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List of fictional non-binary characters

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This is a list of fictional characters that either self-identify as non-binary (or genderqueer) or have been identified by outside parties as such. Listed are agender, bigender, genderfluid, genderqueer, and other characters of non-binary gender, as well as characters of any third gender. Not listed are characters with non-human gender experiences, such as robots or many aliens in science-fiction.

Background

Much like with gay and binary transgender characters, representation of non-binary gender is rare in fiction. Eighty percent of non-binary people noted in a survey from Trans Media Watch that they felt media coverage of non-binary characters is poor.[1] The Daily Dot has noted that in Japanese media, genderqueer identities are often portrayed as a joke, featuring "flamboyantly gay people who crossdress" rather than serious explorations of gender performance.[2] However, in May 2015, Flavorwire stated that genderqueer characters are getting "increasing critical and aesthetic prominence" in literature.[3]

List

Books

Character Title Year Author Gender identity Notes Ref
Ben De Backer I Wish You All The Best 2019 Mason Deaver Non-binary
Sujin Dragon Pearl 2019 Yoon Ha Lee Non-binary
Annabel / Wayne Annabel 2010 Kathleen Winter Genderfluid Born intersex and assigned male at birth, Wayne sometimes takes on the name "Annabel". [3][4]
Alex Fierro Magnus Chase & the Gods of Asgard 2015 Rick Riordan Genderfluid Introduced in the second MCGA book, The Hammer of Thor, Alex Fierro is described as "transgender and gender-fluid," going by both masculine and feminine pronouns depending on state of mind and even changing appearance to suit pronouns. [5][6]
Travertine On the Steel Breeze 2013 Alastair Reynolds Non-binary Travertine uses "ve/ver" pronouns, and there is no mention of it being unusual in the book [7]
Hero Shackleby River of Teeth 2017 Sarah Gailey Non-Binary or Agender A poisons and demolitions expert and love interest of the protagonist Houndstooth, Hero goes by singular they pronouns, and their gender assigned at birth is never mentioned. [8][9]
Desire The Sandman 1989–2015 Neil Gaiman Genderqueer Desire is the personification of desire itself. Desire is both male and female, because the character represents everything someone might desire. Desire is called "sister-brother" or "sibling" by their siblings and "uncle-aunt" by their nephew Orpheus.
Alan / Leslie Two Strand River 1976 Keith Maillard One of the earliest literary novels to star gender-fluid characters. [10]
Never Skulduggery Pleasant: Resurrection 2017 Derek Landy Genderfluid Never is an schoolmate of Omen Darkly, one of the central characters. Frequently alternates between presenting as male or female, and indicates their current preferred pronouns by the style of their hair; tied up for masculine, and down for feminine. When the character is not present, either set of pronouns are used interchangeably to the point of alternating throughout a sentence or paragraph.
Inanna The Wicked + The Divine 2014 Kieron Gillen Non-binary An incarnation of the Sumerian goddess Inanna in the 2014 Recurrence, formerly a teenager called Zahid who had tendency to "blend in". Inanna uses masculine pronouns. [11][12]
Elliot On a Sunbeam 2018 Tillie Walden Non-binary Uses they/them singular pronouns.
Riley Cavanaugh Symptoms of Being Human 2016 Jeff Garvin Genderfluid Riley writes a viral blog about being genderfluid, and struggles to come out to parents and friends.

Film

Character Title Year Portrayed by Gender identity Notes Ref
S. LaFontaine The Carmilla Movie 2017 Kaitlyn Alexander Non-binary LaFontaine uses singular they pronouns. [13]
The Adjudicator John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum 2019 Asia Kate Dillon Non-binary The character didn't have a specified gender in the script; Dillon, a nonbinary person, came up with the idea of making their character nonbinary while talking with the director. [14]
Biaggio The Kings of Summer 2013 Moisés Arias In the film, Biaggio states that he doesn't see himself as having a gender. [15][16]
J They 2017 Rhys Fehrenbacher Genderfluid J is a trans teen on puberty blockers that needs to decide their gender before meeting with a doctor. J says they feel male, female, or neither at various times. The actor, Fehrenbacher, was also undergoing gender transition at the time of filming. [17]
Jamie Upgrade 2018 Kai Bradley Non-gendered A hacker not identifying with any of the genders. Requests that the protagonist not ask their gender, and states that Jamie is not their name and that they do not have a name. [18]
All Zoolander 2 2016 Benedict Cumberbatch Androgyne All is presented as a famous androgyne supermodel. The character was subject to a large backlash, being described as "an over-the-top, cartoonish mockery of androgyne/trans/non-binary individuals." [19][20]

