{{Short description|Gender identities outside of the gender binary}} {{pp-vandalism|small=yes}} {{Use American English|date=August 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}} {{Hatnote group| {{about|non-binary genders|other senses of not being binary|Binary (disambiguation)}} {{Redirect|Genderqueer|the book|Gender Queer: A Memoir{{!}}''Gender Queer: A Memoir''}} }} {{Infobox gender and sexual identity | title = Non-binary | image = Nonbinary_flag.svg | alt = A flag consisting of four equal-spaced horizontal stripes, from top to bottom: yellow, white, purple, and black. | caption = Non-binary pride flag | definition = | classification = Gender identity | abbreviations = {{hlist|NB|Enby{{efn|name="abbreviation"|The abbreviation "enby" is based on the English phonetic pronunciation of the initialism "NB", standing for "Non-Binary".}}}} | symbol = Asteroid symbol (fixed width).svg | symbol_class = skin-invert-image | synonyms = Genderqueer | associated_terms = {{hlist|Third gender||genderfluid|two-spirit|gender nonconforming}} }} {{LGBTQ sidebar}} {{Transgender sidebar|identities}}
'''Non-binary'''{{efn|name="spelling"|Also spelled '''nonbinary'''. The term '''enby''', derived from the abbreviation '''NB''', is also used.<ref name="BergmanBarker">{{cite book |last1=Bergman |first1=S. Bear |last2=Barker |first2=Meg-John |editor1-last=Richards |editor1-first=Christina |editor2-last=Bouman |editor2-first=Walter Pierre |editor3-last=Barker |editor3-first=Meg-John |title=Genderqueer and Non-Binary Genders |date=2017 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-137-51052-5 |page=43 |chapter=Non-binary Activism |series=Critical and Applied Approaches in Sexuality, Gender and Identity}}</ref>}} (also written as '''nonbinary'''<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Yu-Chi |last2=Pease |first2=M. |last3=Arumputri |first3=Dylan |date=2025-01-13 |title="Nonbinary can mean different things to different people": Nonbinary individuals' internal gender conceptualizations and external navigation and negotiation of gender binarism |journal=Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity |doi=10.1037/sgd0000786 }}</ref>) or '''genderqueer''' gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary.<ref name=richardsetal/><ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1080/15532739.2018.1538841| issn = 1553-2739| volume = 20| issue = 2–3| pages = 126–131| last = Monro| first = Surya| title = Non-binary and genderqueer: An overview of the field| journal = The International Journal of Transgenderism| date = 2019-01-21| pmid = 32999600| pmc = 6830997}}</ref> Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gender that is different from the sex assigned to them at birth,<ref name=aap>{{cite web |title=Supporting & Caring for Transgender Children |url=https://www.aap.org/en-us/Documents/solgbt_resource_transgenderchildren.pdf |publisher=Human Rights Campaign |access-date=April 8, 2021 |archive-date=July 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724123917/https://www.aap.org/en-us/Documents/solgbt_resource_transgenderchildren.pdf }}</ref> although some non-binary people do not consider themselves transgender.<ref name="Ennis2021">{{cite news |last1=Ennis |first1=Dawn |title=New Research Reveals Insights Into America's Nonbinary Youth |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawnstaceyennis/2021/07/13/new-research-reveals-insights-into-americas-nonbinary-youth |access-date=January 6, 2022 |work=Forbes |date=July 13, 2021 |archive-date=January 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106234315/https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawnstaceyennis/2021/07/13/new-research-reveals-insights-into-americas-nonbinary-youth |url-status=live}}</ref>
Non-binary people may identify as an intermediate or separate third gender,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/genderqueer.html |title=Genderqueer |last=Beemyn |first=Brett Genny |year=2008 |encyclopedia=glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture |location=Chicago, Illinois |publisher=glbtq, Inc. |access-date=May 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425081046/http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/genderqueer.html |archive-date=April 25, 2012}}{{page needed|date=January 2024}}</ref> identify with more than one gender<ref name="Bosson-2018"/><ref name=Whyte/> or no gender, or have a fluctuating gender identity.<ref name=":13" /> Gender identity is separate from sexual or romantic orientation;<ref name="glaad_transgender">{{cite web |url=http://www.glaad.org/reference/transgender |title=Transgender Glossary of Terms |work=GLAAD Media Reference Guide |publisher=Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation |access-date=May 25, 2011 |archive-date=May 30, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530061657/http://www.glaad.org/reference/transgender |url-status=live}}</ref> non-binary people have various sexual orientations.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Stryker |first=Susan |title=Transgender History |publisher=Seal Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-58005-224-5 |page=20}}</ref>
