Life Isn't Binary: On Being Both, Beyond, and In-Between

by Alex Iantaffi, Meg-John Barker

Overview

'The book we all need for this moment in time.' CN LESTER
'An absolute must read' FOX FISHER
'A genius book' LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW

Much of society's thinking operates in a highly rigid and binary manner; something is good or bad, right or wrong, a success or a failure, and so on. Challenging this limited way of thinking, this ground-breaking book looks at how non-binary methods of thought can be applied to all aspects of life, and offer new and greater ways of understanding ourselves and how we relate to others.

Using bisexual and non-binary gender experiences as a starting point, this book addresses the key issues with binary thinking regarding our relationships, bodies, emotions, wellbeing and our sense of identity and sets out a range of practices which may help us to think in more non-binary, both/and, or uncertain ways.

A truly original and insightful piece, this guide encourages reflection on how we view and understand the world we live in and how we all bend, blur or break society's binary codes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781785924798
Publisher:	Kingsley, Jessica Publishers
Publication date:	05/21/2019
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	169,206
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Meg-John Barker is an internationally recognised and hugely influential writer, therapist and thinker on gender, sex, relationships and mental health.

Alex Iantaffi is an internationally recognized independent scholar, speaker and writer on issues of gender, disability, sexuality and mental health. They are also a licensed marriage and family therapist, sex therapist, somatic experiencing practitioner and supervisor.

Table of Contents

Foreword CN Lester 8

Acknowledgements 12

Introduction 15

Ch 1 Sexualities 21

Ch 2 Genders 54

Ch 3 Relationships 84

Ch 4 Bodies 116

Ch 5 Emotions 147

Ch 6 Thinking 184

Index 226

Editorial Reviews

06/03/2019

Therapists Barker and Iantaffi (How to Understand Your Gender), who both identify as nonbinary, zoom out from the realm of sex and gender to binaries like “normal/abnormal,” “nature/nurture,” “able/disabled,” “mind/body,” and so on, to consider how “they frequently limit our understanding and our ways of relating to ourselves and each other.” Their discussion of sexuality covers bisexuality, pansexuality, and asexuality, and breaks down the differences between sexual identity, behavior, and attraction. Discussing relationships, they introduce the idea of replacing binary thinking with “spectrums,” pointing out that the “us/them divide” is “essentially at the heart of every conflict and war.” In their musings on physical bodies, each author delves into their personal experience, touching on intersectionality, a social model that focuses on how “interlocking systems of power impact us through patterns of privilege and oppression.” In writing about emotions, the authors explore the madness/sanity and positive/negative feelings binaries and the impact of trauma. The authors go to great lengths to make their language and framing inclusive; each chapter features “slow down pages” that invite the reader to “pause and tune in to yourself.” Barker and Iantaffi’s feel-good approach will reassure readers questioning their gender identities and expand any reader’s philosophical horizons. (May)

Publishers Weekly