NONE OF THE ABOVE Reflections on Life Beyond the Binary

British performance artist and writer Travis Alabanza narrates their own expansive exploration of race, gender, and trans identity. Throughout this engaging production, they reject the expectation of a tidy response to the "When did you know . . . " question and the demands to perform according to narrowly defined gender parameters. Alabanza shares their experiences growing up Black and queer in England with a steadiness that is well paired with this reflective production. Their use of comments directed at them like "No, but real trans . . . " and "We don't do that around here . . . " becomes a springboard to further discussion about the unhealthy ways in which we bind ourselves to the social expectations of a gender binary. Alabanza's unhurried delivery imprints their memoir on listeners, planting seeds for ongoing discussion. J.R.T. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2024]