After researching through various websites and applications, I realized that there are little to no applications which create awareness for gender inclusivity or that are targeted towards non-binary genders. A few mobile apps I found such as Gender Fair, Gender Balance Bingo, etc. were specifically geared towards women, to create equity between men and women. I didn’t see any apps which had all gender-inclusive awareness or anything which was geared towards non-binary genders.
My application will be about educating people about using the correct terminology for diverse genders and consequently creating equity and respect for the non-binary gender community. By educating people around the world, I would also be able to create a safe and free environment for all genders as well as create acceptance of diversity in gender. This could further relate to mental health issues related to personal identity, acceptance issues in families, suicides, etc. I think this is a topic which hasn’t been addressed very much in the community but is equally important and needs to be brought up alongside topics like men-women equity and cultural diversity.
My first interviewee is a college student who has been in very close contact with the LGBTQ community and passionate about being able to create a better life for people identifying with non-binary genders. She mentioned a few things to consider and address in my application such as the difference between gender and sexuality, which people get confused with quite often. Other resources she wanted to see along with gender terms were the names of organizations in each country which deal with gender identification issues or non-binary term usage. She also wanted to have access to counselling services to help with gender dysphoria and suicide prevention helplines in each country. After taking her responses, I can see that focusing on gender pronouns is definitely important but explaining what gender pronouns represent in comparison to sexuality or sexual orientation is equally if not more important. I also realized that I need to consider helpful resources targeted towards the non-binary community rather than just educating people around the world.
My second interviewee is also a college student who is a female with strong feminist views and who considers equity and respect for all genders to be something which needs to be encouraged and enforced around the world. She mentioned a lot of similar ideas to the first interviewee, and also added that there needs to be more of an emotional focus on the non-binary gender community and their process of coming out, should they have to come out, and how and where to get the right help while they are in this process of accepting their identity. This ties into dealing with abusive family members who refuse to use correct pronouns or feeling misunderstood in their own communities and households.