Your Precious Binary

I am not a member
Of your precious little binary
I'm not a him
Not a her
Not an "it"
I'm a human being
With skin and bones and hair
Same as you
Same as him
Same as her

I am not a member
Of your precious little binary
But I deserve respect
As a friend
As a person
As a human being
Don't call me him
Don't call me her
And for the love of God
Don't call me it

I am not a member
Of your precious little binary
Call me Them
Call me "Zhe" or "Xe"
Just fucking call me Charlie
Call me anything but "It"

I am not a member
Of your precious little binary
And let's be frank here -
I'm offended
I'm offended that you think I don't deserve a restroom
I'm offended that you think I don't deserve a pronoun
I don't deserve clothing or a haircut
Kindness, love, compassion
Respect

I am offended that you think a unisex name is setting a child up to fail
I am offended that you think I'm "just confused"
I am most offended by the fact that in your eyes
My worth
My worth as a human being
Hinges on the bits of flesh between my legs

I am not a member
Of your precious little binary
I am not a him
Or a her
And for God's sake not an it
I'm a human being
And I deserve respect