0:00:00.000,0:00:03.358
Even if you don't understand,[br]you can always support and encourage us.

0:00:03.358,0:00:06.324
Our identity is still recognized[br]and it exists.

0:00:09.117,0:00:11.267
My name's Cami, I'm 22,[br]and I'm non-binary

0:00:11.267,0:00:13.730
and I'm here to talk about non-binary.

0:00:13.730,0:00:17.720
Non-binary is an umbrella term [br]that includes all gender identities

0:00:17.720,0:00:20.622
that aren't only male [br]or only female.

0:00:20.622,0:00:23.480
It can be agender so take away the "a",

0:00:23.480,0:00:27.357
and it means genderless, is neutral,[br]or it can be all fluid identities,

0:00:27.357,0:00:32.150
as if gender is a spectrum with 2 poles,[br]masculine and feminine.

0:00:32.150,0:00:33.803
We can have a cursor that moves.

0:00:33.803,0:00:39.288
Everyone who identifies as gender fluid,[br]demigender, pangender, etc.

0:00:39.288,0:00:42.174
I never really identified with femininity.

0:00:42.174,0:00:47.864
At 18, I already started asking myself[br]questions on my gender identity,

0:00:47.864,0:00:51.959
and I met a trans guy,[br]who I was with for some time,

0:00:51.959,0:00:56.127
and we put into words my identity, [br]which is non-binary.

0:00:56.127,0:00:59.100
I think it's because he had much more[br]information than me

0:00:59.100,0:01:03.382
that he was able to help me find the words[br]about my identity.

0:01:03.382,0:01:05.299
Gender identity is what we are.

0:01:05.299,0:01:08.910
It is the gender we feel, [br]we live with and experiment with.

0:01:08.910,0:01:13.190
And gender expression[br]is what we let others see.

0:01:13.190,0:01:16.198
It is the way we express our identity.

0:01:16.198,0:01:17.921
We can have a gender identity

0:01:17.921,0:01:21.860
for example, male:[br]we're a guy,

0:01:21.860,0:01:22.736
and we'll have a gender expression

0:01:22.736,0:01:26.950
that is feminine, with many labels[br]considered feminine in society.

0:01:26.950,0:01:30.421
For example, Bilal Hassani is a man[br]with a feminine gender expression.

0:01:30.992,0:01:34.867
I told my parents that I was non-binary

0:01:34.867,0:01:37.782
and that I wanted to change my first name[br]at the same time.

0:01:37.782,0:01:41.555
I was 20, so it was two years ago.

0:01:41.555,0:01:43.308
My mom took it very well.

0:01:43.308,0:01:46.737
She was already familiar [br]with gender issues.

0:01:46.737,0:01:49.379
She was very deconstructed to the idea[br]and very safe.

0:01:49.379,0:01:50.706
I felt safe.

0:01:50.706,0:01:52.934
With my dad, it was a bit delicate.

0:01:52.934,0:01:57.836
I took more time to talk to him[br]and I didn't do it in person.

0:01:57.836,0:02:01.430
I sent him a message[br]because it was simpler for me to handle.

0:02:01.430,0:02:03.231
He reacted pretty well.

0:02:03.231,0:02:06.674
He said he didn't understand everything[br]but he'll support me regardless

0:02:06.674,0:02:09.478
and that this changes nothing,[br]that his love stays the same.

0:02:09.478,0:02:14.477
For my grandmother, it was less obvious[br]because it's something farfetched to her.

0:02:14.477,0:02:17.257
She grew up in the countryside.[br]Then, she moved to Paris.

0:02:17.257,0:02:20.220
She lived with my grandfather[br]for 50 years.

0:02:20.220,0:02:22.681
She lived in very [br]cis heteronormative societies.

0:02:22.681,0:02:26.268
where she never questioned her identity[br]or the identity of others.

0:02:26.268,0:02:28.718
When I talked to her,[br]she was a bit bewildered

0:02:28.718,0:02:35.114
but she always looked out for me[br]and behaved her best with me.

0:02:35.114,0:02:37.842
She makes a lot of effort[br]and almost never makes a mistake

0:02:37.842,0:02:39.163
when using my first name.

0:02:39.163,0:02:43.470
I requested to change my first name [br]in 2019.

0:02:43.470,0:02:48.446
I applied to the city hall where I lived.

0:02:48.446,0:02:50.500
I filled out the folder

0:02:50.500,0:02:52.729
with the testimonies[br]from my family and friends

0:02:52.729,0:02:56.224
to state that they'll use the name Cami[br]to address me.

