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Non-binary, also known as genderqueer, is a spectrum of gender identities that are not exclusively masculine or feminine‍—‌identities that are outside the gender binary and cisnormativity.^[1] Non-binary people may express a combination of masculinity and femininity, or neither, in their gender expression.

Non-binary people may identify as having two or more genders (being bigender, trigender, or pangender);^[2] having no gender (being agender, nongendered, genderless, genderfree or neutrois); moving between genders or having a fluctuating gender identity (genderfluid);^[3] or being third gender or other-gendered, a category that includes those who do not place a name to their gender.^[4]

Gender identity is separate from sexual or romantic orientation,^[5] and non-binary people have a variety of sexual orientations, just as transgender and cisgender people do.^[6]

Definitions and identity

In addition to being an umbrella term, genderqueer has been used as an adjective to refer to any people who transgress distinctions of gender, regardless of their self-defined gender identity, or who "queer" gender. Individuals may express gender non-normatively by not conforming into the binary gender categories of "man" and "woman".^[7] Genderqueer is often used to self-identify by people who challenge binary social constructions of gender.^[8]

The term has also been applied by those describing what they see as a gender ambiguity.^[9] Androgynous (also androgyne) 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.^[10] However, not all genderqueer people identify as androgynous. Some genderqueer people identify as a masculine woman or a feminine man or combine genderqueer with another gender option.^[11]

Some references use the term transgender broadly, in such a way that it includes genderqueer/non-binary people.^[12]^[13]^[14] The Human Rights Campaign 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".^[15]

A person who is genderfluid prefers to remain flexible about their gender identity rather than committing to a single gender.^[16] They may fluctuate between genders or express multiple genders at the same time.^[16]^[17]

An agender person ('a-' meaning "without"), also called genderless, genderfree, non-gendered, or ungendered,^[18]^[19] is someone who identifies as having no gender or being without a gender identity.^[20]^[21]^[22] Although this category includes a broad range of identities which do not conform to traditional gender norms, scholar Finn Enke states that people who identify with any of these positions may not necessarily self-identify as transgender.^[23] Agender people have no specific set of pronouns; singular they is typically used, but it is not the default.^[24] Neutrois and agender were two of 50 available custom genders on Facebook, which were added on 13 February 2014.^[25] Agender is also available as a gender option on OkCupid since 17 November 2014.^[26]

Demigender is a gender identity of a person identifying partially or mostly with one gender and at the same time with another gender.^[27]^[28] There are several subcategories of the identity. A demi-boy or demi-man, for example, identifies at least partially with being a boy or a man, no matter the sex and gender they were assigned at birth, while other parts of their identity might be assigned to other genders, genderfluid or no other gender (agender). A demiflux person feels that the stable part of their identity is nonbinary.^[28]

History

Anthropologists such as April Scarlett Callis believe that the traditional binary system of sexual identity can be traced to the 19th century when sexuality was first medicalized.^[29] People started to identify as gay when biological sciences grew in influence, churches became less powerful, and social and political structure began to change.^[29] George Chauncey, professor of history at Yale University, notes that during the early 20th-century gender roles rather than sexual partners were used to determine sexuality.^[29] For instance, 'feminine" men who had sex with other men were labeled as "mollies" or "fairies", whereas masculine men who had sex with other men remained unlabeled.^[29] The mid-20th century signaled the start of labeling individuals as either heterosexual or homosexual.^[29]

The term genderqueer came into use during the mid-1990s. Riki Anne Wilchins is often associated with the word genderqueer, especially because of her contributions to Genderqueer: Voices Beyond the Sexual Binary which was published in 2002.^[30] In 1995 she was also published in the newsletter In Your Face, where she used the term genderqueer.^[31] In the newsletter, the term appears to refer to people with complex or unnamed gender expressions, which does not match with the general definition used today. Wilchins stated she identifies as genderqueer in her 1997 autobiography.^[32]

Some genderqueer people^[33]^[5] are medically treated for gender dysphoria with surgery or hormones as trans men and women are.

Gender neutrality

Gender neutrality is the movement to end discrimination of gender altogether in society through means of gender-neutral language, the end of sex segregation, and other means.

