Search results
Being transgender is when you don’t identify with the gender you were assigned at birth. Not all transgender people are nonbinary. Someone assigned male at birth, for example, can experience their gender as woman while someone assigned female at birth can experience their gender as man.
- Shigella
Shigella is an infection of the intestines that causes...
- Wedding Favours
Belfast Office 23-31 Waring Street Belfast BT1 2DX. 028 9031...
- Shigella
- Overview
- So, what’re the basics?
- Where did the term originate?
- Where do gender roles come in?
- Can anyone be nonbinary?
- What might this look like in practice?
- Do you have to use specific pronouns?
- What makes this different from being genderqueer or genderfluid?
- Why might someone opt to use this term over others?
- How do you know if it’s the term for you?
You may be nonbinary if you don’t feel that your gender is either masculine or feminine, or if you don’t identify with the gender you’ve been assigned at birth. Many nonbinary people reject gender roles and the characteristics attached to them.
Humans throughout history have observed patterns among our species (and others) to more easily group and distinguish between similar and different traits.
These groupings are often binary in nature, meaning that they relate to or involve two things. Sometimes, these two things are positioned as mutually exclusive or in opposition to one another.
An example of these socially constructed and systematically reinforced groupings are the seemingly dominant gender categories of man and woman.
There have always been people whose existence and lived experiences don’t fit neatly into these gender categories, regardless of whether history books and other institutions recognize it.
Here’s what you need to know.
Nonbinary is both an umbrella term encompassing many gender identities and a singular gender identity label.
As a singular gender identity, nonbinary describes genders that exist outside of the binary, or that can’t be described as exclusively woman or man.
It’s important to note that nonbinary is a gender identity, not a form of gender expression.
The term “nonbinary” tells you something about who a person is — not about what they might look like.
Nonbinary people can have presentations and expressions that are:
•gender conforming
Although the term nonbinary has become more commonly used in the past decade, nonbinary identities and nonbinary people have been around for centuries.
Nonbinary gender has been recorded as far back as 400 B.C. to 200 A.D. when hijras — people in India who identified as having both masculine and feminine traits — were referenced in ancient Hindu texts.
Early documentation of nonbinary genders is more commonly found in Indigenous and non-Western cultures, some of which use trigender and polygender systems for categorizing and understanding people’s genders.
European colonizers forced a white-centered binary construction of sex-based gender identity and expression onto Indigenous people in a violent attempt to invalidate their lived experiences.
Another motivator? To erase this vital and rich part of cultural history that teaches that nonbinary genders are naturally occurring and should be celebrated.
Binary gender has been used to oppress communities and cultures across time.
Gender roles are the behaviors, presentations, stereotypes, acceptable traits, and norms society ascribes to someone based on their perceived or assigned sex or gender.
A nonbinary framework for understanding gender is founded on the notion that sex-based labels assigned at birth (such as male, female, girl, or boy) don’t determine your:
•interests
•mannerisms
•behavior
•self-expression
Anyone whose gender identity or experience can’t be exclusively captured by using the terms “man” or “woman” can identify as nonbinary.
Although nonbinary people can personally self-define this term with slight variation, it’s most often used to describe experiences that:
•encompass both masculine and feminine traits
•don’t align with the sex-based and gender-based attributes imposed at birth
In practice, being nonbinary looks like having a core sense of self that can’t be exclusively described as man or woman and using language that respects and sees your personhood first and foremost.
Some nonbinary people feel that gender-neutral language is more affirming of their gender, while others use both gender-neutral and binary language to describe and affirm who they are.
One person who’s nonbinary might need access to a gender-neutral restroom, while another nonbinary person might prefer to use a sex-segregated space based on safety, convenience, access, and comfort.
As mentioned before, there isn’t one way or a right way to be nonbinary. Being nonbinary is about knowing yourself and doing what’s right for you.
The gender identity label a person uses to describe themself doesn’t necessarily tell you what pronouns to use.
Here’s a list (in no particular order) of pronouns nonbinary people commonly use:
•gender-neutral pronouns, such as they/them/theirs
•neo pronouns, such as ze/hir/hirs or ze/zir/zirs
•binary pronouns, such as she/her/hers and he/him/his
•multiple sets of pronouns, such as she/they or he/they
The umbrella term nonbinary includes gender identities such as genderqueer and genderfluid, which results in some overlap and similarities among the terms.
“Genderqueer” can refer to both gender nonconforming identity and gender expression.
Unlike nonbinary, both the word itself and associated identity are centered around being queer.
“Genderfluid” can also refer to gender identity or expression.
It often involves the experience of moving between genders or having a gender or presentation that changes over a particular period of time.
For example, a person’s gender identity or expression can change from moment to moment, day to day, month to month, year to year, or decade to decade.
Someone might opt to use the term nonbinary over others because it has become more recognizable (and Google-able) than many of the more specific gender identities under the umbrella.
As a result, using this term might be a clear and effective way of communicating something about a core part of oneself that’s complex, nuanced, and sometimes hard to explain.
Nonbinary gender might be for you if you:
•resonate with any of the above
•experience your gender as both masculine and feminine
•don’t identify with the sex-based categories or gender expectations assigned to you
Jul 7, 2023 · Nonbinary is an umbrella term used to describe individuals who experience a gender identity that is neither exclusively woman nor man or is between or beyond both genders. Nonbinary people are included in the broad category of transgender people.
Jul 29, 2018 · 1. Genderfluid: Identify as male, female, or nonbinary at different times or circumstances. 2. Third-gender: "Hirja" in India or "Two-spirit" in Native American cultures. 3. Amalgagender:...
Feb 14, 2023 · According to one GLAAD survey, one percent of people between 18 and 34 identify as genderqueeer. This article discusses what it means to be genderqueer, how it relates to nonbinary identity and other identities, and pronouns that genderqueer people may use.
Most intersex people identify as either men or women, though some may be nonbinary. Non-binary people are usually not intersex: they’re usually born with bodies that may fit typical definitions of male and female, but their innate gender identity is something other than male or female.
People also ask
What is a binary gender?
What is a nonbinary gender?
Will X end gender binary?
Non-binary people may identify as an intermediate or separate third gender, identify with more than one gender or no gender, or have a fluctuating gender identity. Gender identity is separate from sexual or romantic orientation: non-binary people have various sexual orientations.
