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Découverte de la non-binarité : le témoignage de Cami

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    Even if you don't understand,
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    you can always
    support and be there for us.
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    Our identity is legitimate and real.
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    Testimonies: Non-binary Identities
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    My name is Cami, I'm 22 years old,
    I'm non-binary
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    And I'm here to talk to you about
    non-binary identities.
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    Non-binary is an umbrella term
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    that encompasses all gender identities
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    that are neither exclusively masculine
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    nor exclusively feminine.
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    This could mean being agender,
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    without a gender, which is neutral,
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    or it could include all fluid identities.
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    If you imagine gender as a spectrum
    with masculine and feminine poles,
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    some people move along the spectrum
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    like genderfluid, demigender,
    pangender people, etc.
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    I never really identified with femininity.
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    At 18, I began questioning
    my gender identity.
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    I met a trans man,
    and we dated for a while.
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    Together, we found the words
    to describe my identity: non-binary.
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    He was much more informed than I was,
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    so he helped me find the right words.
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    Gender identity is who we are.
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    It's the gender we feel and experience.
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    Gender expression is what
    we show to others.
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    It's how we express our identity.
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    Someone might have a
    masculine gender identity
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    but express themselves
    in a feminine way
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    with markers seen as feminine in society.
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    Like Bilal Hassani for example,
    a man with feminine gender expression.
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    I told my parents I was non-binary.
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    I also said I wanted to change my name.
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    I was 20, so that was two years ago.
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    My mom took it very well.
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    She was already very knowledgeable about
    gender issues.
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    She was very supportive and safe.
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    With my dad, it was a bit harder.
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    I didn't tell him in person.
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    I messaged him, it was easier that way.
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    He reacted pretty well.
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    He said he didn't fully understand,
    but would support me regardless.
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    That his love for me hadn't changed.
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    For my grandma, it was tricky
    because this was a foreign concept to her.
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    She grew up in the countryside
    and then moved to Paris.
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    She lived with my grandpa for 50 years.
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    Her world was very heteronormative.
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    She never questioned her own identity
    or that of others.
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    When I talked to her about it,
    she was quite taken aback.
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    But she always made sure to treat me well.
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    She makes a lot of effort and hardly ever
    uses my deadname anymore.
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    I applied for a name change in 2019.
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    I applied at the town hall
    of the city where I lived.
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    I picked up a form and filled it out
    with testimonials from my friends
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    who explained that they used
    the name "Cami" when addressing me.
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    I also asked my school
    for a support letter.
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    After submitting my application,
    I waited a few months.
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    It depends on the city hall,
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    and then my name change was approved.
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    Misgendering is addressing someone
    by using the wrong pronouns.
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    For example, using gendered pronouns
    for someone who explicitly uses "they",
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    like calling them "he" or "she".
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    Personally, I use feminine pronouns
    when speaking, neutral when writing.
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    I usually mention my preference right away.
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    I prefer to be addressed
    using feminine pronouns when speaking.
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    If someone doesn't do this automatically
    and you want to address them correctly,
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    you can directly ask for their pronouns
    or wait for them to specify their gender.
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    In videos I've made before,
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    there were many comments
    invalidating our gender identities,
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    and rejecting our gender expression.
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    I don't read those comments much
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    Because I know they are mostly
    malicious or very clumsy.
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    They would only end up hurting me.
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    I once participated in a documentary
    that said being non-binary was a trend.
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    That it appeared in the U.S.
    just ten years ago,
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    and was really just linked to
    fashion trends like unisex clothing.
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    That's completely false.
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    I think it's a very white,
    Eurocentric perspective.
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    Many cultures that had multiple genders
    were entirely erased during colonization.
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    Often, people say it's problematic
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    or bothersome to keep creating categories
    to identify and re-identify ourselves.
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    However, I think it's crucial to be able
    to identify with something first,
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    to disassociate from an identity
    that was arbitrarily assigned to us.
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    It's necessary to find community,
    to create bonds, to know you're not alone,
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    know that there's support,
    that there are others who understand us.
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    If I had one thing to say,
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    it'd be that even if you don't understand,
    you can still support us and stand with us.
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    You can learn,
    you can dismantle old ways of thinking.
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    You can educate yourself
    and help your loved ones,
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    even if you don't fully grasp
    the meaning of their gender identity.
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    Secondly, all non-binary people express
    their identity differently.
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    Some undergo medical transitions,
    use hormones or get surgery. Others don't.
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    No matter how you transition,
    socially, medically, or not at all,
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    Our identity is legitimate and real.
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    And there are quite a lot of us.
Title:
Découverte de la non-binarité : le témoignage de Cami
Description:

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Video Language:
French
Duration:
05:55

Bosnian subtitles

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