Patching Gender: Non-binary Utopias in HCI

Katta Spiel, Os Keyes, Pinar Barlas

Abstract: Non-binary people are rarely considered by technologies or technologists, and often subsumed under binary trans experiences on the rare occasions when we are discussed. In this paper we share our own experiences and explore potential alternatives - utopias, impossible places, as our lived experience of technologies' obsessive gender binarism seems near-insurmountable. Our suggestions on how to patch these gender bugs appear trivial while at the same time revealing seemingly insurmountable barriers. We illustrate the casual violence technologies present to non-binary people, as well as the on-going marginalisations we experience as HCI researchers. We write this paper primarily as an expression of self-empowerment that can function as a first step towards raising awareness towards the complexities at stake.