Television and web series

Character Show Year Portrayed by Gender identity Notes Ref
Heather Duke Heathers 2018 Brendan Scannell Genderqueer
Wren[21] Middle School Moguls 2019 Tim Gunn Non-binary [22]
Zayn Petrossian Another Life 2019–present JayR Tinaco Non-binary Zayn uses ze/hir pronouns
Zoë Hange Attack on Titan 2013–present Jessica Calvello Writer Hajime Isayama has instructed Kodansha USA to avoid using gendered pronouns for Hange in English translations. [23]
Taylor Mason Billions 2016–present Asia Kate Dillon Non-binary Uses singular they pronouns. [24]
Brother Ken bro'Town 2004–2009 David Fane Fa'afafine [25][26]
S. LaFontaine Carmilla 2014–2016 Kaitlyn Alexander Non-binary Uses singular they pronouns. [13][27]
Yael Baron Degrassi: Next Class 2016–present Jamie Bloch Genderqueer Assigned female at birth, Yael begins to question their identity starting in season 4, before realizing they are genderqueer and uses singular they pronouns. [28]
Milo Danger & Eggs 2017 Tyler Ford Agender Uses singular they pronouns in the show, and described as agender in interviews with the cast. [29]
Danny the Street Doom Patrol 2019–present Genderqueer A sentient teleporting street, Danny uses singular they pronouns.
Val/entina Romanyszyn Gen:Lock 2019–present Asia Kate Dillon Genderfluid Has said that they've transitioned multiple times. Uses various pronouns. [30]
Aziraphale Good Omens 2019 Michael Sheen
Miranda Richardson
Agender In the book on which the series is based, angels and demons are described as "sexless unless they really want to make an effort". Aziraphale and Crowley use pronouns commensurate with their gender presentation at the time. In the show's context, book co-author and series writer Neil Gaiman considers all angels and demons to be non-binary, and cast all such roles gender-blind. Only main characters are included in this table. [31][32][33]
Beelzebub Anna Maxwell Martin
Crowley David Tennant
Gabriel Jon Hamm
Hastur Ned Dennehy
Ligur Ariyon Bakare
Michael Doon Mackichan
Pollution Lourdes Faberes Non-binary Uses singular they pronouns; described by book co-author and series writer Neil Gaiman as non-binary. [34]
Janet The Good Place 2016–present D'Arcy Carden Although Janet uses she/her pronouns and presents as feminine, she corrects other characters who attempt to gender her by saying she is "not a girl". [35]
Syd One Day at a Time 2017–present Sheridan Pierce Non-binary Uses singular they pronouns. [36]
Riley Hooper The Red Line 2019 J.J. Hawkins Non-binary Riley uses singular they pronouns.
Pat Saturday Night Live 1975–present Julia Sweeney Androgynous Pat's sex and gender is kept vague as a recurring joke in the four seasons they appeared in. Character appeared 1990–1994. [37][38]
Double Trouble She-Ra and the Princesses of Power 2018 TBA Non-binary Showrunner Noelle Stevenson described them at New York Comic Con 2019 as a "nonbinary shapeshifting mercenary". [39]
Miss Bruce Star 2017 Miss Lawrence Genderfluid [40]
Stevonnie Steven Universe 2013–present AJ Michalka Non-binary As a "fusion" of protagonist Steven Universe and his female friend Connie Maheswaran, Stevonnie (also intersex) challenges gender norms and is the first character on the show to use singular they pronouns. [41][42][43][44]
Rainbow Quartz 2.0 Alastair James A fusion of Steven Universe and fellow Crystal Gem Pearl. Uses singular they and masculine pronouns.
Sunstone Shoniqua Shandai A fusion of Steven Universe and fellow Crystal Gem Garnet. Uses singular they and feminine pronouns.
Obsidian A fusion of Steven Universe and fellow Crystal Gems Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl. Uses singular they and feminine pronouns.
Smoky Quartz Natasha Lyonne A fusion of Steven Universe and fellow Crystal Gem Amethyst. Uses singular they pronouns.
Chris The Switch 2016–present Amy Fox Non-binary Chris uses "zie/zir" pronouns in the show. [45]
Zoey Vincent Viezzer Genderqueer [46]
Violet Harper (Halo) Young Justice: Outsiders 2018-present Zehra Fazal Non-binary
Tam Younger 2018 Jesse James Keitel Genderqueer Uses singular they pronouns. [47]
Sam Vida 2018–present Michelle Badillo Non-binary Sam's gender identity was not revealed until her sex scene with Emma Hernandez. [48]

