They/Them

They/Them

A Story by jack cavender
"

The United States is a nation in which gender identity does not exist.

"
They looked at themself in their slightly shattered mirror, hanging on the dull, white, 6-panel bedroom door. Adrian Parker looked at themself and gazed upon the boringness of their plain, oversized outfit. Standing in the mirror, Adrian was clothed in an oversized t-shirt with baggy sweatpants that fell to the ground. Both in white, of course. Everybody knows you cannot wear anything other than white in this country.
Adrian wondered what they would look like in vibrant colors, such as blue or green. They’ve only seen that in the T.V. shows. Ever since they were a child, they’ve always wanted to live in a T.V. show. A world where you can express your creativity in whatever way you want.
Unfortunately, Adrian and all other three hundred million United States citizens were born into a world where gender identity does not exist. When you’re born, the doctors do not look at any parts of your body to determine whether or not you’re a ‘boy’ or a ‘girl’; you’re simply just a person. Nothing more, nothing less.
After a few long minutes of staring at themself in the mirror, Adrian opened their bedroom door and walked down the hallway of the house, entirely white. You can pick apart the Rules as far as getting to the deeper depths of the book which states that you are not allowed to have any objects of masculine or feminine color. (Which every household was forced to keep somewhere within the house, by the way. When the police come to do their weekly inspection of the house, they always check to see if you’re following rule #1; always keep a copy of the Rules somewhere in the house.)
Some people have tried to argue that black was a gender-neutral color, but once again, there’s a rule stating that black has been associated with motorcycles, which is a “masculine object”.
Adrian sighed and walked downstairs where their breakfast was waiting for them on the counter. It was a single banana and a few pieces of buttered toast.
The only things in any household which can have any color are food. This is simply because you cannot change the color of any food easily. That’s the scientists’ job.
They took the plate to the table and began eating. One of Adrian’s favorite hobbies while eating was to search through the Rules and find any statements that were thought to be too ridiculous to even be in the book. (Even in a world like this.)
 They flipped through the pages for a while until she found a rule that stated “You must maintain your natural hair, with haircuts permitted every 45 days. No dyeing hair is allowed under any circumstance, and if you cut your hair longer than the assigned length, you will be…” The words ended here due to Adrian’s crazy relatives coming and scribbling out every time the Rules state what happens to you if you’re caught breaking a rule.
Adrian’s family consisted of two parents, one 5’5 and one 6’1. Their names are Alex and Harper. It’s clear which would have been the mother and the father, based on the way they behaved, not by appearance. If society were not how it is today.
The parents had three children: Adrian, the oldest, who resembled a woman. Bailey, the middle child, who resembled a man. And finally, Avery, the youngest, who resembled both. They were aged 17, 15, and 9, respectively. They were all troublemakers; they always get into more trouble than other kids their age. One time they all planned to break a plain old white vase in their parent’s bedroom. They almost got away with it before their grandparents (both resembling women) walked into the backyard and saw the plan. It wasn’t broken, so the grandparents kept it a secret with the children.
Adrian liked to place everybody she encountered under a certain gender. For example, both of her parents resembled men. Which is fine. Gay marriage was okay in Adrian’s mind. They still couldn’t believe that this was illegal in most countries. It seemed unethical.
Two men or two women couldn’t even marry in the United States. Kids have been told this since the beginning of elementary school. The phrase “No genders = No LGBTQ+” has been engraved in Adrian’s mind for as long as they could remember.
They stood up, pushed in their chair, and took the plate to the kitchen sink. A minuscule ant was crawling on the kitchen counter. Right next to the ant was a beautiful red apple, laying on its own. Adrian’s siblings had eaten the other fruit, leaving the apple left to rot unless somebody comes and picks it up.
The ant was soon swooped up by a paper towel and thrown in the garbage. Adrian began thinking about animals and how they don’t have rules in their society. They just live their lives, without a care in the world. It’s a scientific fact that most animals can either be male or female. Adrian wondered why humans couldn’t be. They wondered why we had to live in this nightmare-like world where you can’t express any creativity of gender without facing the consequences. Adrian would know what those were if their relatives had not crossed them out in the Rules. They wondered why they did that in the first place. Maybe something unspeakable had happened within their section of the Parker family history, such as a family member lashing out against the restrictions set in place.
Just as Adrian sat on the couch to watch T.V., the police arrived at the door for their weekly inspection. They come every Saturday morning to inspect the house.
Adrian sighed and let the police (who resembled a male) inside of the house. The lone police officer was named Officer Lake. They’ve been assigned to this house for a very long time, possibly before Adrian was born.
They chatted for a while about the weather before Adrian sat back down, with only the television filling the silence of the dull house.
A scream filled the cool air as Officer Lake yelled at the top of their lungs. They shouted some very impolite words.
Bailey tumbled down the hard stairs as Officer Lake followed behind. Adrian assumed Lake pushed Bailey down the stairs, but why?
Officer Lake stood in the living room and held a dark red shirt in their hands, with the name “Bailey” sewn in. Adrian had never seen a shirt as magnificent as that in the flesh before. Their jaw dropped in awe of the amazing shirt Lake was holding.
Officer Lake screamed Bailey’s name as Lake dragged them out of the house. Adrian wanted to scream their name, but they were too afraid of what might happen.
They left the door wide open as they left.

© 2020 jack cavender


Author's Note

jack cavender
any constructive criticism?

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Reviews

I really like this story. It made me think very hard about the world we're living in now and the changes people are trying to make regarding gender in society. I was also forced to consider living in this kind of world which was interesting, this story really makes you take a look at different perspectives and potential outcomes from life. I would perhaps remove the brackets and simply give the information to the audience about the rule book, either as a simple sentence or perhaps have Adrian considering why the rules have to be displayed in every household? Perhaps I would also suggest adding some depth and information about some of the key points. What happened to the family to make them scrub out the consequences of breaking the rules? Why do the rules have to be displayed in every home? Is there a reason or is it simply government control? Just a little more background. Overall, I really liked the story and it painted a great picture in my mind. I'm very excited to see what you write next!

Posted 3 Years Ago



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Added on May 17, 2020
Last Updated on May 17, 2020
Tags: dystopian, fiction, sci-fi, gender

Author

jack cavender
jack cavender

Woodstock, GA



About
i write short, usually dystopian/sci-fi stories. more..