Non-binary and genderqueer are
umbrella term
In linguistics, semantics, general semantics, and ontologies, hyponymy () is a semantic relation between a hyponym denoting a subtype and a hypernym or hyperonym (sometimes called umbrella term or blanket term) denoting a supertype. In other wor ...
s for
gender identities
Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...
that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the
gender binary
The gender binary (also known as gender binarism) is the classification of gender into two distinct, opposite forms of masculine and feminine, whether by social system, cultural belief, or both simultaneously. Most cultures use a gender bina ...
.
Non-binary identities fall under the transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
umbrella, since non-binary people typically identify with a gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
that is different from their assigned sex
Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...
,[ though some non-binary people do not consider themselves transgender.]
Non-binary people may identify as an intermediate or separate third gender
Third gender is a concept in which individuals are categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither man nor woman. It is also a social category present in societies that recognize three or more genders. The term ''third'' is usually ...
, identify with more than one gender,[ no gender (agender), or have a fluctuating gender identity (genderfluid). Gender identity is separate from ]sexual
Sex is the biological distinction of an organism between male and female.
Sex or SEX may also refer to:
Biology and behaviour
*Animal sexual behaviour
**Copulation (zoology)
**Human sexual activity
**Non-penetrative sex, or sexual outercourse
** ...
or romantic orientation
A person's romantic orientation, also called affectional orientation, is the classification of the sex or gender with which a person experiences romantic attraction towards or is likely to have a romantic relationship with. The term is used alo ...
: non-binary people have various sexual orientations. Being non-binary is also not the same as being intersex
Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bina ...
; most intersex people identify as either male or female.
Non-binary people as a group vary in their gender expression
Gender expression, or gender presentation, is a person's behavior, mannerisms, interests, and appearance that are associated with gender, specifically with the categories of femininity or masculinity. This also includes gender roles. These cat ...
s, and some may reject gender identity altogether.[ Some non-binary people are medically treated for ]gender dysphoria
Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to a mismatch between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The diagnostic label gender identity disorder (GID) was used until ...
with surgery or hormones
A hormone (from the Ancient Greek, Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of cell signaling, signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and beh ...
, as trans men
A trans man is a man who was assigned female at birth. The label of transgender man is not always interchangeable with that of transsexual man, although the two labels are often used in this way. ''Transgender'' is an umbrella term that incl ...
and trans women
A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...
often are.
Terms, definitions, and identities
The term ''genderqueer'' originated in queer
''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...
zine
A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published
Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to writ ...
s of the 1980s as a precursor to the term ''non-binary''. It gained wider use in the 1990s among political activists, especially Riki Anne Wilchins. Wilchins used the term in a 1995 essay published in the first issue of ''In Your Face'' to describe anyone who is gender nonconforming
Gender variance or gender nonconformity is behavior or gender expression by an individual that does not match masculine or feminine gender norms. A gender-nonconforming person may be variant in their gender identity, being transgender or non-bina ...
, and identified as genderqueer in their 1997 autobiography. Wilchins was also one of the main contributors to the anthology ''Genderqueer: Voices Beyond the Sexual Binary'' published in 2002. The internet allowed the term ''genderqueer'' to spread even further than zines, and by the 2010s the term was introduced to the mainstream via celebrities who publicly identified under the ''genderqueer'' umbrella.
People who challenge binary social constructions of gender often self-identify as ''genderqueer''. In addition an umbrella term for non-binary gender identities, ''genderqueer'' has been used as an adjective to refer to people who are perceived to transcend or diverge from traditional distinctions of gender, regardless of their gender identity. People may express gender non-normatively by not conforming into the binary gender categories of "man" and "woman".
The term ''genderqueer'' has also been applied by those describing what they see as gender ambiguity. Androgynous
Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression.
When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics i ...
(also ''androgyne
Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression.
When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in h ...
'') is frequently used as a descriptive term for people in this category. This is because the term ''androgyny'' is closely associated with a blend of socially defined masculine and feminine traits. But not all genderqueer people identify as androgynous. Some identify as a masculine woman or a feminine man or combine genderqueer with another gender option. Being non-binary is not the same as being intersex
Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bina ...
, and most intersex people identify as either male or female. Some people use ''enby'' (from the letters NB) as a short form of non-binary.
