Have you heard of gender-neutral initiatives? For example, the NS addresses us as “travelers” instead of “ladies and gentlemen”, and the HEMA has started a gender-neutral clothing line for children, among others. Do you wonder what that is all about, why they’re doing it, or what effects this might have? I do too, and that’s what I’m researching!

My research focuses on the binary (male vs female) gender system we have in society and how that is changing within people’s identifications (e.g. more and more non-binary people are coming forward). I also look at what challenges we face within a society where we are used to categorizing people as one of two binary choices and what we can do to make the transition to a more gender-neutral society easier for everyone.

On December 12th 2021, I was invited to talk about my research as part of an event honouring the Erasmus prize winner Grayson Perry. At this event, a documentary by Perry was shown at the Louis Hartlooper cinema in Utrecht, organized by ‘Movies that Matter’. My talk was the introduction to the documentary, as well a summary of my PhD research. You can watch a recording of my talk below.