Author: Gracetopher Kirk
The Graces
www.patreon.com/posts/18248431
The PCT is truly the trail of the Gracetopher. A Christopher drove myself and a girl named Grace to the southern terminus, which was in and of itself very fitting I thought. And then at the first water source (mile 4.4) Grace and Gracetopher met another Grace!
It Begins
Destination: Canada, via PCT, which will be reached early on the morning of my 25th birthday. At 4 am I meet one other hiker and the trail angel driving us both to Campo CA.
For more see my public post over here on My Patreon.
Crazy Town
A week from today I turn 25 and take my first steps northward from the southern terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail. Holy crap!
Trave-Vlog
Travelogue + vlog = TraveVlog
I’m experimenting with vlogging, so here’s a link to my first foray into this new storytelling medium. I recorded this as I was waiting for a bus a few weeks back.
Trave-Vlog
I Want to Touch the Sky
And that’s why I’m celebrating turning 25 by hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. You can read more about my adventures over on my Patreon.
Many Worlds
The shittiest night of my life must have taken out at least three versions of me, but probably more. After all, if we break it down to the quantum level and talk about spin, I’m sure there are so many subatomic particles in my body that each moment results in a larger number of possible variations than I can comprehend.
I guess if I were living in a Welcome to Nightvale type world and needed to kill my double, these near death experiences I had at 23 would have taken care of a few of those pesky dangerous doubles. However, since this particular pocket of spacetime I happen to inhabit does seem to be composed of different dangers than the ones found in my favorite podcast, I’ve made a pact with my friend Lionel (who happened to have a near death experience between the two I had just over a year ago) that neither of us will have any more near death experiences for a couple of decades. Maybe one more in 20 years or so because you’ve gotta keep things interesting, but then that’s it.
The world increasingly reminds me of Nightvale though, so if we reach that kind of craziness, all bets are off.
AFAB and Non-Binary
Here’s What That Means
First it’s important to realize one key point that underlies all these complicated terms you might find us “special snowflake” millennials using: Biological Sex =/= Gender. Biological sex, as implied by the term, is tied to a person’s biology, and is thought about in two basic ways: on the chromosomal level of XX vs XY and on the anatomical level where a determination is made based on a person’s genitals. The distinction between chromosomes and anatomy is important because as science has progressed, we’ve come to realize that having two X chromosomes does not necessarily mean that a baby will be born with a vagina, and having XY chromosomes does not necessarily mean that a baby will be born with a penis. As the World Health Organization phrases it, “there is a range of chromosome complements, hormone balances, and phenotypic variations that determine sex”. Determination vs. Differentiation.
Instead of speaking of biological sex, many trans and nonbinary people (myself included) feel that it is more accurate to speak of assigned sex. In terms of gender, I’m neither a man nor a woman, but if it’s necessary to discuss biology, the appropriate term for me is AFAB, which stands for Assigned Female At Birth. The binary opposite to this is of course AMAB, meaning Assigned Male At Birth.
The assignment at birth is of course tied to genitalia, but this does not result in the clear binary divisions that people seem to crave so much. It’s estimated that as many as 1 in 100 Americans are Intersex. This happens when either the chromosomes arrange themselves someway other than XX vs XY, when a newborn’s genitalia are ambiguous, when genitalia appear nonambiguous but don’t match the hormones released during puberty, when both male and female biology appear in some way, etc.
What is Non-Binary?
Lol, what is gender?
If your answer is any form of male/female, man/woman, girl/boy etc, I can’t answer the original question without taking a step further back to discuss what gender is at all.
I’ve employed the help of every millenial’s favorite science teacher: Bill Nye the Science Guy. If you haven’t yet, I suggest you take a moment to watch his new Netflix Show Bill Nye Saves the World. The show in general is interesting and informative, but please watch Season one episode nine in particular. As somebody who identifies as a nonbinary dyke, this show was incredibly validating for me, and can help explain what I’m talking about here as I deconstruct everything you were ever taught about Gender.
In Bill Nye Saves the World 1.9, Bill Nye uses his “smoking hot abacus of sex” to break down these complex and interrelated aspects of identity into four categories: Sex, Gender, Attraction, and Expression. To understand what I say when I call myself a nonbinary dyke, I find it convenient to use this abacus of sex as a starting point.
The short version is this: sex and gender are different. Sex itself is less binary than we like to think due to the realities of Intersex people, and gender is so much more complex because it’s about the sociological relationships between people and the world around them. The gender binary is what we call the assumption that there are only two options, but those of us who identify as non-binary, genderqueer, genderfluid, etc, reject this binary that society has tried to trap us in.
I am The Gracetopher, my preferred pronouns are they/them, and when it comes to the topic of gender, you can your boots you haven’t heard the last from me yet.
Gracetopher Kirk 