Many references use the term ''transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
'' to include genderqueer/non-binary people. This use of the word as a broad term for various kinds of gender variation dates to at least 1992 and the publication of Leslie Feinberg
Leslie Feinberg (September 1, 1949 – November 15, 2014) was an American butch lesbian, transgender activist, communist, and author. Feinberg authored '' Stone Butch Blues'' in 1993. 's ''Transgender Liberation: A Movement Whose Time Has Come''. In 1994, non-binary author Kate Bornstein
Katherine Vandam Bornstein (born March 15, 1948) is an American author, playwright, performance artist, actor, and gender theorist. In 1986, Bornstein started identifiying as gender non-conforming and has stated "I don't call myself a woman, ''and ...
wrote, "All the categories of transgender find a common ground in that they each break one or more of the rules of gender: What we have in common is that we are gender outlaws, every one of us." The Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...
Foundation and Gender Spectrum use the term ''gender-expansive'' to convey "a wider, more flexible range of gender identity and/or expression than typically associated with the binary gender system".
people (" a-" meaning "without"), also called genderless, gender-free, non-gendered, or ungendered, are those who identify as having no gender or gender identity.[ This category includes a broad range of identities that do not conform to traditional ]gender norms
A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cente ...
, but scholar Finn Enke has said that people who identify with any of these positions may not necessarily self-identify as transgender. Agender people have no specific set of pronouns; 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 sentence ...
is typically used, but it is not the default. Neutrois and agender were two of 50 available custom genders added to Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
in February 2014. Agender has also been a gender option on OkCupid
OkCupid (often abbreviated as OKC, but officially OkC) is a U.S.-based, internationally operating online dating, friendship, and formerly also a social networking website and application. It features multiple-choice questions to match members. ...
since November 2014.
Bigender (also bi-gender or dual gender) people have two gender identities and behaviors
Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as well ...
. Identifying as bigender is typically understood to mean that one identifies as both male and female or moves between masculine gender expression and feminine gender expression, having two distinct gender identities simultaneously or fluctuating between them. This is different from identifying as genderfluid
Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typicall ...
, as those who identify as genderfluid may not go back and forth between any fixed gender identities and may experience an entire range or spectrum of identities over time. The American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
calls bigender identity part of the umbrella of transgender identities. Some bigender people express two distinct persona
A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally ref ...
s, which may be feminine, masculine, agender
Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...
, androgyne
Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression.
When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in h ...
, or other gender identities; others find that they identify as two genders simultaneously. A 1999 survey conducted by the San Francisco Department of Public Health observed that, among the transgender community, 3% of those who were assigned male at birth and 8% of those assigned female at birth identified as either "a transvestite, cross-dresser, drag queen, or a bigendered person". A 2016 Harris poll
The Harris Poll (legal name: Harris Insights and Analytics) is an American market research and analytics company that has been tracking the sentiment, behaviors and motivations of American adults since 1963. In addition to the traditional consulti ...
conducted on behalf of GLAAD
GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...
found that 1% of millennial
Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000 ...
s identify as bigender. Trigender people shift among male
Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization.
A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...
, female
Female (Venus symbol, symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ovum, ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the Sperm, male gamete during sexual reproduction.
A female has larger gamet ...
, and third gender
Third gender is a concept in which individuals are categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither man nor woman. It is also a social category present in societies that recognize three or more genders. The term ''third'' is usually ...
.
people identify partially or mostly with one gender and at the same time with another gender. There are several subcategories of the identity. A demi-boy or demi-man, for example, identifies at least partially with being a boy
A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man.
Definition, etymology, and use
According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is "a ...
or a man
A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...
(no matter the sex and gender they were assigned at birth) and partly with other genders or with no other gender (agender). A demiflux person feels that the stable part of their identity is non-binary.
(also polygender or omnigender) people have multiple gender identities. Some may identify as all genders simultaneously.
people often express a desire to remain flexible about their gender identity rather than committing to a single definition. They may fluctuate among differing gender expressions over their lifetime, or express multiple aspects of various gender markers at the same time. A genderfluid person may also identify as bigender, trigender, or pangender.
