Naveen Daniel

“It’s not just that you internalize the shame; rather, it becomes you. You no longer need the people at school telling you not to dress like that; you already do it to yourself.”
― Alok Vaid-Menon, Beyond the Gender Binary

“Some gender non-conforming people are nonbinary, and some are men and women. It depends on each person’s experience. Two people can look similar and be completely different genders. Gender is not what people look like to other people; it is what we know ourselves to be. No one else should be able to tell you who you are; that’s for you to decide.”
― Alok Vaid-Menon, Beyond the Gender Binary

“Can you tell me why people go to such lengths to hide their real selves? Or why I always behave very differently when I’m in the company of others? Why do people have so little trust in one another? I know there must be a reason, but sometimes I think it’s horrible that you can’t ever confide in anyone, not even those closest to you.”
― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition

“I suppose some people wanted to protect me from bullying and didn’t realize that they were bullying me in the process.”
― Alok Vaid-Menon, Beyond the Gender Binary