5 Non-Binary Books That Will Decolonise Your Queer Library
And why it's important.
At university, I specialised in gender and world literature, but the two never seemed to mix. Between postcolonial studies and gender studies, we traversed Edward Said’s Orientalism and Victoria Wolf’s Orlando, but I was desperate for some gender non-conforming literature from non-Western countries.
Through personal research, I discovered that non-binary is only a recent term developed and used in the West and that many cultures either had pre-colonisation or continue to have multiple gender identities and societal positions for those neither man nor woman, before the terms “trans” or “non-binary” came into existence.
If you’re like me, here are some modern fictional gems for you to discover.
- Sovereign Erotics: A Collection of Two-Spirit Literature by various authors.
This is a Two-Spirit anthology put together by the infamous indigenous studies theorist Qwo-Li Driskill, exploring topics such as family, identity, and queerness through short stories and poetry by many amazing Two-Spirit and gender non-conforming authors of North America and Canada.
Two-Spirit is an indigenous queer identity, a term that is decolonised from Western ideals of queerness. According to Jacobs in Two-Spirt People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality, the term “Two-Spirit” encapsulates: “traditions wherein multiple gender categories and sexualities are institutionalized” (1997: 2) meaning that the term encapsulates many on the indigenous queer spectrum.
The short stories and poems are heartfelt and address the colonisation of not only the land, but LGBTQIA bodies colonised with Western notions of gender.
2. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy
Written by the Booker Prize winner of The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy queries the gender role of Hijra in this novel. Set during the Indian-Pakistan war, the tale tells the story of Anjum, a Muslim Hijra in India, as she tries to make a safe place for those that don’t fit in with the society’s beliefs on race, religion or gender.
Hijras are a third gender role within the Indian Subcontinent. Previously hailed as an important societal position amongst the Mughals, with the power to bless and curse, Hijras have been largely marginalised since Britain colonised the area and implemented homosexuality laws and gender standards previously unknown there.
This novel is shocking, wonderful, and honest as we journey through the war within the eyes of an outcast.
3. Sworn Virgin by Elvira Dones
Sworn Virgin is a tale by Elvira Dones and depicts the third gender role of women that become and live as men in the Balkans. Mark/Hana takes up the role of a Sworn Virgin, but once they move to America, they debate just how much of a man or a woman they really are.
As stated in medieval Albanian law, a family’s name, possessions, and household must fall to a man. If a family has all daughters, they have the choice to take up a man’s position and hold up their family name but must swear to remain celibate for a lifetime. This role is controversial in that many can identify as a trans man and enjoy it, whereas some still identify as a woman and are societally expected to give this up.
All these controversies, folklore and more are addressed in this masterpiece and the Italian film adaptation by Laura Bispuri.
4. Coconut Milk by Dan Taulapapa McMullin
This beautiful collection of poetry shows the perspectives of a Samoan queer poet in the US. McMullin identifies as fa’afafine, a third gender, non-binary identity of Polynesia that has high importance in many groups within Polynesia, including familial and stereotypically feminine positions.
Polynesia has historically had various European colonisers throughout the multiple islands, which have intentionally repressed various aspects of Polynesian culture, including gender. It is well known that with the influx of Euro-Western religion including Catholicism, the fa’afafine have become more outcast.
Coconut Milk encapsulates the struggle of this — relating personal experiences of being “in-between” masculinity and femininity to the Western binary, as well as how colonialism has affected both the land, language, culture, and gender of Samoa.
5. Space Between Us: Queer Settler Colonialism and Indigenous Decolonization by Scott Lauria Morgensen
Although this is not fiction, this is an important piece of literature to have on your bookshelf. Morgensen mainly addresses the colonisation of queer, particularly Two-Spirit, bodies of Indigenous North America, but the theories can be applied far beyond one country.
Morgensen not only addresses the past of colonisation and it’s lasting effects on the communities, but even deconstructs the Western concepts of queerness as restrictive, privileging white cis men and excluding indigenous queer people from the narrative of things such as Pride.
Spaces Between Us is essential reading for those interested in queer studies but also for those who want to dismantle white and colonised depictions of trans narratives.
Takeaway
Finding non-binary, third gender and transgender narratives is hard enough with the repression of such voices and even harder to discover gems from the postcolonial world when many Western societies only deem their own works of literature worthy of promotion and education.
Yet, we can all do something to unlearn the acts of the past, whether that be through unlearning cultural differences or gender binaries, and these books are guaranteed to help you on your way.
