Nina Here nor There: My Journey Beyond Gender
by Nick Krieger
c.2011, Beacon Press; $15; 202 pages
You’ve always hated your nose.
It sticks out too much. Or it’s too small. Or…wait, your ears make you look like you’re part elephant. Or your lips are too pouty, your thighs are too big, your arms are too fat, you hate your butt.
And you can change all of the above, and then some.
But would you have the courage to alter the very things that define you to the rest of society? In the new book Nina Here nor There by Nick Krieger, you’ll see why one young man did.
When writer-blogger Nina Krieger landed in San Francisco’s Castro district, she felt welcomed.
Her lesbian friends, the “A-gays,” folded her into their circle with parties. Old pals were glad to see Krieger, and she was glad to find an apartment with roommates she could tolerate. She even found a job that allowed her to continue writing.
But Kreiger wasn’t happy. For years, she’d struggled with gender identity: she was not a lesbian, not exactly a woman but yet—she was. Being in The Castro gave her hope, though, and unwittingly, she had surrounded herself with people who could give her guidance.
Greg, with his newly-flat chest and eagerness for life, was willing to share his experiences with surgery and testosterone shots. Jess, one of Kreiger’s roommates, was transitioning and taught Kreiger about “packing” and binding. Zippy, a long-time close friend, gave optimistic support.
“Before moving to the Castro, I’d thought becoming a man was as realistic as growing wings,” said Kreiger.
But living “with her community” gave Kreiger the courage to try. Deciding that breasts were the worst part of who she was, Kreiger bought minimizers and purchased the other body parts that she lacked. Little by little, she allowed her family careful peeks into the person she knew herself to be. She “convinced” herself that she belonged, yet she was uneasy. What exists between girl and boy?
“… I didn’t fully relate to either anymore,” Kreiger said.
Despite a fear of needles, unfazed by a list of realities, and heartbroken by a paternal lack of understanding, Kreiger knew she had to find out....
Nina Here nor There is a bit of a conundrum.
On one side, author Nick Kreiger takes his readers by the hand, allowing us to see what he sees. As Kreiger explores the gender spectrum, we do, too. At the same time he’s seeing the blurred lines of woman and not-woman, we see it as well. The journey is a good one, shared.
By the time I got to the latter third of the book, though, I was well good and ready for Nina to make up her mind. By then—just before the culmination of the story—Nina Here nor There becomes a struggle, both in content and story. And it’s with great relief that you’ll find out what happens.
Overall, this is a book worth a look, especially if you’re examining the fluidity of gender yourself. For you, Nina Here nor There is a nice change of pace.