Theatre

Character Title Première Original actor Gender identity Notes Ref
Pythio Head Over Heels 2018 Peppermint Non-binary [49]
Hedwig Robinson Hedwig and the Angry Inch 1998 John Cameron Mitchell Transgender Hedwig is described by her creator as "more than a woman or a man. She's a gender of one." [50][51][52]

Video games

Character Game Year Voice actor Gender identity Notes Ref
Bloodhound Apex Legends 2019 Allegra Clark Non-binary Bloodhound is referred to as non-binary and uses singular they pronouns. [53]
Alex Cyprin Astoria: Fate's Kiss 2015 Non-binary Uses singular they pronouns. [54][55]
Eden The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth 2014 Not a woman, nor a man. [56]
Bolt Crypt of the NecroDancer 2015 Genderqueer [57]
Vivec The Elder Scrolls 2002 Robin Atkin Downes Intersex The ingame book Varieties of Faith in the Empire refers to Vivec as "he/she". [58]
Jordan Davies Havenfall is For Lovers 2017 Non-binary Uses singular they pronouns and wears a chest binder. [59]
Cirava Hermod Hiveswap 2017 Non-binary Cirava is referred to with singular they pronouns in all official media. [60]
Charun Krojib Non-binary Charun is stated by What Pumpkin, the production team, to be non-binary, and is referred to with singular they pronouns in all official media. [61]
The Knight Hollow Knight 2017 Agender The Knight is referenced in gender neutral ways, and is a part of a genderless race of beings called Vessels. This was explicitly reiterated in a Reddit AMA and canonization of The Knight as agender was supported. [62]
Nights Nights into Dreams 1995 Genderfluid Assumes the gender of whoever merges with them.
The Bard Wandersong 2018 John Robert Matz Non-binary The Bard is referred to with singular they pronouns, but it's also mentioned that any pronouns are fine for them in a QA session. [63]
Ash 2018 Non-binary Ash is referred to with singular they pronouns in-game.
Fl4k Borderlands 3 2019 SungWon Cho Non-binary Fl4k was confirmed non-binary before the game's release, and is referred to with singular they pronouns in-game. They also wear a non-binary pride flag pin. [64]

Webcomics

Character Title Year Author Gender identity Notes Ref
Eth Eth's Skin 2014–present Sfé R. Monster Gender-neutral Using singular they pronouns in the webcomic, author Sfé Monster has stated that Eth presents and identifies as gender-neutral. [65][66]
Watch / Garden Boy Go Get a Roomie! 2010–present Chloé C Agender Watch is comfortable with whichever pronouns the speaker chooses, and does not identify with any particular gender. [67]
Davepetasprite^2 Homestuck 2009–2019 Andrew Hussie Non-binary A fusion of a male character and a female character, Davepetasprite^2 had a short crisis with regards to their gender identity, but quickly settled as non-binary. Character first appeared in 2015. [68]
Roxy Lalonde Non-binary ("Meat")

Female ("Candy")

Assigned female at birth. Comes out as non-binary in the "Meat" path of The Homestuck Epilogues, initially using singular they pronouns and later masculine pronouns; in the "Candy" path of The Homestuck Epilogues, Roxy questions her gender, but ultimately continues to identify as female. Character first appeared in 2011. [69][70]
Calliope Comes out as non-binary in the "Meat" path of The Homestuck Epilogues and uses singular they pronouns. Character first appeared in 2012. [69]
Angel Ménage à 3 2008–2019 Gisele Lagace & Dave Lumsdon Genderfluid Assigned female, alternates between presenting as male and female. Character first appeared in 2013. [71]
Sticky Dilly Buns 2013–2019 Gisele Lagace & M. Victoria Robado
Lucy Marlowe Never Satisfied 2015–present Taylor Robin Non-binary Uses singular they pronouns. [72]
Tetsu Non-binary Uses singular they pronouns. [72]
Vaarsuvius The Order of the Stick 2003–present Rich Burlew Genderqueer Vaarsuvius' gender is deliberately ambiguous. Author commentary in book 5 refers to the character as genderqueer. [73]
R.J. Paranatural 2010–present Zack Morrison Non-binary Uses singular they pronouns. [74]
Tilly Birch Questionable Content 2003–present Jeph Jacques Non-binary Uses singular they pronouns. Character first appeared in 2017. [75]

See also

References

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