Hello! If you've not met me before, my name is Elly and I'm a nonbinary/trans person. Some nonbinary people don't identify as trans, but for me I do primarily because my true gender is not the same as the one assigned to me at birth.

I know this topic can be hard to understand, but as many people around me have reminded me, you don't have to understand to be respectful.

That said...

Making the effort to try to understand also goes a long way! I wrote a post last year for Pride Month where I shared some links to YouTube channels and social media accounts that have helped me to come to my current understanding. I've recently updated that list, so click here to check it out if you have the time.

If you're not so much into learning via the internet, books are also a fantastic resource. I think the most powerful book I've read on this topic in the last year or so is Shon Faye's The Transgender Issue (link is to Lighthouse, my favourite Edinburgh bookshop who you can order from online). Especially for those in the UK, I can't recommend it enough.

Also, I wanted to highlight a few Japanese Instagram accounts to check out:

• @mwfraser_
• @beinyourshoes22
• @palettalk_

This post is a lot scrappier than I intended, but I hope you find something useful in it! As always, don't forget that there is huuuge amount of misinformation out there about trans and nonbinary people, with a lot of the rhetoric a) simply being rehashed versions of arguments used against gay people a few decades back and b) often originating from groups who are systematically targeting trans people in order to divide and conquer the LGBTQ+ community. Many of these groups are also anti choice (anti abortion), anti gay marriage and anti women's rights.

I'm going to stop now before this turns into a full-on essay. Hopefully I'll have time to share more another day!

Have a great week and don't forget to be excellent to one another