#human library

Y ya que hablamos de libros esta es la idea que han lanzado los daneses: la biblioteca humana.

En lugar de sacar un libro en prestamo lo que te prestan es un ser humano con una historia. Ayuda a romper prejuicios y fomenta la conversación. Según el maravilloso libro "El infinito en un junco", de Irene Vallejo, los primero libros eran orales.

From their website:

Now, I've been part of this amazing organisation for a very short time, and I have to say, it is easily one of the GREATEST things you can ever take part in.

As the website states, in the Human Library, the books are people.

You are published under a 'click bait' title, designed to catch the public's eye. (You choose your own title. I have published under Borderline Personality Disorder and under Queer).

Along with your title is a list of stereotypes that people have about your label. Depending on where the library is taking place, you may get the chance to add to the list yourself (I wrote my own for both Borderline and Queer)

With that done, people come and take you out. They ask you questions. And you have a conversation.

I've had some amazing conversations with people. Because guess what, people WANT to learn. The issue that comes is that a lot of the team, people don't want to ask the questions they have, because they don't want to upset people. This is fine. It is not socially appropriate to come up to someone with self harm scars and go: "How did your parents react to you doing that?" (A question I got asked by someone who took me out as a Borderline book)

But within the Human Library, you're trained to park your offence at the door. To allow people to ask the questions that they really want to ask, but don't want to upset people by asking.

Questions I've been asked, across both of my titles:

-I thought we weren't allowed to use queer, why is that your title? (Asked by a young gay man)

-If you're borderline, that means your not really sick, right?

-Why did you self harm?

-How can you date if you're Asexual?

-Can you be a lesbian if you're Non-binary?

-How did you know you weren't a boy or a girl?

-Did you have a happy childhood?

Now, I wouldn't accept those questions from people on the street. That would be weird. But being a book, I've taken on the responsibility to answer these questions to the best of my ability.

ALL OF THIS BEING SAID!

You also don't have to sit for the entire conversation. While it's never happened to me (thank goodness), if a conversation makes you uncomfortable, you are allowed to leave. You can catch the attention of your librarian, and they will end your conversation. They will cut the loan period short.

If someone is being genuinely mean, rather than simply not being educated on your topic, you can end the loan. If someone is just making you uncomfortable for some reason, you can end the loan. YOU, as the book, have the power.

So please, if you're someone who can stay calm and answer questions, consider signing up to be a book with the Human Library.

(soft bonus: if you have to travel for a library, they'll pay for your travel and any over night stays that are necessary)

I just attended a Human Library event for the first time and it was amazing. I sat with a book called “Nonbinary.” Now, this may have been cheating a bit, since I am nonbinary myself, but I thought it would be a good opportunity to sit with somebody else who is nonbinary and talk things through in person.

It was a wonderful experience. We talked about dysphoria; we talked about pronouns; we talked about knowing when it is safe to be out; we talked about looking young; we talked about coming out to family. Being able to talk to somebody else who understands what it is like was invaluable to me.

Today at my uni we had our Second Annual Human Library and it was so much fun to talk to people about what it’s like to be Non-binary and Asexual. A lot of the people who came to “check me out” had never heard of either of those things so their world got a little bigger when they saw that I exist and people like me exist! It was just really good conversation all the way around the board.

Kevin, "Trans with Privilege".

"I am a doctoral fellow here at UNT, teaching in the art education program. I'm a 45-year-old man of trans experience. I used to be the director of Denton Transendence, which is a support group for trans people, family, friends, and allies, so it takes a hollistic approach to trans support."

Could you tell me about your experience?

"Well, my book title is Trans with Privilege, and it's one of those things I was thinking about the other day, that there's this sort of narrative that goes around about being trans as if it's this homogeneous experience without taking into consideration intersectionality and how privilege can happen within the trans community. I have to take into account the great privilege I have now walking through life as a heterosexual white man who's highly educated, as opposed to friends I have who transitioned in different ways to where it actually deprivileges them. One of the young adults in my family is a trans woman, and so I have to think about even within my own family, both of our positions have shifted, with me being read as male, and my niece going from male to female. With similar family, neither of us are treated well, but even within that, they'll be more cautious about how they disrespect me, as opposed to how they disrespect her.

Lately I've been reminded of this story where in 1993 my motorcycle broke down on the highway off I-35 & Rosedale in Fort Worth in the middle of the night. I had to try and find a payphone to call some friends to help me out. Walking around at that time & place, alone in the dark, as a fairly small person, being read as female, it wasn't the safest place. When I found a payphone, I realized I had no money. I saw person coming from around the corner of an abandoned building. It was this very tall women in tall heels and a green dress, in the middle of the night, on Rosedale. Sure enough it was a sex worker, but also a trans woman of color. At the time I thought 'I don't want this person near me.' I had a lot of assumptions. They asked me if I needed help, and even though I insisted I didn't, she knew I was scared, and she even knew I was scared of her. She pulled some money out of her purse, and I was able to call my friends. I told her I was fine and she could leave, but she knew things about the area I didn't, and wanted to make sure I was safe while I waited. When my friends pull up, I went to talk to them, and when I turn around, she was already gone. I think she was worried, knowing if I'm afraid of her, who knows what my friends are like, and there's more of us and there's just her. It's interesting to think when we look at trans people, I have what's called 'passing privilege'. Most people have no idea that I'm trans without me telling them. There are so many people who may or may not have passing privilege, which can make things dangerous, especially when sex workers are already targets for violence anyway, and the highest rates of violence are against trans women of color. We often hear about trans people as victims, and here was this woman who stepped up. Didn't know me and made sure that I was safe."

What were some changes in privilege you noticed before & after your transition?

"Oh wow, let's see! I've been a professor for several years, and when I started to transition, I did a little experiment. I was getting emails that were really hostile over little things, and they always start with Ms, Mrs, my first name, or just Hey. They would be really demanding emails, saying 'You need to do this...'. Whatever I wrote back, no matter how professionally written, I would be perceived as a bitch. I changed my name on Blackboard, and started replying to emails as Mr. Jenkins. After about a week, even within the same semester and same group of students, about 80% of the emails changed completely in tone, saying 'Mr. Jenkins, if you get a chance...'

A screenshot of me in a short introduction film of Menneskebiblioteket (The human library)