Nevo Zisin is an Australian writer and

transgender rights A transgender person is someone whose gender identity is inconsistent or not culturally associated with the sex they were assigned at birth and also with the gender role that is associated with that sex. They may have, or may intend to establi ...

activist.

Life and career

Assigned female at birth, Zisin initially

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

as a lesbian at the age of 15, became a queer activist, and appeared in a documentary about gay teens, ''Love in Full Colour''. Zisin struggled with anxiety and depression while striving to fit in at school. At the age of 17, Zisin began transitioning to male. The teachers at Zisin's private

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

school were supportive of the transition. Zisin started

testosterone therapy Androgen replacement therapy (ART), often referred to as testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) or hormone replacement therapy (HRT), is a form of hormone therapy in which androgens, often testosterone, are supplemented or replaced exogenously ...

in January 2014 during a

gap year A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is typically a year-long break before or after college/university during which students engage in various educational and developmental activities, such as travel or some type of regular work. Gap yea ...

trip to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Later, they came to identify as non-binary, and prefer gender-neutral ''

singular they Singular ''they'', along with its inflected or derivative forms, ''them'', ''their'', ''theirs'' and ''themselves'' (or ''themself''), is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun. It typically occurs with an unspecified antecedent, in sentenc ...

'' pronouns. Zisin was featured in a teaching guide produced by

Safe Schools Coalition Australia Prior to November 2017, the Safe Schools Coalition Australia (SSCA) functioned as a group of organisations in Australia focused on LGBTIQ people in schools. Its mission is to create safe and inclusive schools for students, families and staff who ...

. They were targeted for this by the

Australian Christian Lobby The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) is a conservative right-wing Christian Advocacy group, advocacy organisation based in Canberra. It is similar to the other international Christian lobby groups, and seeks to represent Christian citizens and v ...

, and falsely accused of promoting

sex reassignment surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and a ...

for minors without parental consent. In May 2017, Zisin published a book about their gender transition and other life experiences, ''Finding Nevo: How I Confused Everyone''. ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'' described the book as "impactful" and "an enriching, worthwhile read for everyone". The ''

Brisbane Times Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

'' said that the book "leaves the reader with a deeper understanding of the arbitrariness of binary gender divisions and how they box us all in."

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zisin, Nevo 1990s births Living people Activists from Melbourne Australian non-binary writers Australian LGBT rights activists Transgender rights activists Australian transgender writers Transgender Jews Australian Jews Jewish activists Writers from Melbourne Transgender non-binary people Non-binary activists