0:02:56.224,0:03:00.517
I asked my school to write a letter[br]of support for me.

0:03:00.517,0:03:01.989
Then, I submitted my folder.

0:03:01.989,0:03:05.350
I waited several months.[br]It varies depending on the city hall.

0:03:05.350,0:03:07.700
And I got approval [br]to change my first name.

0:03:07.700,0:03:08.757
Misgendering a person

0:03:08.757,0:03:12.657
is to address this person [br]with the wrong pronouns,

0:03:12.657,0:03:15.229
so gendering a non-binary person

0:03:15.229,0:03:20.360
who clearly said[br]to use neutral pronouns like "they/them"

0:03:20.360,0:03:23.771
and to gender them as female or male.

0:03:23.771,0:03:28.978
Personally, I use she/her pronouns[br]when speaking and they/them when writing.

0:03:28.978,0:03:31.239
But it's true that in general,

0:03:31.239,0:03:34.461
I tend to say immediately [br]that I prefer others to address me

0:03:34.461,0:03:36.414
with she/her pronouns when speaking.

0:03:36.414,0:03:38.419
Later if the person doesn't do it

0:03:38.419,0:03:42.491
and you would prefer[br]to be sure of their gender,

0:03:42.491,0:03:44.737
you could ask for them[br]to specify their pronouns

0:03:44.737,0:03:47.380
or wait until the person[br]uses their pronouns

0:03:47.380,0:03:48.450
to respect their gender.

0:03:48.450,0:03:51.234
With the other videos I did,

0:03:51.234,0:03:55.432
there were a lot of comments[br]that belittled our identities,

0:03:55.432,0:04:00.595
and denied our gender expressions[br]and gender identities.

0:04:00.595,0:04:03.991
Afterwards, I hardly read these comments

0:04:03.991,0:04:08.623
because I knew for the most part[br]they're malicious or very inconsiderate

0:04:08.623,0:04:10.135
and they will only hurt me.

0:04:10.135,0:04:12.349
I have already participated in a report

0:04:12.349,0:04:15.294
where we could hear[br]that it was a fashion statement,

0:04:15.294,0:04:19.363
that it appeared a few years ago[br]in the U.S., 10 years ago,

0:04:19.363,0:04:24.395
and that it had to do with fashion,[br]unisex fashion, etc.

0:04:24.395,0:04:25.601
This is completely false.

0:04:25.601,0:04:32.679
I also think that it's an extremely white[br]and Eurocentric point of view

0:04:32.679,0:04:37.298
because in many cultures[br]we find many gender identities

0:04:37.298,0:04:41.840
that were completely erased[br]during colonization.

0:04:41.840,0:04:44.600
Often we hear that it's problematic,

0:04:44.600,0:04:47.911
it's annoying to create labels[br]and more and more labels

0:04:47.911,0:04:49.740
to identify and reidentify, etc.

0:04:49.740,0:04:55.930
but I think it is especially crucial[br]to first identify with something

0:04:55.930,0:04:59.122
in order to dissociate with an identity [br]that was assigned to us randomly.

0:04:59.122,0:05:02.342
I think it's necessary[br]to also find a community

0:05:02.342,0:05:04.573
to create bonds,[br]to know that we're not alone,

0:05:04.573,0:05:07.640
that there is support,[br]and that there are others like us

0:05:07.640,0:05:09.318
that understand us,[br]and who listens.

0:05:09.318,0:05:10.800
If I could say one thing,

0:05:10.800,0:05:13.560
I think it would be that[br]even though you don't understand

0:05:13.560,0:05:16.900
you can always support and encourage us.

0:05:16.900,0:05:19.602
You can learn,[br]you can deconstruct patterns of thinking.

0:05:19.602,0:05:23.210
You can find out more information,[br]you can help your loved ones,

0:05:23.210,0:05:28.168
even if you don't understand[br]the range of their gender identity.

0:05:28.168,0:05:31.150
Secondly, all non-binary people

0:05:31.150,0:05:34.588
have a different way[br]of expressing their identity,

0:05:34.588,0:05:37.623
there are people[br]who will do medical transitions,

0:05:37.623,0:05:40.387
who will take hormones and do operations[br]while others won't

0:05:40.387,0:05:47.313
and no matter the way we transition or not[br]socially, medically, etc.

0:05:47.313,0:05:50.800
Our identity is still recognized[br]and it exists

0:05:50.800,0:05:52.648
and there are many, many of us.