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Découverte de la non-binarité : le témoignage de Cami

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    Even if you don’t get it,
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    you can still support and help us.
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    Our identity is still valid, it is real.
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    My name is Cami, I’m 22,
    and I am here to tell you about
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    my nonbinary identity.
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    It is an umbrella word for
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    all gender identities that are not
    exclusively male nor exclusively female.
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    This includes agender identity
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    – “a” for the absence of gender,
    which is neutral –,
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    as well as all fluid identities,
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    as if gender was a spectrum
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    with two poles: male and female.
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    Fluid identity can move around
    that spectrum.
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    This includes people who are
    gender fluid, demigender, pangender, etc.
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    I've never really related to femininity.
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    At 18, I already started
    questioning my gender identity.
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    I met a trans man
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    that I dated for a while.
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    Together, we found words
    to express my identity:
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    nonbinary.
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    I think that because he was
    much more informed than me,
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    he was able to help me
    find the words for my identity.
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    Gender identity is what you are,
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    it’s the gender you feel,
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    the one you live, you experience.
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    Gender expression is
    what others see in you,
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    it’s the way you express your identity.
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    For instance, you can have
    a male gender identity:
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    therefore, you are a man.
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    But you can also have
    a female gender expression,
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    with markers society perceive as female.
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    For example, Bilal Hassasni is a man
    with a female gender expression.
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    I told my parents I was non-binary
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    and that I wanted to change my name
    at the same time.
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    I was 20 years old, two years ago.
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    My mother took it very well.
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    she was already well-informed
    about gender identity.
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    She was open-minded and very safe.
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    I felt safe with her.
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    Telling my father was a bit touchier.
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    It took me longer to tell him,
    and I did not do it in real life.
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    I sent him a message because
    it was easier for me to do.
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    He reacted well enough:
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    he said although
    he may not get everything,
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    he'd still be there no matter what,
    nothing would change for him,
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    and that he loved me just the same.
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    It was a bit harder for my grandmother
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    because it was foreign to her.
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    She grew up in the countryside
    before coming to Paris.
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    She's lived 50 years with my grandfather.
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    She was used to
    cisheternormative environments
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    where she never questioned her identity
    or anyone else’s.
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    When I told her she was quite stunned,
    but she always made sure
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    to treat me the best way possible.
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    She tries her best,
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    she almost always uses
    my chosen name.
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    I applied for a legal name change
    in 2019.
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    I applied to the city hall
    where I was living at the time.
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    I filled out an application form
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    with testimonies from
    my friends and family
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    attesting they used the name Cami
    to refer to me.
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    I asked my school
    to write a support letter, etc.
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    Then, I submitted my application.
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    I waited a few months.
    Waiting period varies by municipality.
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    My name change was approved.
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    Misgendering someone means
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    referring to somebody
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    with the wrong pronouns.
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    It is when a non-binary person
    explicitly says
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    they go by neutral pronouns
    such as "they/them"
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    but you use "she/her"
    or "he/him" anyway.
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    I personally go by
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    "female" pronouns in speaking,
    and neutral ones in writing.
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    But generally speaking,
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    I tend to tell right away
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    that my preferred pronouns are
    "she/her" in speaking.
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    If someone doesn’t directly
    tell their pronouns
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    and you want to gender them correctly,
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    you can ask for their pronouns
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    or wait for them to gender themselves
    and follow suit.
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    On previous videos I made,
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    a lot of comments negated our identities,
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    denied our
    gender expressions and identities.
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    I try to not read these comments
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    because I know most of them are
    ill-intended or very clumsy.
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    and they will only hurt me.
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    I've participated in a documentary saying
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    gender identity was part of a trend,
    that it came up around
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    10 years ago in the U.S.,
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    that it also connects to
    the fashion industry, unisex fad, etc.
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    This is completely false.
    It feels like an ultra-white,
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    ultra-Eurocentric viewpoint.
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    Many, many cultures acknowledge
    different gender identities
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    that were completely erased
    during colonization.
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    Quite often, people say
    it is problematic
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    or counter-productive
    to label yourself in order to
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    define and redefine
    your identity.
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    I do believe it is very important
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    to be able to identify with something
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    so you can cut loose from an identity
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    that was arbitrarily assigned to you.
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    I think we must be able
    to relate to a community
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    in order to bond with others,
    to not be left alone,
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    to feel supported,
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    to meet other people just like us
    who get us, who listen to us.
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    If had one thing to say,
    it would be:
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    even if you don’t get it,
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    you can still support and help us.
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    You can learn, you can deconstruct
    your ways of thinking.
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    You can research,
    help your loved ones,
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    even if you don’t realize
    the significance of their gender identity.
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    Another thing: each non-binary person
    express their identity differently.
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    Some people might engage in
    medical transitions,
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    take hormones, get surgeries;
    others might not.
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    Regardless of whether and how
    they transition
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    – socially, medically, etc. –,
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    our identity is still valid, it is real,
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    and there is a ton of us.
Title:
Découverte de la non-binarité : le témoignage de Cami
Description:

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Video Language:
French
Duration:
05:55

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