Pronouns and titles

Some non-binary/genderqueer people prefer to use gender-neutral pronouns. Usage of singular 'they', 'their' and 'them' is the most common;^[34] and ze, sie, hir, co, and ey are used as well. Some others prefer the conventional gender-specific pronouns 'her' or 'him', prefer to be referred to alternately as 'he' and 'she', or prefer to use only their name and not use pronouns at all.^[35] Many prefer additional neutral language, such as the title 'Mx.' instead of Mr. or Ms.^[36]

Legal recognition

In today's society, many non-binary/genderqueer people still use the gender they were given at birth to conduct everyday business because many areas of life still conduct business with binary genders. Things are changing though as more businesses are becoming more accepting of non-binary genders.^[37] Multiple countries legally recognize non-binary or third gender classifications. Some non-western societies have long recognized transgender people as a third gender, though this may not (or may only recently)^[38] include formal legal recognition. In western societies, Australia may have been the first country to legally recognize third classifications, following recognition of Alex MacFarlane as having indeterminate sex, reported in 2003.^[39]

Discrimination

In the United States, the majority of respondents to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey chose "A gender not listed here." The "not listed here" respondents were nine percentage-points (33 percent) more likely to report forgoing healthcare due to fear of discrimination than the general sample (36 percent compared to 27 percent). Ninety percent reported experiencing anti-trans bias at work, and 43 percent reported having attempted suicide.^[40]

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. Lavender represents androgyny or queerness, white represents agender identity, and green represents those whose identities which are defined outside the binary.^[43]^[44]^[45] The non-binary pride flag was created in 2014.^[46] Yellow represents people whose gender exists outside the binary, purple represents those who feel their gender is a mixture of – or between – male and female, black represents people who feel as if they have no gender, ^[43] and white represents those who embrace many or all genders.

Genderfluid people, who also fall under the genderqueer umbrella, have their own flag as well. Pink represents femininity, white represents lack of gender, purple represents mixed gender or androgyny, black represents all other genders, and blue represents masculinity.^[44]^[47]

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.^[48]

International Non-binary Day is celebrated on 14 July.^[49]^[50]^{[better source needed]}

Trans pride flag, in which white represents nonbinary (and intersex) people)^[51]
Agender pride flag
Genderfluid pride flag
Genderqueer pride flag
Non-binary pride flag

US population estimates

The National Center for Transgender Equality found that 35% of the nearly 28,000 transgender respondents to its anonymous online survey identified as non-binary.^[52]

