Almost 30

379. Alok Vaid Menon: Self-Expression is The Medicine


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THE INTERVIEW

K+L originally spoke to Alok Vaid Menon about two years ago — or, in 2020 terms, a lifetime ago — and it continues to be a relevant and important conversation for us to share. There are few people who have had such a lasting impact, not just from the show but from life. K+L left this conversation feeling more human, more connected, more aware of how they affect others: exactly what our world desperately needs more of right now. Alok also recently released a book, “Beyond the Gender Binary,” which shows that gender is a malleable and creative form of expression only limited by your creativity. So, to celebrate the book and this beautiful, powerful, kind, and heart-centered soul, we wanted to share the conversation again.

We also talk about:

  • The ins and outs of your passion being your business
  • Growing up (emotionally repressed) in a small Texas town
  • Southern “politeness”
  • Balancing being a strong example for others + being a complex, flawed human
  • Why it hurts when we turn someone into a metaphor and a symbol
  • Visibility does not mean safety for women and trans people
  • Where Alok developed their emotional vocabulary
  • Gender + shame
  • Learning not to fear their own gender nonconformity
  • The psychology of fascism
  • Why Alok is frustrated by the individualism of self-care
  • The people who bully us want to be us
  • Aesthetics as political resistance
  • Violence against gender non-conforming individuals has escalated over the past few years
  • What we can all do, every day, to challenge the current paradigm

Find more to love at almost30.com!

Resources:

  • Get yourself a copy of “Beyond the Gender Binary”
  • Or donate a copy of the book to an LGBTQ youth
  • Learn more | alokvmenon.com
  • Instagram | @alokvmenon
  • Twitter | @alokvmenon
  • YouTube | youtube.com/channel/UCG_G2mCoGdNUIOPaPrgorHg
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    Almost 30By Krista Williams & Lindsey Simcik

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