Sascha Rijkeboer is pop activist:in, visibility:in and story-quing on Instagram. But Sascha is also Thousand-Sascha, because Sascha does and can do many things: brew beer, serve in a fine-dine restaurant, do public relations for trans people, film and photograph, but also stand in front of the camera. Inspiring people on stages with SpokenWord and writing columns. In conversation, Sascha reflects on the constraints of a heteronormative society and his own privileges.
If we all think more about gender and resolve that as well, only then will we be able to overcome sexism.
You see yourself as trans-non-binary. Trans means the person does not identify with the gender assigned at birth. Non-binary means that the person feels neither male nor female. How is this for you in everyday life? Are you confronted with it every day?
I don't personally think about being trans non-binary all the time. But it is definitely something that I think about every day or several times a day when I am reminded of it. It may be that I experience exclusions, linguistically or spatially. It can also be that I can't find myself in the representation of gender that is omnipresent everywhere, and am reminded of how strongly bisexuality is communicated in our society. And, of course, there are moments when I am addressed to it, in different situations. And so it's actually, unfortunately, a daily companion.
FS Parker
Youare actively promoting the visibility of this topic. Although it is becoming more and more part of the public discussion, it is unfortunately still subject to many prejudices and sometimes even taboo to talk about it. Where do you get the courage to stand up for this topic as an activist in public?
When I came out seven and eight years ago, there was almost no information or representation on the topic of non-binary in German-speaking Switzerland. And then I slipped into this visibility activism. I gave an interview on the radio and knew it was up to me to talk about it. And then Luzia Tschirky did a piece on SRF on the subject of non-binary, and that got everything rolling, because I was then associated with this term. More and more newspapers, radio stations, podcasts and organizers of panel discussions approached me and talked to me about this topic.
And I realized that I can talk about it well and that I am on the same page as the TGNS, the Trans Gender Network Switzerland. That I can identify with their views and discourse shifts that they want to make in order to destigmatize the topic, and that I also see it that way and can therefore represent it well. I was motivated to be a person or a kind of identification offer for people who also identify non-binary, because I myself lacked that. And also to educate society so that the topic becomes natural and society gets language tools to talk about this topic without using stigmatizing language for it. Those are still the engines that drive me even today.
Regarding the legal situation: Some countries already recognize an indeterminate gender in the passport. The Trans Gender Network Switzerland is campaigning for non-binary people to be publicly recognized in this country as well. On the federal level, the discussion already took place and was shot down by the Federal Council. What does this result mean for you, the community and our whole society?
That was a hard blow, of course, not to be recognized. To live in a state and not be allowed to live in that gender. And to be addressed and legally enshrined in the sense of how you feel and identify. And it's also been difficult for the community to hear and witness that. Especially also because of the arguments with which that was communicated: On the one hand, it was a bureaucratic effort that they didn't want to go through, and on the other hand, the topic had not yet reached society. But I find that a specious argument.
I gave a speech at the "We exist" demonstration in Bern. And there I said that I find this argument absurd, when at the same time Tilsiter advertises with non-binary. They have advertised their cheese on billboards with various slogans, including those of non-binary people. Therefore I think: But then we have arrived in the middle of the society, if such a mass product gets involved exactly in the topic.
1.8% of society, the population of Switzerland, is non-binary or trans. This corresponds to the number of inhabitants of the city of Basel.
1.8% of society, the population of Switzerland, is non-binary or trans. This corresponds to the number of inhabitants of the city of Basel.
How do I know what gender a person is?
What I find very practical to think about gender and to show that the gender that people have cannot be seen from the outside is the example of the favorite color. I can ask you what your favorite color is, and you can answer that. But if you don't tell me, then I don't know. Maybe you wear yellow clothes and I might be tempted to think that yellow is your favorite color, but it could also be that you just like yellow clothes or that yellow looks particularly good on you. But it would be wrong for me to just assume that yellow is your favorite color. Because only when you tell me, I actually know what your favorite color is.
And so it is with gender identity. I don't see another person's gender identity. Sure, there are symbols that then make assumptions, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Could you explain to us in your own words: What constitutes a non-binary gender? What do you mean by bi-gender, gender fluid, queer?
