Alok Vaid-Menon, a 28-year-old nonbinary writer, author, and performance artist spoke with NBC News for LGBTQ Pride and talked about being gender non-conforming and how the LGBTQ community is changing mainstream hearts and minds.
Said Vaid-Menon: “How do we actually change people’s hearts and minds such that they are normalizing gender non-conformity, [and] visible displays of queerness, because I think so often acceptance has been conditional. ‘I’ll accept you as long as you keep quiet and you stay over there and you don’t look too confusing, and you don’t use these new words about gender and sexuality that I don’t understand.’ And I think we need to push to actually make it so that our acceptance is unconditional, that LGBTQ people are just understood as a fundamental, integrated part of society.”
Watch the full interview:
Vaid-Menon is the author of the new book Beyond The Gender Binary, which comic and actor Billy Eichner recommended on Saturday: “I highly recommend buying this new pocket sized dream of a book by the truly brilliant writer/performer/activist @alokvmenon. Alok is a genius. (No, like, really though). If you’re not familiar with their work, you’re really missing out. Buy the book and scroll through Alok’s ig – you will be as blown away by their writing and by their performances as I have been. This is a book for everyone and what I love is how Alok discusses how moving beyond the gender binary is liberating and advantageous for EVERYONE, including cis men and women. It’s available online to order now. Thank you @alokvmenon!! Happy Pride. ❤️”