References

^ Usher, Raven, ed. (2006). North American Lexicon of Transgender Terms. San Francisco. ISBN 978-1-879194-62-5. OCLC 184841392.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Webb, Madison-Amy (21 May 2019). A Reflective Guide to Gender Identity Counselling. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. p. 48. ISBN 1785923838.
^ Winter, Claire Ruth (2010). Understanding Transgender Diversity: A Sensible Explanation of Sexual and Gender Identities. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1-4563-1490-3. OCLC 703235508.
^ Beemyn, Brett Genny (2008). "Genderqueer". glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture. Chicago: glbtq, Inc. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ ^a ^b "Transgender Glossary of Terms". GLAAD Media Reference Guide. Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
^ Stryker, Susan (2008). Transgender History. Berkeley: Seal Press. ISBN 978-1-58005-224-5. OCLC 183914566.
^ Dahir, Mubarak (25 May 1999). "Whose Movement Is It?". The Advocate. Here Media. p. 52.
^ Shaw, Susan; Lee, Janet (23 April 2014). Women's voices, feminist visions : classic and contemporary readings (Sixth ed.). New York, NY. ISBN 9780078027000. OCLC 862041473.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Girshick, Lori B. (2008). Transgender Voices: Beyond Women and Men. Hanover: University Press of New England. ISBN 978-1-58465-645-6. OCLC 183162406.
^ Shaw, Susan M.; Lee, Janet (2015). Women's Voices, Feminist Visions (6 ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
^ Walsh, Reuben (December 2010). "More T, vicar? My experiences as a genderqueer person of faith". All God's Children. Vol. 2, no. 3. Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement.
^ Johanna Schorn. "Taking the "Sex" out of Transsexual: Representations of Trans Identities in Popular Media" (PDF). Inter-Disciplinary.Net. Universität zu Köln. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014. The term transgender is an umbrella term "and generally refers to any and all kinds of variation from gender norms and expectations" (Stryker 19). Most often, the term transgender is used for someone who feels that the sex assigned to them at birth does not reflect their own gender identity. They may identify as the gender 'opposite' to their assigned gender, or they may feel that their gender identity is fluid, or they may reject all gender categorizations and identify as agender or genderqueer. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ Marc E. Vargo (30 November 2011). "A Review of " Please select your gender: From the invention of hysteria to the democratizing of transgenderism "". Journal of GLBT Family Studies. 7 (5): 2 (493). doi:10.1080/1550428X.2011.623982. ISSN 1550-4298. up to three million U. S. citizens regard themselves as transgender, a term referring to those whose gender identities are at odds with their biological sex. The term is an expansive one, however, and may apply to other individuals as well, from the person whose behavior purposely and dramatically diverges from society's traditional male/female roles to the "agender", "bigender" or "third gender" person whose self-definition lies outside of the male/female binary altogether. In short, those counted under this term constitute a wide array of people who do not conform to, and may actively challenge, conventional gender norms.
^ Kirstin Cronn-Mills (2014). "IV. Trans*spectrum. Identities". Transgender Lives: Complex Stories, Complex Voices. Twenty-First Century Books. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-4677-4796-7. Retrieved 23 October 2014. Many different individuals fall under what experts call the trans* spectrum, or the trans* umbrella."I'm trans*" and "I'm transgender" are ways these individuals might refer to themselves. But there are distinctions among different trans* identities. [...] Androgynous individuals may not identify with either side of the gender binary. Other individuals consider themselves agender, and they may feel they have no gender at all.
^ Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Gender Spectrum, Supporting and Caring for our Gender-Expansive Youth, accessed 21 January 2016
^ ^a ^b Cronn-Mills, Kirstin (2015). Transgender Lives: Complex Stories, Complex Voices. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-7613-9022-0.
^ McGuire, Peter (9 November 2015). "Beyond the binary: what does it mean to be genderfluid?". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
^ "LGBTQ Needs Assessment" (PDF). Encompass Network. April 2013. pp. 52–53. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ "Gender alphabet" (PDF). Safe Homes. p. 1. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
^ Vargo, Marc E. (2011). "A Review of "Please select your gender: From the invention of hysteria to the democratizing of transgenderism"". Journal of GLBT Family Studies. 7 (5): 493–494. doi:10.1080/1550428x.2011.623982.
^ Cronn-Mills, Kirstin (1 September 2014). Transgender Lives: Complex Stories, Complex Voices. Twenty-First Century Books. ISBN 978-1-4677-4796-7.
^ Schorn, Johanna (22 February 2016). "Taking the "Sex" out of Transsexual: Representations of Trans Identities in Popular Media". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ Anne Enke, ed. (2012). "Note on terms and concepts". Transfeminist Perspectives In and Beyond Transgender and Gender Studies. Temple University Press. pp. 16–20, see pp. 18–9. ISBN 978-1-4399-0748-1.
^ Sojwal, Senti (16 September 2015). "What Does "Agender" Mean? 6 Things To Know About People With Non-Binary Identities". Bustle. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
^ Facebook sex changes: which one of 50 genders are you?. The Daily Telegraph. 14 February 2014.
^ "OkCupid expands gender and sexuality options". PBS NewsHour. 17 November 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
^ Gibson, Sarah; Fernandez, J. (2018). Gender Diversity and Non-Binary Inclusion in the Workplace: The Essential Guide for Employers. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. p. 25. ISBN 9781784505233.
^ ^a ^b Brill, Stephanie; Kenney, Lisa (2016). The Transgender Teen. Cleis Press.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Callis, April Scarlette (5 February 2014). "Bisexual, pansexual, queer: Non-binary identities and the sexual borderlands". Sexualities. 17 (1–2). Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications: 63–80. doi:10.1177/1363460713511094.
^ Nestle, Joan; Howell, Clare; Wilchins, Riki Anne (eds.). GenderQueer : voices from beyond the sexual binary (1st ed.). New York City: Alyson Books. ISBN 9781555837303. OCLC 50389309. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ "Collection: In Your Face / Subject: Riki Anne Wilchins - Digital Transgender Archive Search Results".
^ "Genderqueer History".
^ "Transgender (adj.)". Stylebook Supplement on LGBT Terminology. National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ "NB/GQ Survey 2017 - the worldwide results". Gender Census. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
^ Feinberg, Leslie (1996). Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman. Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press. ISBN 978-0-8070-7940-9. OCLC 33014093.
^ Pearce, Ruth (21 July 2011). "Non-gendered titles see increased recognition". Lesbilicious. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
^ Richards, Christina; Bouman, Walter Pierre; Seal, Leighton; Barker, Meg John; Nieder, Timo O.; T'Sjoen, Guy (2016). "Non-binary or genderqueer genders". International Review of Psychiatry. 28 (1): 95–102. doi:10.3109/09540261.2015.1106446. PMID 26753630.
^ "Pakistani eunuchs to have distinct gender". BBC News. 23 December 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
^ "Newsletter of the Sociology of Sexualities Section of the American Sociological Association" (PDF). American Sociological Association Sexualities News. 6 (1). Summer 2003.
^ Harrison, Jack; Grant, Jaime; Herman, Jody L. "A Gender Not Listed Here: Genderqueers, Gender Rebels, and OtherWise in the National Transgender Discrimination Survey" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ "One Who Fights For an Other". The New Indian Express.
^ "Worldwide gay rights as a social movement picks up". merinews.com. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
^ ^a ^b Deater, Lynn (29 April 2015). "He, She or They? » The Commuter". ncccommuter.org. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Flags and Symbols" (PDF). www.amherst.edu. Amherst, Massachusetts: Amherst University. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
^ "Gender and Sexuality Awareness Flags". David Mariner. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
^ "8 Things Non-Binary People Need to Know". Let's Queer Things Up!. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
^ "Gender-fluid added to the Oxford English Dictionary". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
^ Manzella, Samantha (7 October 2017). "Beyond The Rainbow: Your Guide To LGBT Flags". NewNowNext. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
^ Mathers, Charlie (13 July 2018). "Prepare for International Non-binary Day by learning how to be a better ally". Gay Star News. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
^ Hirst, Jordan (10 July 2018). "Inclusive Brisbane Party To Mark International Non-Binary Day". QNEWS Magazine. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
^ Sankin, Aaron (20 November 2012). "Transgender Flag Flies In San Francisco's Castro District After Outrage From Activists". Huffington Post. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
^ "When asked their sex, some are going with option 'X'". USA Today. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2019.