Non-binary people as a group vary in their gender expressions, and some may reject gender identity altogether.<ref name="Schorn">{{cite web |last=Schorn |first=Johanna |title=Taking the 'Sex' out of Transsexual: Representations of Trans Identities in Popular Media |url=http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/critical-issues/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/schornglpaper.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025012342/http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/critical-issues/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/schornglpaper.pdf |archive-date=October 25, 2014 |access-date=October 23, 2014 |publisher=University of Cologne |page=1 |quote=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. |department=Inter-Disciplinary.Net |location=Cologne, Germany}}</ref> Some non-binary people receive gender-affirming care to reduce the mental distress caused by gender dysphoria, such as gender-affirming surgery or hormone replacement therapy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hastings |first=Jennifer |date=June 17, 2016 |title=Approach to genderqueer, gender non-conforming, and gender nonbinary people |url=https://transcare.ucsf.edu/guidelines/gender-nonconforming |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006101614/https://transcare.ucsf.edu/guidelines/gender-nonconforming |archive-date=October 6, 2021 |access-date=October 10, 2021 |website=UCSF Transgender Care}}</ref>
== Terms and definitions == {{redirect|Gender-expansive|the similar related phrase gender-diverse|Gender nonconformity}} {{redirect|Intergender|the professional wrestling format|Intergender wrestling}} {{anchor|Subcategories|subcategories|Terms, definitions, and identities|Terms and definitions}} <!-- "Agender" redirects here. If this section is renamed, please update the redirects as well. "Bigender" "Bi-gender" and "Bigendered" redirect here. "Demigender" and "Demi-gender" redirect here. "Dual gender" and "Dual-gender" redirect here. "Gender expansive" redirects here. "Genderlessness" redirects here. "Intergender" redirects here. "Multigender" redirects here. "Neutrois" redirects here. "Pangender" and "Pan-Gender" redirect here. "Polygender" redirects here. "Trigender" redirects here.
--> The term ''genderqueer'' first appeared in queer zines of the 1980s and early 1990s''.''<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Hendrie |editor1-first=Theo |title=X Marks the Spot: An Anthology of Nonbinary Experiences |date=2019 |isbn=978-1-0809-6803-9 |page=238|publisher=Independently Published }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Genderqueer: A Brief History |url=https://digitalexhibitions.arquives.ca/exhibits/show/genderqueer-in-canada/language-evolves-terms-identit |access-date=October 3, 2025 |website=The Arquives: Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives}}</ref> It gained prominence in the mid-1990s through activists,<ref name="Tobia">{{cite web |last1=Tobia |first1=Jacob |author-link=Jacob Tobia |date=November 7, 2018 |title=InQueery: The History of the Word 'Genderqueer' As We Know It |url=https://www.them.us/story/inqueery-genderqueer |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404231430/https://www.them.us/story/inqueery-genderqueer |archive-date=April 4, 2020 |access-date=February 18, 2020 |website=them |publisher=Condé Nast}}</ref> such as Riki Anne Wilchins,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wilchins |first1=Riki |title=Get to Know the New Pronouns: They, Theirs, and Them |url=https://www.pride.com/identities/2017/3/14/get-know-new-pronouns-they-theirs-and-them |website=Pride |date=March 14, 2017 |access-date=February 18, 2020 |archive-date=February 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218052059/https://www.pride.com/identities/2017/3/14/get-know-new-pronouns-they-theirs-and-them |url-status=live}}</ref> who used it to describe individuals deviating from traditional gender norms.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":11">{{cite journal |last1=Wilchins |first1=Riki |date=Spring 1995 |title=A Note from your Editrix |url=http://www.gendertalk.com/pubs/InYourFace1.pdf |url-status=live |journal=In Your Face: Political Activism Against Gender Oppression |issue=1 |page=4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005123140/http://www.gendertalk.com/pubs/InYourFace1.pdf |archive-date=October 5, 2020 |access-date=February 18, 2020}}</ref> In a 1995 newsletter published by The Transexual Menace, Wilchins wrote that the new fight against gender oppression was political and:<blockquote>It's about <u>all</u> of us who are genderqueer: diesel dykes and stone butches, leatherqueens and radical fairies, nelly fags, crossdressers, intersexed, transexuals, transvestites, transgendered, transgressively gendered, and those of us whose gender expressions are so complex they haven't even been named yet.