''Transfeminine'' is a term for any person, binary or non-binary, who was assigned male at birth and has a predominantly feminine gender identity or presentation; ''transmasculine'' is the equivalent term for someone who was assigned female at birth and has a predominantly masculine gender identity or presentation.
In a 1990 Indigenous LGBT gathering in Winnipeg, the term two-spirit
Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ...
, which refers to third-gender or gender-variant people from Indigenous North American communities, was created "to distinguish and distance Native American/First Nations people from non-Native peoples".
is an umbrella term for gender identities that are described with terms outside standard human understandings of gender. These gender identities are typically defined metaphorically in relation to animals, plants, things or sensory characteristics rather than male or female.
History
Non-binary gender has been included within the third gender
Third gender is a concept in which individuals are categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither man nor woman. It is also a social category present in societies that recognize three or more genders. The term ''third'' is usually ...
concept, but the history of identities now classified as third gender extends beyond that of nonbinary gender in particular.
In 1776, the Public Universal Friend
The Public Universal FriendOriginal spelling: ''the Publick Universal Friend''. Shortened forms: ''the Universal Friend'', ''the Friend'', or ''P.U.F.'' (born Jemima Wilkinson; November 29, 1752 – July 1, 1819) was an American preacher born ...
identified as a genderless evangelist, and afterward shunned both birth name and gendered pronouns, an early instance of an American publicly identifying as non-binary.[Samantha Schmidt, ]
A genderless prophet drew hundreds of followers long before the age of nonbinary pronouns
'', 5 January 2020, ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''
In 1781, Jens Andersson of Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, assigned female at birth but identifying as male, was imprisoned and put on trial after getting married to Anne Kristine Mortensdotter in a Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
church. When asked about his gender, the response was "Hand troer at kunde henhøre til begge Deele" ("He believes he belongs to both").
In 1990, the American gender theorist
Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field ...
and philosopher Judith Butler
Judith Pamela Butler (born February 24, 1956) is an American philosopher and gender theorist whose work has influenced political philosophy, ethics, and the fields of third-wave feminism, queer theory, and literary theory. In 1993, Butler ...
published their book ''Gender Trouble
''Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity'' (1990; second edition 1999) is a book by the philosopher Judith Butler in which the author argues that gender is a kind of improvised performance.
Summary
Butler criticizes one of t ...
'', questioning both the naturalness and the exclusive dichotomy of the male/female binary. ''Gender Trouble'' concludes by arguing that expanding cultural understandings of sex and gender contradict the idea of sex and gender as binaries and reveals these binaries as unnatural. Butler has publicly identified as non-binary since 2019. They use they/them and she/her pronouns, but prefer the former.
In the mid-1990s, the term "gender queer" emerged in connection with the American 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 Riki Wilchins
Riki Anne Wilchins (born 1952) is an American activist whose work has focused on the impact of gender norms.
Background
Wilchins founded the first national transgender advocacy group (GenderPAC). Their analysis and work broadened over time to ...
, who in 2002 co-edited a collection of articles, ''GenderQueer: Voices from beyond the Sexual Binary''. Wilchins used the expression as early as 1995 in the ''In Your Face'' newsletter to argue against gender discrimination. In 1997, Wichins announced they identify as ''genderqueer'' in their autobiography. In 2017, they published a collection of articles titled ''Burn the Binary''!
In 1997, autism-rights movement activist Jim Sinclair, one of the founders of Autism Network International
Autism Network International (ANI) is an advocacy organization run by and for autistic people. ANI's principles involve the anti-cure perspective, the perspective that there should not be a goal to "cure" people of autism.
History
ANI was star ...
(ANI), publicly declared themself gender-neutral, writing, "I remain openly and proudly neuter, both physically and socially" in their 1997 self-introduction to the Intersex Society of North America
The Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) was a non-profit advocacy group founded in 1993 by Cheryl Chase to end shame, secrecy, and unwanted genital surgeries.Matthews, Karen (Oct 22, 2000). Debate Grows Over Using Surgery on Infants with Amb ...
.
In Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, the expression “X-gender
X-gender () is a third-gender that differs from M, for male, or F, for female. The term ''X-gender'' came into use during the later 1990s, popularized by queer organizations in Kansai, specially in Osaka and Kyoto. The term is used in place of ...