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 [[File:Nonbinary flag.svg|thumb|Non-binary pride flag]]
 {{Transgender sidebar|identities}}
-'''Non-binary gender''', also known as '''genderqueer''', is a spectrum of [[Gender identity|gender identities]] that are not exclusively [[masculine]] or [[feminine]]{{nsmdns}}identities that are outside the [[gender binary]] and [[Cisgender|cisnormativity]].<ref>{{cite book |title=North American Lexicon of Transgender Terms |editor-last=Usher |editor-first=Raven |year=2006 |publisher= |location=[[San Francisco]] |isbn= 978-1-879194-62-5|oclc=184841392 |page= |pages=}}</ref> Non-binary people may express a combination of masculinity and femininity, or neither, in their [[gender expression]].
+'''Non-binary''', also known as '''genderqueer''', is a spectrum of [[Gender identity|gender identities]] that are not exclusively [[masculine]] or [[feminine]]{{nsmdns}}identities that are outside the [[gender binary]] and [[Cisgender|cisnormativity]].<ref>{{cite book |title=North American Lexicon of Transgender Terms |editor-last=Usher |editor-first=Raven |year=2006 |publisher= |location=[[San Francisco]] |isbn= 978-1-879194-62-5|oclc=184841392 |page= |pages=}}</ref> Non-binary people may express a combination of masculinity and femininity, or neither, in their [[gender expression]].
 Non-binary people may identify as having two or more genders (being [[bigender]], [[trigender]], or [[pangender]]);<ref name="Webb">{{cite book |last1=Webb |first1=Madison-Amy |title=A Reflective Guide to Gender Identity Counselling |date=May 21, 2019 |publisher=Jessica Kingsley Publishers |isbn=1785923838 |page=48}}</ref> having no gender (being agender, nongendered, genderless, genderfree or neutrois); moving between genders or having a fluctuating gender identity (genderfluid);<ref>{{cite book |title=Understanding Transgender Diversity: A Sensible Explanation of Sexual and Gender Identities |last=Winter |first=Claire Ruth |year=2010 |publisher=CreateSpace |isbn=978-1-4563-1490-3 |oclc=703235508 |page= |pages=}}</ref> or being [[third gender]] or other-gendered, a category that includes those who do not place a name to their gender.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/genderqueer.html |title=Genderqueer |last=Beemyn |first=Brett Genny |year=2008 |work=glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture |location=[[Chicago]] |publisher=glbtq, Inc. |accessdate=3 May 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425081046/http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/genderqueer.html |archivedate=25 April 2012 }}</ref>