<ref name=":11" /></blockquote>Similar terms that preceded ''genderqueer'' included ''genderfuck'' and ''genderbender.''<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Honkasalo |first=Julian |date=2020 |title=Genderqueer |url=http://www.lambdanordica.org/index.php/lambdanordica/article/view/614 |journal=Lambda Nordica |language=en |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=57–63 |doi=10.34041/ln.v25.614 |issn=2001-7286}}</ref><ref name=":10" /> In the context of 1990s early queer activism, ''genderqueer'' began as a political stance for resisting the gender binary; the term carried the non-normative and anti-assimilationist connotations of the recently reclaimed word ''queer''.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Knauer |first=Nancy |date=2007 |title=Gender Matters: Making the Case for Trans Inclusion |url=https://scholars.unh.edu/unh_lr/vol6/iss1/3 |journal=The University of New Hampshire Law Review |volume=6 |issue=1 |issn=2325-7318}}</ref> In 2002, the term had further dissemination through the anthology ''GenderQueer: Voices From Beyond the Sexual Binary''.<ref name=":12">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2002 |title=GenderQueer: Voices From Beyond the Sexual Binary |publisher=Alyson Books |location=New York City |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781555837303 |editor1-last=Nestle |editor1-first=Joan |edition=1st |isbn=978-1-55583-730-3 |oclc=50389309 |editor2-last=Howell |editor2-first=Clare |editor3-last=Wilchins |editor3-first=Riki Anne}}</ref>
''Genderqueer'' evolved into both an umbrella term for identities outside the gender binary and an adjective or self-identity term for those who challenge or diverge from conventional gender norms, or who "queer" gender.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FAQ |url=http://genderqueers.com/faq.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021017092126/http://genderqueers.com/faq.html |archive-date=October 17, 2002 |access-date=October 3, 2025 |website=Genderqueers.com |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Retta |first=Mary |date=September 13, 2019 |title=What's the Difference Between Non-Binary, Genderqueer, and Gender-Nonconforming? |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/whats-the-difference-between-non-binary-genderqueer-and-gender-nonconforming/ |access-date=October 3, 2025 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=McNabb |first=Charlie |title=Nonbinary Gender Identities: History, Culture, Resources |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2018}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last1=Thorne |first1=Nat |last2=Yip |first2=Andrew Kam-Tuck |last3=Bouman |first3=Walter Pierre |last4=Marshall |first4=Ellen |last5=Arcelus |first5=Jon |date=2019 |title=The Terminology of Identities Between, Outside and Beyond the Gender Binary - A Systematic Review |journal=The International Journal of Transgenderism |volume=20 |issue=2–3 |pages=138–154 |doi=10.1080/15532739.2019.1640654 |issn=1434-4599 |pmc=6830980 |pmid=32999602}}</ref> The rise of the internet and public identification by celebrities brought the term ''genderqueer'' into mainstream awareness during the late 2000s and early 2010s.<ref name="Tobia" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last= |title=Genderqueer History |url=https://genderqueerid.com/gqhistory |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201200911/https://genderqueerid.com/gqhistory |archive-date=February 1, 2016 |access-date=October 3, 2025 |website=Genderqueer Identities |language=en}}</ref>
The term ''non-binary'' was not in widespread use until the early 2010s, when it quickly increased in popularity and surpassed ''genderqueer'' as the most-used umbrella term for all people who do not exclusively identify as women/girls or men/boys.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":5" /> The popularity of ''non-binary'' is sometimes credited to the fact that it has a more neutral and less political connotation than ''genderqueer'' to many people.<ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Eda9Vbypgc |title=Genderqueer vs. Nonbinary! What's the Difference? |date=September 20, 2019 |last=DR Z PHD |access-date=2025-10-03 |via=YouTube}}</ref> Some critics of ''non-binary'' dislike it because the term itself reinforces the concept of a binary.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Language Evolves: Other Terms and Identities |url=https://digitalexhibitions.arquives.ca/exhibits/show/genderqueer-in-canada/language-evolves-terms-identit |access-date=October 3, 2025 |website=The Arquives: Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives}}</ref><ref name=":8" />