” (''x-jendā'') has been used since the late 1990s as a definition of gender outside of the binary of male and female. Notable people identifying as X-gender include manga artists Yūki Kamatani and Yuu Watase
is a Japanese manga artist. She debuted in 1989 at the age of 18 with the short story "Pajama de Ojama" (, "An Intrusion in Pajamas") and has since published more than 50 volumes of one-shots and long-running manga series. One of her most po ...
.
In 2012, the Intersex & Genderqueer Recognition Project began to advocate for expanding gender options on official documentation. In 2016, Elisa Rae Shupe
Elisa Rae Shupe (formerly Jamie Shupe; born James Clifford Shupe) is a retired United States Army soldier who in 2016 became the first person in the United States to obtain legal recognition of a non-binary gender. In 2019, she released a stateme ...
was the first person to have a non-binary gender on official U.S. documents.
In 2015, legislator Estefan Cortes-Vargas
Estefan Cortes-Vargas (born Estefania Cortes-Vargas, 1991) is a Colombian-born Canadian politician and non-profit administrator who was elected in the 2015 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the elect ...
came out as non-binary in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from singl ...
during a debate over the inclusion of transgender rights in the provincial human rights code.[ /www.macleans.ca/news/canada/for-the-record-an-alberta-mla-on-battling-gender-identity/ "An Alberta MLA on battling gender identity" '']Maclean's
''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...
'', 1 December 2015
Pronouns and titles
Some non-binary or genderqueer people use gender-neutral pronoun
A third-person pronoun is a pronoun that refers to an entity other than the speaker or listener. Some languages with gender-specific pronouns have them as part of a grammatical gender system, a system of agreement where most or all nouns have a va ...
s. In English, usage of singular "they", "their" and "them" is the most common; nonstandard pronouns—commonly called neopronouns
Neopronouns are a category of neologistic English Third person (grammar), third-person personal pronouns beyond " he", "she", "they", "one", and " it". Neopronouns are preferred by some non-binary individuals who feel that neopronouns provide op ...
—such as xe, ze, sie, co, and ey are sometimes used as well. Some others use the conventional gender-specific pronouns
Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) should avoid distinguis ...
"he" or "she", alternate between "he" and "she", or use only their name and no pronouns at all. Many use additional neutral language, such as the title Mx.
Mx (usually pronounced , or and sometimes ) is an English language neologistic honorific that does not indicate gender. Developed as an alternative to gendered honorifics (such as Mr. and Ms.) in the late 1970s, it is the most common ge ...
A 2015 National Center for Transgender Equality study surveyed nearly 28,000 transgender people in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, 35% of whom identified as non-binary or genderqueer. 84% of respondents reported using pronouns that did not match the gender given on their birth certificates. 37% of respondents preferred he/him, 37% preferred she/her, and 29% preferred they/them. 20% of respondents did not ask others to use certain pronouns to refer to them, and 4% used pronouns not given in the survey choices.
Legal recognition
Many non-binary/genderqueer people use the gender they were given at birth to conduct everyday business, as many institutions and forms of identification—such as passports and driver's licenses—only accept, in the sense of recorded recognition, binary gender identities. But with the increasing acceptance of non-binary gender identities and the rise in wider societal recognition, this is slowly changing, as more governments and institutions recognize and allow non-binary identities.
Multiple countries legally recognize non-binary or third gender
Third gender is a concept in which individuals are categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither man nor woman. It is also a social category present in societies that recognize three or more genders. The term ''third'' is usually ...
classifications. Some non-Western societies have long recognized transgender people as a third gender, though this may not (or may only recently) include formal legal recognition. In Western societies, Australia may have been the first country to legally recognize a classification of sex outside of "male" and "female" on legal documentation, with the recognition of Alex MacFarlane
Alex MacFarlane is an intersex person born with XXY sex chromosomes in Victoria, Australia. MacFarlane is believed to be the first holder of an indeterminate birth certificate and passport.
Birth certificate and passport
MacFarlane is believ ...
's intersex status in 2003. The wider legal recognition of non-binary people—following the recognition of intersex people in 2003—in Australian law followed between 2010 and 2014, with legal action taken against the New South Wales Government
The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...
Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages by transgender activist Norrie May-Welby
Norrie, also known by the pseudonym Norrie May-Welby, is a Scottish-Australian transgender person who pursued the legal status of being neither a man nor a woman, between 2010 and 2014. to recognize Norrie's legal gender identity as "non-specific". India's Supreme Court formally recognized transgender and non-binary people as a distinct third gender in 2014, following legal action taken by transgender activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi. In July 2021, Argentina incorporated non-binary gender in its national ID card, becoming the first country in South America to legally recognize non-binary gender on all official documentation; non-binary people in the country will have the option to renew their ID with the letter "X" under gender.
While the United States does not federally recognize a non-binary gender, in 2016 Oregon became the first state to recognize a non-binary gender identity. In 2017, California passed an act allowing citizens to identify as "non-binary" on official documents. As of 2019, eight states have passed acts that allow "non-binary" or "X" designations on certain identifying documents. One of the main arguments against the inclusion of a third gender identifier in the U.S. is that it would make law enforcement and surveillance harder, but countries that have officially recognized a third gender marker have not reported these issues. In the U.S. there are no explicit laws to protect non-binary people from discrimination, but under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requir ...
, it is illegal for an employer to require employees to conform to gender stereotypes
A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cente ...
, or to fire them merely for being transgender.
Discrimination
Various countries throughout history have criminalized transgender and non-binary gender identities.
In the U.S., most respondents to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey chose "A gender not listed here". The "not listed here" respondents were nine percentage points (33%) more likely to report forgoing healthcare due to fear of discrimination than the general sample (36% compared to 27%). Ninety percent reported experiencing anti-trans bias at work, and 43% reported having attempted suicide.
The reported discrimination non-binary people face includes disregard, disbelief, condescending interactions, and disrespect. Non-binary people are also often viewed as partaking in a trend and thus deemed insincere or attention-seeking. As an accumulation, erasure is often a significant form of discrimination non-binary people face.
Misgendering
Transphobia is a collection of ideas and phenomena that encompass a range of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger tow ...
, intentional or not, is also a problem that many face. In the case of intentional misgendering, transphobia
Transphobia is a collection of ideas and phenomena that encompass a range of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger tow ...
is a driving force. Additionally, the use of they/them pronouns is lumped into the larger, controversial, subject of safe space
The term safe space refers to places "intended to be free of bias, conflict, criticism, or potentially threatening actions, ideas, or conversations". The term originated in LGBT culture, but has since expanded to include any place where a margi ...
s and political correctness
''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...
, causing pushback and intentional misgendering by some people.
Non-binary and transgender identifying people also face discrimination in sports participation. Non-binary identifying athletes have an immediate barrier as most sports competitions are divided into men's and women's categories.
Symbols and observances
Many flags have been used in non-binary and genderqueer communities to represent various identities. There are distinct non-binary and genderqueer pride flags. The genderqueer pride flag was designed in 2011 by Marilyn Roxie. Lavender represents androgyny or queerness, white represents agender identity, and green represents those whose identities which are defined outside the binary. The non-binary pride flag was created in 2014 by Kye Rowan. Yellow represents people whose gender exists outside the binary, purple represents those whose gender is a mixture of—or between—male and female, black represents people who have no gender, and white represents those who embrace many or all genders.
Genderfluid people, who fall under the genderqueer umbrella, also have their own flag. Pink represents femininity, white represents lack of gender, purple represents mixed gender or androgyny, black represents all other genders, and blue represents masculinity.
Agender people, who also sometimes identify as genderqueer, have their own flag. This flag uses black and white stripes to represent an absence of gender, and a green stripe to represent non-binary genders.
International Non-Binary People's Day
International Non-Binary People's Day is observed each year on 14 July and is aimed at raising awareness and organising around the issues faced by non-binary people around the world. The day was first celebrated in 2012, started by Katje van Loo ...
is celebrated on 14 July. Other observances with non-binary participation include International Transgender Day of Visibility
International Transgender Day of Visibility (often referred to as TDOV or Trans Day of Visibility) is an annual event occurring on March 31 dedicated to celebrating transgender people and raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender ...
, observed on 31 March, and International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia, observed on 17 May.
