NONBINARY, NONSTANDARD

The nonbinary experience is unique to each individual. No two people are going to experience gender in the exact same way, much like they won’t experience the world in the same way. That said, in a world literally built against recognizing and accommodating us, a lot of our experiences are going to overlap.

Through this project I wanted to explore the (ironically named) duality of being nonbinary: that our struggles are often shared, but our identities and selves are entirely unique. I wanted to tackle themes of intersectionality, the use of labels and symbolism, self discovery, dysphoria and euphoria, education, and more. In order to do so, I relied on community participation to recruit collaborators for ideas and illustrative help.

All the pages in this zine were made by real nonbinary people. These pages come from places of struggle and hardship, but also from places of pride, joy, and love. I wanted this zine to chronicle my community's feelings about gender, and I think we managed to do just that.

This zine was on exhibition in May 2020 on the UCSC Art Department website and can be downloaded for free.