Today, there is broad overlap in the meaning and usages of ''genderqueer'' and ''non-binary'', although they still carry different connotations for many people.<ref name="McGuire2015" /> As umbrella terms, both are used to encompass a wide range of identities and expressions that transcend the binary gender categories of man and woman.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=Susan |title=Women's Voices Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings |last2=Lee |first2=Janet |date=April 23, 2014 |publisher=McGraw-Hill Education |isbn=978-0-07-802700-0 |edition=Sixth |location=New York |pages=130; 135 |oclc=862041473}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Dahir |first=Mubarak |date=May 25, 1999 |title=Whose Movement Is It? |magazine=The Advocate |publisher=Here Media |location=San Francisco, California |page=52}}</ref><ref name=":8" />
The term ''transgender'' often includes those who are genderqueer or non-binary, reflecting a broad spectrum of gender diversity.<ref name="Schorn" /><ref>{{cite journal |last=Vargo |first=Marc E. |date=November 30, 2011 |title=A Review of ''Please select your gender: From the invention of hysteria to the democratizing of transgenderism'' |journal=Journal of GLBT Family Studies |volume=7 |issue=5 |page=2 (493) |doi=10.1080/1550428X.2011.623982 |issn=1550-4298 |s2cid=142815065 |quote=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.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Cronn-Mills |first=Kirstin |title=Transgender Lives: Complex Stories, Complex Voices |date=2014 |publisher=Twenty-First Century Books |isbn=978-1-4677-4796-7 |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota |page=24 |chapter=IV. Trans*spectrum. Identities |quote=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. |access-date=October 23, 2014 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dOUSBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408181300/https://books.google.com/books?id=dOUSBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA24 |archive-date=April 8, 2019 |url-status=live |via=Google Books}}</ref> This inclusive usage dates back to at least 1992, with significant contributions from figures such as Leslie Feinberg<ref name="Tobia" /> and Kate Bornstein, who emphasized the shared experiences of "gender outlaws."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bornstein |first=Kate |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_VsCl7Ek4N8C&q=All+the+categories+of+transgender+find+a+common+ground+in+that+they+each+break+one+or+more+of+the+rules+of+gender%3A+what+we+have+in+common+is+that+we+are+gender+outlaws%2C+every+one+of+us&pg=PT79 |title=Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-136-60373-0 |location=Abingdon, England |access-date=October 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310121616/https://books.google.com/books?id=_VsCl7Ek4N8C&q=All%2Bthe%2Bcategories%2Bof%2Btransgender%2Bfind%2Ba%2Bcommon%2Bground%2Bin%2Bthat%2Bthey%2Beach%2Bbreak%2Bone%2Bor%2Bmore%2Bof%2Bthe%2Brules%2Bof%2Bgender%3A%2Bwhat%2Bwe%2Bhave%2Bin%2Bcommon%2Bis%2Bthat%2Bwe%2Bare%2Bgender%2Boutlaws%2C%2Bevery%2Bone%2Bof%2Bus&pg=PT79 |archive-date=March 10, 2021 |url-status=live |via=Google Books}}</ref>
Other related umbrella terms include ''gender nonconforming'', ''gender expansive'', and ''gender diverse''. ''Gender nonconforming'' usually refers to those whose gender expression does not match masculine or feminine gender norms, but it has been alternately used in some contexts (particularly prior to the widespread use of ''non-binary'') to refer to people whose gender identities do not match binary gender norms.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Serano |first=Julia |date=August 27, 2015 |title=Regarding Trans* and Transgenderism |url=https://juliaserano.blogspot.com/2015/08/regarding-trans-and-transgenderism.html |access-date=October 3, 2025 |website=Whipping Girl}}</ref><ref name=":9" /> Some US organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign and Gender Spectrum use ''gender expansive'' to denote a broader range of gender identities and expressions than those typically associated with the binary gender system.<ref name="aap" /> Many organizations in Australia and the UK use ''gender diverse'' to refer to people who "[do] not conform to their society's norms or values when it comes to their gendered physicality, gendered identity, gender expression or combination of those factors."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hines |first=Sally |title=Is Gender Fluid? A Primer for the 21st Century |publisher=Thames & Hudson |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-500-29368-3}}</ref><ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Zwickl |first=Sav |date=November 7, 2024 |title=Transgender? Trans and Gender Diverse? Trans and Non-Binary? What Terminology Should We Be Using? |url=https://www.transresearch.org.au/post/community-level-terminology |access-date=October 3, 2025 |website=Trans Health Research |language=en}}</ref>
