The binary way of thinking that the world has been taught has created the notion that there’s only one correct way to do things, and if not done correctly, then there’s no room for excuses.  People who have mental health issues, any disability, or another reason for feeling out of the scope of “normal” or “correct” are analieated and othered. In a system that has been comprised based off of the concept that you aren’t unique or deserving of your own path because there is only two options, you either fit into the ideal society, or you don’t.

There’s extreme amount of stigma around transgender people because they are seen as others, but the world goes further to seperate people that cannot succeed based on the “necessary” qualifications given.  People with mental health issues are constantly seen as failing. Can’t go to class because you’re so depressed that you can’t leave your bed? You fail. The majority of schools have attendance policies, there’s no room for exceptions in a binary pass/fail system.  People who get addicted to drugs often have difficulty going to rehabilitation because they have been othered and there is extreme stigma around getting help, as if you’ve failed at life, failed at society.

Even people that don’t pick a “typical” or “correct” profession are seen as others, as if there’s a list of right and wrong careers.  For example, there’s a reason its called the “starving artist,” because art isn’t seen as a proper career. If I told my parents tomorrow that I was dropping out of college to be an artist and was no longer going to go to law school I don’t think they’d speak to me.  When my boyfriend chose not to go into the military directly after high school his family kicked him out and stopped speaking to him for years. There’s so much pressure on kids, and specifically on college students to be a certain version of successful that more than 80 percent of college students felt overwhelmed by all they had to do in the past year and 45 percent have felt things were hopeless. More than 40 percent of college students have felt more than an average amount of stress within the past 12 months and 75 percent of lifetime cases of mental health conditions begin by age 24. (Chadron State College)

The binary utopian desires that have categorized everything into right and wrong have changed our relationships, our holistic view of human beings, and shaped our depiction of right and wrong to mean something that is far from natural. The binary system has created a dystopia that harms people’s mental health, experience, and well being.