Basically, these terms are there so that we can grasp the different genders a bit, so that we can exchange ideas about them. We in our society, or human beings in general, need categories in order to be able to communicate with each other. Our language works that way and so does our thinking. Therefore, it is not a question of abolishing categories, but we have to give them names. On the one hand as an orientation aid and then of course also to describe that non-binary feels so and so to me. Because: You feel less helpless in this abstract feeling if you can name it. And then you can also form communities under these terms.
And what the individual terms mean: Queer is a squishy term because there are different interpretations. The simplest is to say that it is "queer to the norm." That can be in terms of gender identity. That this does not correspond to what one was assigned at birth. Or that one desires same-sex. Or that one may live poly and be in relationships with multiple people. Or that one is aromantic or asexual. Anything that deviates from the norm, in terms of gender, gender identity, and desire.
And bi-gender, for example, is a gender identity under this umbrella of gender identities. And as I understand it, these are people who identify exactly between male and female. Sometimes people also use the term genderfluid in the sense that they sometimes feel more male or more female on any given day and have a fluid, playful way of dealing with it.
And non-binary is an umbrella term besides clearly trans male or trans female, that you don't clearly identify with male or female. That can be in-between, that can be outside, that can also be a perception like "I don't have a gender identity at all." I can say what non-binary means to me, but I can't very well say that non-binary applies to everyone, because it can be very different. Whereas if I say, for example, I'm a trans man, then I've been assigned to the female gender, but I identify as a man. The origin of identity is always in that female assignment. And with non-binary it doesn't matter what you've been assigned, it just means: that's not true. And neither does the other binary gender. To me, that's the term that fits best. I also like "gender queer," queer to a clear gender identity. But it's not that I can locate non-binary as a clear feeling in that sense, it's the awareness that neither male nor female is right for me.
And to really move away from categorizations to a much more open togetherness, no matter how that shapes up?
It is of course a utopia that we could arrive at a point where we no longer recognize gender and it no longer exists in that sense. That doesn't mean that people aren't allowed to have biologically different bodies or that a man isn't allowed to like football. It's offering what people are allowed to do, how they should or are allowed to behave, how they speak, how they dress, who has what roles in society or responsibilities. If all that is free, then I think we have in that sense abolished or overcome this gender construct.
But we are not there yet at all today. That's why we still have to talk about all these genders in the first place and also talk about these three groups in a simplified way. But I see this more as a tool in the process. Because if we were to say now: We don't talk about gender anymore, then it's still here. And these representations are still there. We first have to question and break down these whole frameworks in the first place before we can ignore gender. Because otherwise we would simply close our eyes to sexism.
That is also the reason why I advocated having three genders and not abolishing gender in personal status altogether.
When I talk about gender, it always happens that people say: Yes, but in the end we are all human beings. That's a bit too simple for me. I have the feeling that you can say that mainly when you're in a privileged position where you're not affected by the fact that there are actually differences.
You say in many cases people are not aware of the context. Or the experiences are not there. Or the confrontations have not been experienced.
I think that there are positions in which you experience very little confrontation and because of that you are tempted to see yourself as the norm without being aware that you conform to the norm. Carolin Emcke expressed this very beautifully in the book "Against Hate": "Those who conform to the norm can succumb to the misconception that it doesn't exist." And that's why I think: It's important to be aware of where and how one conforms to a norm? And where and how is or is one privileged? And you run the risk of forgetting that that's not the case for everyone. It's important to think about these things and be aware of them.
What would you like to give to all the people of the world?
That they free themselves from gender, are more playful, look, reflect structures, organize themselves, fight for a better togetherness.
Do you also have a special message for all trans-non-binary people of this world?
You are all beautiful.
Gender is not a law.
That would be a social construct. We must free ourselves from these structures that restrict and oppress us.
Gender is not a law.
That would be a social construct. We must free ourselves from these structures that restrict and oppress us.
Sascha is an activist, a visualizer and a role model for many people in dealing with gender. Sascha advocates for queer-feminist causes and does public relations work as a trans non-binary person in different contexts. In doing so, Sascha is very reflective and the language is always pointed and respectful.