The term ''enby'', derived from the English pronunciation of the acronym ''NB'' for non-binary, is also sometimes used.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sheridan |first=Vanessa |title=Transgender in the Workplace: The Complete Guide |date=2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-4408-5806-2 |page=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hope |first=Sam |title=Person-Centred Counselling for Trans and Gender Diverse People |date=2019 |publisher=Jessica Kingsley Publishers |isbn=978-1-78450-937-8 |location=London, England |page=218}}</ref>
Additionally, being non-binary is associated with gender ambiguity.<ref name=":10">{{cite book |last=Girshick |first=Lori B. |title=Transgender Voices: Beyond Women and Men |publisher=University Press of New England |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-58465-645-6 |location=Hanover, New Hampshire |page=31 |oclc=183162406}}</ref><ref name=":7" /> Androgyny (also ''androgyne'') is often used to describe a blend of socially defined masculine and feminine traits.<ref name=":7" /> However, not all non-binary individuals are androgynous; some identify with traditionally masculine or feminine traits, use alternative descriptors such as ''masculine woman'' or ''feminine man'',<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Walsh |first1=Reuben |date=December 2010 |title=More T, vicar? My experiences as a genderqueer person of faith |magazine=All God's Children |publisher=Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement |volume=2 |issue=3}}</ref> or experience or express themselves in ways that fluidly change between feminine and masculine at different times.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Cronn-Mills |first=Kirstin |title=Transgender Lives: Complex Stories, Complex Voices |publisher=Twenty-First Century Books |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-7613-9022-0 |page=24}}</ref><ref name="McGuire2015" />
Being non-binary is also not the same as being intersex. Most intersex people identify as either men or women,<ref name="intersex-2016">{{Cite web |date=July 9, 2016 |title=Understanding Non-Binary People: How to Be Respectful and Supportive |url=https://transequality.org/issues/resources/understanding-non-binary-people-how-to-be-respectful-and-supportive |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406081742/https://transequality.org/issues/resources/understanding-non-binary-people-how-to-be-respectful-and-supportive |archive-date=April 6, 2020 |access-date=June 17, 2020 |website=National Center for Transgender Equality}}</ref> although some identify as only non-binary, some identify as non-binary and genderfluid, while others identify as non-binary men or non-binary women. A national UK survey conducted in 2017 found that, of 1,980 intersex respondents, 38% identified as women, 32% as men, and 25% as non-binary.<ref>Government Equalities Office (2018). [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-lgbt-survey-summary-report National LGBT survey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810030216/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-lgbt-survey-summary-report |date=August 10, 2021 }}. Annex 10.</ref>
== Theories of non-binary gender == Gender is often framed as social or psychological and sex as biological;<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Muehlenhard |first1=Charlene L. |last2=Peterson |first2=Zoe D. |date=2011 |title=Distinguishing Between Sex and Gender: History, Current Conceptualizations, and Implications |journal=Sex Roles |language=en |volume=64 |issue=11 |pages=791–803 |doi=10.1007/s11199-011-9932-5 |issn=1573-2762}}</ref> however, it is difficult to draw a clear line between them. For example, Julia Serano argues that gender identity arises from a range of interconnected social and biological determinants.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Serano |first=Julia |title=Excluded: making feminist and queer movements more inclusive |date=2013 |publisher=Seal Press |isbn=978-1-58005-504-8 |location=Berkeley, California}}</ref> A review of twin studies supports this position: the authors provide evidence that gender identity is a complex trait with a heritable polygenic component, which means that gender involves social determinants and a large number of genes each making a small contribution, rather than a single gender identity gene.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Polderman |first1=Tinca J. C. |last2=Kreukels |first2=Baudewijntje P. C. |last3=Irwig |first3=Michael S. |last4=Beach |first4=Lauren |last5=Chan |first5=Yee-Ming |last6=Derks |first6=Eske M. |last7=Esteva |first7=Isabel |last8=Ehrenfeld |first8=Jesse |last9=Heijer |first9=Martin Den |last10=Posthuma |first10=Danielle |last11=Raynor |first11=Lewis |last12=Tishelman |first12=Amy |last13=Davis |first13=Lea K. |title=The Biological Contributions to Gender Identity and Gender Diversity: Bringing Data to the Table |journal=Behavior Genetics |date=March 2018 |volume=48 |issue=2 |pages=95–108 |doi=10.1007/s10519-018-9889-z |pmid=29460079 |url=https://pure.amsterdamumc.nl/en/publications/ab6c6b12-9c08-4d97-89fe-9e9fad5f5dd8 }}</ref> Life experiences also shape our biology, since learning from experience produces structural changes in the brain.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gazerani |first1=Parisa |title=The neuroplastic brain: current breakthroughs and emerging frontiers |journal=Brain Research |date=July 2025 |volume=1858 |article-number=149643 |doi=10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149643 |pmid=40280532 }}</ref>
