient, comfortable, and straightforward. I took for granted that the notion of nonbinary went along with the practice of gender-neutral language, thus I embraced it back then, as this language felt essential for me. With this assumed gender I started questioning the term nonbinary, and continued to during the creation of this project. There is, however, a difference between identity and practice. Nonbinary is understood to be an identity, while gender-neutral language is a practice. Where I stand within this identity is still in motion, as much as nonbinary is in motion in this exploration.
In dreams as a kid I saw myself writing a fictional autobiography book in a gender-neutral language. I truly wished that there would be something else out there. I initiated the creation of this map first of all for my inner child simply to say ‘yes’, there is something else out there.
Interview with Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi
Read and support SAVE pIAR: EMERGENCY CALL: https://www.gofundme.com/f/xx48d3-save-piar
Colophon
Project by masharu studio
Concept development: masharu
Texts: masharu, Okara Yby, Maya Arov Throsby, Abla Hazourli, Diletta Bisio and Sophia Komarov-Reinisch
Research: Abla Hazourli, Maya Arov Throsby, Anja Tsalko, Benticklyn Redkina and Okara Yby
Advisors: Naida Culshaw, Okara Yby, Eliza Steinbock, Hannah Bennani, Dijana Simic and Rhian Farnworth
Graphic design: Olga Ganzha and Sydney Kamer
Illustration: Jack P
Interviews: Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi, Okara Yby, Viene Bilodeau and Bryce Marsh
Filming: masharu, Tom Ossendorp, Jennifer Koning and Donja de Jong
Video editing: YiXuan Zhu, Antonis Lappas, Sydney Kamer and Donja de Jong
Interactive map design: Anja Tsalko, Jennifer Koning, Abla Hazourli and Diletta Bisio
Curation: Susanna Gyulamiryan in collaboration with FemLibrary Armenia
Support: Mondrian Fund, Amsterdam Art Fund and Cultuurfonds
