The Platform Book Club returns in 2021, with the first review of the year by Tyler Archer with Life Isn’t Binary by Meg-John Barker and Alex Iantaffi.
Although this book was originally a required reading for me, I eventually finished it out of genuine interest. Life Isn’t Binary is written from the perspective of two non-binary authors, who are activists and writers in fields like relationships, mental health and sexuality.
The layout of the book is very clear and is done in such a way that each chapter could be read as a standalone. There are six topics discussed – one per chapter – that begins with things we may be more familiar with, like gender and sexuality. It then goes on to discuss less visible binaries like those of emotions and thought.
Even as someone who considers themselves fairly knowledgeable on this, I learnt a lot from this book, and it’s one of those that changes the way you look at the world. There are so many binaries that we don’t even think about, and the authors delve into each one with evidence and resources that back them up. Additionally, they include quotes from people who have the lived experience of what is being discussed at that time, which helps the reader understand the topics in a new way.
Something that made this book stand out to me, was the layout of the chapters. Included in each were reference lists and lists of further resources where you can read more about a subject if you so choose. But there were also slow down pages (designed for the reader to take a break from absorbing this new information) and thought experiments/reflection points, which were designed to help the reader apply their knowledge or reflect on their own experiences to understand what’s being explained. I think these were really good additions that made the book generally nicer to read, as it was easier to take your time absorbing the information, which is important when reading non-fiction.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about binaries or the reasoning behind identifying with different genders and sexualities.
By Tyler Archer
Feature image: Anna Elias