Nonbinary

What is it?

Nonbinary or Genderqueer is a big umbrella term used to describe anyone whose gender doesn't wholly align with their sex assigned at birth and isn't completely within the gender binary of man and woman (hence non-binary). If it's completely foreign to you that there can be genders outside of male and female check out our spectrums page that gives a more in depth discussion of the differences.

Both Nonbinary and Genderqueer can also be used as a specific identity, similar to how queer can be used to refer to the LGBTQ+ community as a whole, or as a specific identity for anyone who doesn't want to specify further. There are many different identities that fall under the umbrella, including people who have multiple fluid genders, people who are both man and women, people who are a third gender, people who have no gender, and many others.

Nonbinary and Genderqueer people come under the Transgender umbrella however make sure to check with the person individually to see if they're okay with being labled as such.

Gender very complicated, can be a combination of social roles and constructs or identity. Check out our Gender page for a deconstruction of Concept of Gender.

Pronouns

Pronouns, like with binary trans people are very important to nonbinary people. The most common pronouns that nonbinary people use are they/them, however nonbinary people can use any pronouns they like as well as a combination of pronouns (eg. he/they or he/she).

Some nonbinary people feel that they/them pronouns don't match with their identity and neither do she/her or he/him pronouns, so they can opt to use neopronouns:

ze/hir/hirs
ze/zir/zirs
xe/xem/xyrs

There are many different versions of neopronouns, but some people even find these restrictive and may wish to have their name used instead of pronouns (eg. I like their outfit, they're really cool vs I like [name]'s outfit, [name] is really cool). It's important that even if you do not understand why someone uses the prounouns they use to still be respectful and use their pronouns.

If you're not sure about someone's pronouns make sure you don't assume what they use as the way they express their gender through clothing, makeup, acessories etc may not match up with their gender or pronouns. And most importatantly, Gender ≠ Pronouns.

Some Identities

Androgyne

A peson who feels both masculine and feminine, or who has a gender expression with both masculine and feminine characteristics. Again, only use this term if it is the person’s own self identification.

Maverique

Maverique is a specific nonbinary gender identity "characterized by autonomy and inner conviction regarding a sense of self that is entirely independent of male/masculinity, female/femininity or anything which derives from the two while still being neither without gender nor of a neutral gender". Essentially, if male and female were primary colours, maverique would be the third primary colour.

Neutrois or agender

Someone who feels neutral in their gender or who rejects the influence of gender on their person. Sometimes the term ‘nongendered’ is used similarly. Identifying as neutrois or agender is not indicative of one’s anatomy, birth assignment, or pronoun use, and can be used in conjunction with another gender signifier, for example neutrois woman.

Some people have a gender that is fluid between a binary gender and and a nonbinary gender. These can be referred to as demi genders. For more infornmation on having multiple genders check out our Multigender page.

Important Note:

Remember there is no wrong way to be nonbinary! You can dress however you want, use whatever pronouns you want and still be nonbinary.

Neutral ways of referrring to nonbinary people

Partner
Spouse
Parent (shorten to rent or renny instead of mum or mummy)
Child
Sibling
Datemate

Nonbinary Dysphoria

Like Transgender people, nonbinary people can get dysphoria do to with their name, pronouns, how they're referred to, their body, or their clothing. Not all nonbinary people will feel dysphoric about everything and may be completely fine with their body and the clothing typically associated with their gender assigned at birth (GAAB), but may feel uncomfortable using their given name or the pronouns associated with their GAAB. There are many different ways to be nonbinary, so it follows that there are many different ways to have nonbinary dysphoria. For advice on dealing with dysphoria check out our Trans Help pages.

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