Nonbinary

**Nonbinary** or **Non- Binary** (sometimes shortened to **N.B.**) refers to someone whose gender does not fall strictly within the category of the binary genders (male or female) that are used in western society. Anyone who is not always, solely, 100% male or always, solely, 100% female can be considered non-binary. Some non-binary may identify with one or both of the binary genders, at least in part, while others are completely unrelated to the binary genders.

Non-binary can be a gender identity on its own, or it can be used as an umbrella term for anyone whose gender is something other than male or female. Some individuals may also use the term genderqueer interchangeably with non-binary or something else entirely.

Non-binary individuals may call themselves enbies or borls (the equivalent of boys or girls) or enben (the equivalent of men or women). Non-binary individuals may also call themselves an enban, which is the equivalent of woman or man. Non-binary is included in the umbrella of transgender, although some non-binary individuals choose not to identify as transgender.

## Non-Binary Identities

One may identify as non-binary on its own or they may identify as a gender that falls in the category of non-binary. Any gender that is not strictly and completely male or strictly and completely female falls under the category of non-binary. Some common examples of non-binary identities include: Agender, Androgyne, Bigender, Demigender, Genderfluid, Genderflux, Libragender, Maverique, Neutrois, Paragender.

### Types of Non-Binary Genders

Some non-binary can be partly connected to or aligned to one or both of the binary genders. For example, a man-aligned non-binary individual (solarian) may have an experience similar to man or have some connection to manhood, but is not a man or is not fully a man. Non-binary individuals may also be connection to masculinity and/or femininity, but they do not necessarily have to be connected to manhood or womanhood. These types of non-binary identities can be called viabinary, ideobinary, or aligned. Non-binary individuals who are in between or simultaneously experience masculinity and femininity, and/or maleness and femaleness can be called androgyne, androgynous, or mesobinary.

Other non-binary genders are not connected to the binary genders at all. These genders are not connected to maleness, masculinity, femaleness, femininity, and they are not in between male and female or in between masculine and feminine. However, these genders are also not necessarily a lack of gender or agender. These genders can be called abinary, unaligned, neutral, stellarian (neutral-aligned), epicene, or exobinary.

Non-binary individuals who are not female aligned, feminine aligned, male aligned, masculine aligned, or neutral aligned are called atrinary, outherine. Many outherine genders are also xenogenders.

## Transition

Since there is no single "non-binary look" there is no "typical" non-binary transition, it depends on one's gender identity and their goals for gender presentation. Some non-binary individuals do not transition and present as the gender assigned to them at birth, others may attempt to look like the "opposite" of their assigned gender, as more masculine or feminine. Others will attempt to look as androgynous or gender neutral as possible.

Some non-binary individuals may socially transition but do not medically transition. Other non-binary individuals may take elements of binary transgender transitions. For example, an AFAB (assigned female at birth) non-binary individual may take testosterone, or wear a binder. They may only desire a "partial" transition in order to look androgynous.

### Pronouns

Each non-binary individual has a unique relationship with pronouns. If their language has gender neutral pronouns, such as they/them, they may use those. Some non-binary individuals may go by she/her pronouns or he/him pronouns. Others will go by it/its pronouns (though, this should only be used if someone asks, as otherwise it is dehumanizing). Others still will go by neopronouns. Many non-English speakers will create neopronouns, as their language does not have a gender-neutral singular pronoun like the English "they". Additionally, some may go by multiple pronoun sets, and others will go by no pronouns, using just a name in place of where pronouns would be.

## Modern History

* The earliest known use of the word "genderqueer" is by Riki Anne Wilchins in the Spring 1995 newsletter of Transexual Menace. In 1995 they were published in the newsletter In Your Face, wherethey used the term genderqueer In the newsletter, the term appears to refer to individuals with complex or unnamed gender expressions. Wilchins stated they identify as genderqueer in their 1997 autobiography.
* In 1998, an article from a transgender community on the Internet, Sphere, used the words "queergendered" and "polygendered" interchangeably as umbrella terms for everyone whose gender was outside the gender binary, specifying that these included individuals who were "bi-gendered, non-gendered, or third-gendered," explaining that some faced difficulty in seeking a gender-ambiguous physical transition.

## Flag and Symbols

The non-binary flag was created by Kye Rowan in February of 2014. It was designed for non-binary individuals who felt the genderqueer flag did not represent them. Yellow represents being outside the gender binary, as yellow is often used to distinguish something as its own. White is the presence of all colors, representing individuals who are many or all genders. Purple represents the fluidity and multiplicity of many gender experiences, the uniqueness and flexibility of non-binary individuals, as well as representing those whose gender experiences include being in between female (traditionally pink) and male (traditionally blue). Black is the absence of color and represents agender or genderless individuals.

The alternate non-binary flag was created on the LGBTA fandom by user Blueberryjello on December 17, 2020. The yellow signifies someone who is not cisgender, the white signifies those who identify as multigender, the black signifies being agender, and the green signifies someone who is without reference to binary.

Another alternate was created by wiki user Kirbirb on February 11th, 2021. It was made to be more inclusive than the most common flag. Purple is for androgynous genders and xenogenders, peach is for feminine-aligned and female-aligned genders, white is for both all genders and genderlessness, yellow is for abinary and unaligned genders, and teal is for masculine-aligned and male-aligned genders.

The most common non-binary/genderqueer symbol was created by Johnathan R in 2012. It is similar to the male or female symbols, but instead of a cross on the female symbol or arrow on the male symbol, it uses an X or a star on the end. The use of the X denounces both binary genders, and the letter X is commonly used in non-binary pronouns and titles. The position, pointing straight up, also deviates from the positions of the male and female symbols.

The astronomical symbol for comets (☄) is also sometimes used as a non-binary symbol. It was proposed because the male and female signs are both signs for planets. The symbols for comets was likely chosen because comets can exist anywhere in the solar system, showing the vast range of possible non-binary identities. This symbol is also sometimes used for maverique specifically.