Alok Vaid-Menon is a gender non-conforming performance artist, writer, and educator. Taken from Alok’s own writing “In a world that requires everyone to 'pass' within two discrete categories of 'man' OR 'woman' what would it mean for gender non-conformity to be regarded as beautiful, desirable, legitimate, and worthy?”. They are performing, speaking, and writing from their soul to connect through differences and challenge the archaic social construct that is gender.

Alok is so comfortable in their skin and their glam, and the confidence is infectious! We had a ton of fun chatting with them, soaking in their poetic words – and we know you’re going to leave this episode with a little bit more hope, a little bit more inspiration, and new ways to challenge the current paradigm!

We talk about…

The ins and outs of your passion being your business
Growing up (emotionally repressed) in a small Texas town
Southern “politeness”
Balancing being a strong example for others + being a complex, flawed human
Why it hurts when we turn someone into a metaphor and a symbol
Visibility does not mean safety for women and trans people
Where Alok developed their emotional vocabulary
Gender + shame
Learning not to fear their own gender nonconformity
The psychology of fascism
Why Alok is frustrated by the individualism of self-care
The people who bully us want to be us
Aesthetics as political resistance
Violence against gender non-conforming individuals has escalated over the past few years
What we can all do, every day, to challenge the current paradigm

Find more to love at almost30podcast.com!

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Ep. 149 - Trans Issues are Cis Issues: Challenging the Gender Binary + Connecting Through Differences with Alok Vaid-Menon 01:14:19 Share

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Ep. 149 - Trans Issues are Cis Issues: Challenging the Gender Binary + Connecting Through Differences with Alok Vaid-Menon