We have the honor to live in a richly diverse community in New Albany, Indiana! At the heart of this diverse community is the public institution which strives to recognize all citizens…your public library. Through a robust offering of reading material, media, programs, and outreach, the Floyd County Library seeks to serve each and every person who lives in our area.

Freedom has been on my mind in the past week, especially since our country just celebrated Independence Day, also known as the 4th of July. I cannot think of any greater freedom than the freedom to be the person that I am meant to be! I am a middle-aged librarian who likes animals, biking, sewing, crafting, reading, travel, and learning something new that challenges my brain every day!

Who are you? Are you the person you are meant to be? What if you didn’t have the freedom to be yourself? What if you had no freedom of religion, or no freedom to eat the foods you want, or to shop at any store you want. What if you had to wear the same color every day? What if you could only visit certain towns and cities in the country? What if you had no freedom to learn or to express yourself?

Throughout the history of America, various freedoms have been specifically named, such as the right to bear arms and the right to freedom of speech. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prevents discrimination on the basis of a person’s sex. Some states now allow individuals to declare themselves as non-binary on official documents.

What does it mean to be non-binary? Non-binary is an umbrella term for people who do not identify as fully female or male. “Non-binary people can feel that their gender identity and gender experience involves being both a man and a woman, or that it is fluid, in between, or completely outside of that binary.” (https://workplacepride.org/event/international-non-binary-peoples-day/)

International Non-Binary People’s Day has been celebrated since 2012, with the purpose to raise awareness of the difficulties that non-binary people face around the world. Every day, non-binary persons demonstrate that knowing one’s self and identity is a tremendous tool that no one can take away. There’s still a lot of work to be done to ensure complete protection and rights for our non-binary friends, but we must also take time to celebrate them. (https://nationaltoday.com/international-non-binary-peoples-day/)

How can you support non-binary friends?

  1. Use generic terms

    Make every effort to use terms like ‘friends’ that are gender-neutral. You can also share your pronouns in your emails, signature, or social media pages.

  2. Remember proper pronouns

    Use the correct pronouns for people, whatever they are. Also, provide your name and pronoun in your introduction. Declaring your pronouns serves as a reminder to others that it is not always evident which pronoun someone uses.

  3. Spread the word on social media

    To demonstrate your support, create posts using the non-binary flag. If you’re non-binary, you can use the hashtag #thisiswhatnonbinarylookslike to highlight that being non-binary doesn’t need you to appear a certain way.

    4. READ…

    Here are some book suggestions that you may check out: