Feel neither man nor a woman, but somewhere between the two

Because, for these people, what is hidden in underwear has nothing to do with their genre.Regardless of the nature of their genitals, they do not feel belonging to a particular sex, but are rather somewhere between the two.Some define themselves as people of neutral sex, others as belonging to a third genre or as being a non -binary trans person.

One thing is certain, between the traditional male and female categories, there is a whole world.“In our society, we start from the hypothesis that we are a man or a woman, that there are also transgender people who want to belong to the other sex.Except that it is much more complex.There may be people who do not feel belonging to one or the other of these categories, "explains Dominique Dubuc, biology teacher at Cégep de Sherbrooke and member of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Trans, TransAnd Intersx North America Association (ILGA), an body that has advisory status to the United Nations.

Being a non -binary person does not mean being born in the "bad body";These people are pretty good about them and do not necessarily want to change physically.

What is a man?A woman?

The neutral genre is not as simple as saying that these people completely refuse to belong to the two traditional sexes."Trying to explain '' non-binity '' is like trying to define what a man or a woman is.At first glance, it's easy, but digging, it's really complicated.What makes there are two ends?What is the check list of what guys and girls are? ”wonders the coordinator of the Center for the Fight against Gender Oppression of Concordia University, Gabrielle Bouchard.

Difficult to quantify the number of people who define themselves in this way.“We have nothing to count them.There is no room to display “non-spraying” statistics in official documents.It's hard to say if there are more or if these people are more visible.I think, on the other hand, that there is more space to be more visible, ”says Ms.bouchard.

Important advances at Cégep de Sherbrooke

Even if there are no official statistics, these people are numerous enough for more and more establishments to adapt their facilities accordingly.In this area, the leader in North America is without doubt about the University of Vermont.Since 2009, the establishment has set up numerous measures to facilitate the inclusion of non -binary people, including unrealed toilets and the possibility of choosing its username, for example.

This is the case of B, which chose this new first name when arriving on the Burlington campus.Originally from Maryland, B is one of the people who chose this university for these advances promoting the inclusion of trans people."Even if during the visit of the campus, they talked about it only for about twenty seconds, it made a big difference for me.I did not have the resources to talk about my gender identity in high school.I realized that I could be well here and find my identity. ”

The example of the Vermont made small.Unrealed toilets have appeared at Cégep de Sherbrooke in recent years.It is also possible to replace your first name assigned to birth with that of use on your student card. "This service is only intended for trans people.Currently, there are three people who have changed.Statistically, this is a small number of people, but these are small things for us who can make a big difference for them, ”recalls the director of services to the students at Cégep de Sherbrooke, Martin Lambert.

For the moment, for technical reasons, it is not possible to change the first names of trans people on the lists given to the teachers.“The trans person must, at the start of the session, go to see each of their teachers to explain to him that the name on the list is not their username.So she finds herself to make six or seven coming out.If, by changing his name on his student card, we can avoid him to experience this at the library or at the center of physical activity, that is at least that, ”says Lambert.

A reflection is also underway within the management in order to modify the forms so that they are more inclusive towards sexual diversity.“Currently, there are only two boxes: man or woman.We want trans people to be more comfortable with these forms, ”he adds.

"Non-binity" comes out of the closet

The concept of "non-binity" is quietly making its way in discussions in Quebec.“We hear about it for a few years, but the sound was very low at the beginning.There was no room to do so.There is still resistance.It starts, ”believes Gabrielle Bouchard.

The concept of neutral gender may surprise.Humans like opposites and pairs: cats and dogs, homosexuals versus heterosexuals, guys or girls.There is very little room for the in-between and the nuances.

As such, gender identity disorder is no longer in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5) of the American Psychiatry Association since 2013, but distress linked to barriers to self-determinationidentity is still there.

Towards an official third -sex status?

Several groups claim the status of neutral person in official state documents.Canada is not there yet, but there is a third sex officially in Australia, India and Pakistan, among others.“Here, activists ask for the optional withdrawal of sex mention in official documents.It is important that it is optional because, for example, a trans woman who works in the sex industry, she takes her F on her documents, a question that a judge does not send him to a prison forMan, "illustrates Gabrielle Bouchard.

The Center for the Control of Gender Oppression of Concordia University which it coordinated has brought a cause on the subject before the Superior Court of Quebec.“We dispute the obligation to assign a sex at birth.There are important impacts on trans people.It is often wrong.It is as if we decided that a child was homosexual when he was just born from an observation of a few seconds of an organ.It is a big assignment for such a small piece of flesh! ”she believes.

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