Population figures
Brazil
A 2021 survey published in ''Scientific Reports
''Scientific Reports'' is a peer-reviewed open-access scientific mega journal published by Nature Portfolio, covering all areas of the natural sciences. The journal was established in 2011. The journal states that their aim is to assess solely th ...
'' found that 1.19% of Brazilian adults are non-binary.
Canada
In April 2022, Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...
released findings from the 2021 census, making Canada the first country to ask a core question about gender identity, and found that 41,355 Canadians aged 15 and over identified as nonbinary.
A 2019 survey of the Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ population in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...
, called ''Mapping the Void: Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ Experiences in Hamilton'' showed that 19% of the 906 respondents identified as non-binary.
A 2017 survey of Canadian LGBT+ people called ''LGBT+ Realities Survey'' found that 4% of the 1,897 respondents identified as non-binary transgender and 1% identified as non-binary outside of the transgender umbrella.
Switzerland
A 2021 survey found that 0.4% of adults in Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
describe themselves as non-binary. The survey of 2,690 Swiss residents was weighted to be reflective of the entire population.
United Kingdom
A 2011 survey conducted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a non-departmental public body in Great Britain, established by the Equality Act 2006 with effect from 1 October 2007. The Commission has responsibility for the promotion and enforcement of eq ...
in the UK found that 0.4% of the 10,039 respondents identified as non-binary. It does not allow inference about the share of non-binary people in the whole population, since the survey sample was not necessarily representative. The purpose of the survey was to test if respondents are willing to answer questions about their transsexual status.
United States
According to a 2021 study by the Williams Institute
The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy, usually shortened to Williams Institute, is a public policy research institute based at the UCLA School of Law focused on sexual orientation and gender ident ...
, an estimated 1.2 million American adults aged between 18 and 60 identify as non-binary, making up 11% of the LGBTQ population in that age bracket.
A 2020 survey by The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1998. Focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, they offer a toll-free telephone number wher ...
found that 26% of LGBTQ youth (ages 13–24) in the U.S. identify as non-binary.
According to ''The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey'', 35% of the nearly 28,000 transgender respondents to the anonymous online survey identified as non-binary.
See also
* Genderqueer fashion
Queer fashion is fashion among queer and nonbinary people that goes beyond common style conventions that usually associate certain colors and shapes with one of the two binary genders. Queer fashion aims to be perceived by consumers as a fash ...
* Gender neutrality
Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) should avoid distinguish ...
** Gender-neutral language
Gender-neutral language or gender-inclusive language is language that avoids bias towards a particular sex or gender. In English, this includes use of nouns that are not gender-specific to refer to roles or professions, formation of phrases in a c ...
*** Gender neutrality in languages with grammatical gender
Gender neutrality in languages with grammatical gender is the usage of wording that is balanced in its treatment of the genders in a non-grammatical sense.
For example, advocates of gender-neutral language challenge the traditional use of masc ...
*** Gender neutrality in genderless languages
A genderless language is a natural or constructed language that has no distinctions of grammatical gender—that is, no categories requiring morphological agreement between nouns and associated pronouns, adjectives, articles, or verbs.
The no ...
*** Gender neutrality in English
Gender-neutral language is language that minimizes assumptions about the social gender or biological sex of people referred to in speech or writing. In contrast to most other Indo-European languages, English does not retain grammatical gender and ...
*** Gender marking in job titles
A gender-specific job title is a name of a job that also specifies or implies the gender of the person performing that job. For example, in English, the job title ''stewardess'' implies that the person is female. A gender-neutral job title, on the ...
*** Gender-specific and gender-neutral pronouns
* Gender transitioning
* Gender variance
* List of fictional non-binary characters
* List of people with non-binary gender identities
* Postgenderism
* Queer heterosexuality
* Transcending Boundaries Conference
* Two-Spirit
Explanatory notes
References
Further reading
* Meg-John Barker, Barker, Meg-John; Scheele, Julia (2016). ''Queer: A Graphic History''. London: Icon Books. . .
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Richards, C., Bouman, W. P., & Barker, M.-J. (2017). ''Genderqueer and non-binary genders''. London: Palgrave Macmillan. . .
*
*
External links
*
*
{{authority control
Non-binary gender,
Gender identity
Feminist terminology
Neologisms
Third gender
Transgender identities