1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,726 Even if you are unfamiliar 2 00:00:01,726 --> 00:00:03,806 you can always follow along and support us 3 00:00:03,806 --> 00:00:07,046 Our identity and existence remains legitimate 4 00:00:07,046 --> 00:00:09,261 Non-Binarity Cami's Testimony 5 00:00:09,261 --> 00:00:11,689 My name is Cami, I am 22 years old and non-binary 6 00:00:11,689 --> 00:00:13,766 and I'm here to discuss non-binary identity 7 00:00:13,766 --> 00:00:15,536 Non-binary is an umbrella term 8 00:00:15,536 --> 00:00:17,766 that includes many genre identities 9 00:00:17,766 --> 00:00:19,586 that are neither exclusively masculine 10 00:00:19,586 --> 00:00:20,857 nor exclusively feminine. 11 00:00:20,857 --> 00:00:22,877 Including, for instance, agender 12 00:00:22,877 --> 00:00:25,443 "A" meaning subtraction, without gender or gender neutral 13 00:00:25,450 --> 00:00:27,741 Or, this can include gender fluid identities. 14 00:00:27,741 --> 00:00:30,989 If we imagine gender as a spectrum with two poles 15 00:00:30,989 --> 00:00:32,460 the masculine and the feminine. 16 00:00:32,460 --> 00:00:34,650 We can imagine a sliding scale. 17 00:00:34,650 --> 00:00:36,830 Including all the people who are genderfluid 18 00:00:36,830 --> 00:00:39,220 demi-gender, pangender, etc. 19 00:00:39,442 --> 00:00:42,322 I never really identified with femininity. 20 00:00:42,491 --> 00:00:45,814 By 18 I had already begun to question 21 00:00:45,814 --> 00:00:48,206 regarding my gender identity 22 00:00:48,206 --> 00:00:50,025 then I met a trans man 23 00:00:50,025 --> 00:00:52,035 who I was with for some time 24 00:00:52,035 --> 00:00:54,766 and we began to put my identity into words, 25 00:00:54,766 --> 00:00:56,755 which ended up being non-binary 26 00:00:56,755 --> 00:00:57,967 I think it was because 27 00:00:57,967 --> 00:00:59,920 he had much more information than me 28 00:00:59,925 --> 00:01:03,442 that he helped me identify my identity in words. 29 00:01:03,464 --> 00:01:05,344 Gender identity is who we are 30 00:01:05,354 --> 00:01:07,514 It's the gender we feel, 31 00:01:07,514 --> 00:01:09,862 that we live and that we experiment 32 00:01:09,869 --> 00:01:13,262 Gender expression is what we show others 33 00:01:13,265 --> 00:01:16,226 It is how we express our identity. 34 00:01:16,226 --> 00:01:18,086 We can have a gender identity 35 00:01:18,086 --> 00:01:19,809 for example: masculine 36 00:01:19,809 --> 00:01:21,267 So, we are a man, 37 00:01:21,267 --> 00:01:22,906 we will have an expression of gender 38 00:01:22,906 --> 00:01:23,986 that will be feminine 39 00:01:23,986 --> 00:01:26,438 with many signifiers considered feminine in society. 40 00:01:26,438 --> 00:01:28,583 Like, for example, Balil Hassani, who is a man 41 00:01:28,583 --> 00:01:30,723 with a feminine gender expression 42 00:01:31,030 --> 00:01:34,651 I came out to my parents as non-binary 43 00:01:34,651 --> 00:01:36,809 and that I wanted to change pronouns 44 00:01:36,812 --> 00:01:38,152 at the same time. 45 00:01:38,152 --> 00:01:41,152 I was 20 years old, it was two years ago 46 00:01:41,152 --> 00:01:43,631 My mother took it very well 47 00:01:43,631 --> 00:01:46,911 She was already very up-to-date on the idea of gender 48 00:01:46,911 --> 00:01:49,511 She was understanding enough, and very safe 49 00:01:49,511 --> 00:01:51,073 It made me feel secure. 50 00:01:51,344 --> 00:01:53,263 My father was a different story 51 00:01:53,263 --> 00:01:55,492 I put a little more time into talking with him 52 00:01:55,492 --> 00:01:56,915 and I didn't 53 00:01:56,915 --> 00:01:58,109 in reality. 54 00:01:58,109 --> 00:02:01,125 I sent time a message in the end because it was easier for me 55 00:02:02,259 --> 00:02:03,499 He received it well enough 56 00:02:03,510 --> 00:02:05,360 He said that he didn't fully understand 57 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:07,778 but he would still be there to support me 58 00:02:07,778 --> 00:02:09,632 and it didn't change anything for him. 59 00:02:09,632 --> 00:02:12,252 For my grandmother, it wasn't as clear 60 00:02:12,252 --> 00:02:14,722 because it was very foreign to her. 61 00:02:14,722 --> 00:02:17,662 She grew up in the countryside, before moving to Paris. 62 00:02:17,662 --> 00:02:20,312 She lived with my grandfather for 50 years. 63 00:02:20,312 --> 00:02:22,592 She lived in very cis hetero-normative regime 64 00:02:22,592 --> 00:02:24,818 where she never posed questions about identity 65 00:02:24,818 --> 00:02:26,505 or the identity of others. 66 00:02:26,505 --> 00:02:29,350 So when I told her, she was a little taken aback, 67 00:02:29,350 --> 00:02:33,437 but she had always tried to act in a way 68 00:02:33,437 --> 00:02:35,237 that was best for me. 69 00:02:35,237 --> 00:02:36,527 She puts in enormous effort 70 00:02:36,527 --> 00:02:39,100 she doesn't struggle as much with my preferred pronouns 71 00:02:39,103 --> 00:02:41,503 I filled a request to change my first name 72 00:02:41,503 --> 00:02:43,903 in 2019. 73 00:02:44,013 --> 00:02:45,643 I filed a request 74 00:02:45,643 --> 00:02:48,036 with the city hall in my town 75 00:02:48,732 --> 00:02:50,772 I took a dossier which I had to fill 76 00:02:50,772 --> 00:02:53,122 with testimonies from my close friends and familly 77 00:02:53,122 --> 00:02:54,888 stating they use the name Cami 78 00:02:54,888 --> 00:02:56,533 to address me.