IDENTITY – Saturday 6 November Nick Dill will start the marathon of New Yorkbut without appearing in either men or women: the athlete, who claims to be not binarywill compete in a third category created in 2021 to satisfy a demand for representation and inclusion.
As you can see in the video above, this is not the first marathon in which the cross-country runner participates, who has already covered the queen distance in less than three hours. “I used to run in the men’s category”, explains Nick, who practiced professional dance before making acupuncture his profession. I was born a boy. I have identified myself as such for years. But since I declared myself not binary in January there was discomfort, confusion when there were only men or women ” among the options offered by the race organizers. Nick considers himself as feminine as he is male, even though he is not one of these two. genres.
After the dance and the gymNick didn’t start running until he became an adult. “I was stressed out because of this toxic male energy” that exists in this environment. “I was afraid of not being in my place. “
According to a list compiled by activist Jake Fedorowski, more than 200 events, road or trail races, now offer three separate rankings for United States. “For those who do not identify either male or female, not having an alternative creates a mental barrier, an additional obstacle to be able to participate fully” in the race, explains Kerin Hempel, director of the New York Road Runners association, organizer of the New York marathonthe first to take the plunge.
“A liberation”
From 16 runners in the first year, in 2021, the category has grown to more than 60 this year in New York. Several other important dates on the calendar, from Boston to Londonsince then they have themselves created a third category.
“It was a liberation”, enthuses Jake Caswell, a 25-year-old non-binary clinical analyst who was top athlete in the American College Championship. Jake, who uses the pronoun “they”, often translated as “iel” in French, remembers a “Super sensation” cutting the limit of his first event performed as a non-binary person, at the beginning of the year.
So far, reactions to the appearance of a non-binary category have been extremely positive, even though Jake was booed by a spectator at an event in Staten Island, New York a few weeks ago.
“I read the comments online” who criticized the initiative, says Nick Dill. “It is mainly related to the lack of education and knowledge. As this gains more exposure, I think it will gain more acceptance. ” According to the athlete, the resistance mainly comes from the older ones, even within the LGBT + community, “who are a bit stuck in this world where everything is black or white, while non-binary is a gray space”.
For Nick, more than a competition, the New York Marathon will be one “celebration”. “We are all here to support each other. “
According to a study by UCLA University’s Williams Institute Research Center published in June 2021, approximately 1.2 million people identify as non-binary in the United States.
The interpreters Sam Smith et Demi Lovatoor Emma Corrinwho played Princess Diana in The crownare the best known examples to have adopted this terminology.
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