One approach to understanding non-binary gender is the ''norm-relevancy'' account, developed by Katharine Jenkins.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jenkins |first1=Katharine |title=Toward an Account of Gender Identity |journal=Ergo, an Open Access Journal of Philosophy |date=6 September 2018 |volume=5 |issue=20201214 |doi=10.3998/ergo.12405314.0005.027 |hdl=2027/spo.12405314.0005.027 }}</ref> The core idea of this account is that the gendered norms people experience as relevant to them, such as how they should dress or behave in social situations, defines their gender – regardless of whether they actually comply with those norms. According to this account, someone in a society with dominant male and female genders is non‑binary if they experience elements of both male and female gender norms as relevant, or if neither set of norms feels relevant to them. The norms are not universal: they are assumed to vary across different places and periods of time.
Another account, developed by Robin Dembroff specifically for genderqueer identity, defines genderqueer as an example of a ''critical'' gender kind.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dembroff |first=Robin |date=2020 |title=Beyond Binary: Genderqueer as Critical Gender Kind |journal=Philosopher's Imprint |volume=20 |issue=9 |hdl=2027/spo.3521354.0020.009 }}</ref> A critical gender kind is one such that people who are that gender "collectively destabilize one or more core elements of the dominant gender ideology in that society". This contrasts with an ''uncritical'' gender kind, which aligns with and perpetuates dominant binary gender norms, such as the assumed link between someone's role in sexual reproduction and their gender. On Dembroff's account, the approach associated with the gender critical movement would count as an uncritical gender kind.
Dembroff emphasises that this destabilization is carried out by genderqueer people as a group rather than individually. Examples of how genderqueer people collectively enact this destabilisation include using they/them or neopronouns; expressing their gender in ways that challenge binary norms, both individually and in how they navigate gender roles in relationships; and alternating between spaces that are socially coded as "male" and "female".{{fact|date=March 2026}}
== Identities ==
=== Agender === {{main|Agender}}
{{hatnote group|{{Dist|Asexuality}}{{See also|Postgenderism}} }} '''{{visanc|Agender}}''' individuals, also known as genderless, gender-free, non-gendered, or ungendered,<ref>{{cite web |date=April 2013 |title=LGBTQ Needs Assessment|url=http://encompassnetwork.org.uk/uploads/LGBTQ-Needs-Assesmentabsolutelyfinal.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024234412/http://encompassnetwork.org.uk/uploads/LGBTQ-Needs-Assesmentabsolutelyfinal.pdf |archive-date=October 24, 2014 |access-date=October 18, 2014 |website=Encompass Network |pages=52–53}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Gender alphabet |url=http://www.safehomesma.org/gender_alphabet.pdf |access-date=October 18, 2014 |website=Safe Homes |page=1 |archive-date=April 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415040555/http://www.safehomesma.org/gender_alphabet.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> have no gender at all.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vargo |first=Marc E. |year=2011 |title=A Review of "Please select your gender: From the invention of hysteria to the democratizing of transgenderism" |journal=Journal of GLBT Family Studies |volume=7 |issue=5 |pages=493–494 |doi=10.1080/1550428x.2011.623982 |s2cid=142815065}}</ref><ref name=":13" /><ref name="Schorn" /> This group represents a spectrum of identities that diverge from conventional gender norms. A 2017 analysis of surveys of gender identity found that, of the transgender participants, 14% identified as agender.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Morrison |first1=Tessalyn |last2=Dinno |first2=Alexis |last3=Salmon |first3=Taurica |date=2021-12-01 |title=The Erasure of Intersex, Transgender, Nonbinary, and Agender Experiences Through Misuse of Sex and Gender in Health Research |url=https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/190/12/2712/6354680?login=false |journal=American Journal of Epidemiology |volume=190 |issue=12 |pages=2712–2717 |doi=10.1093/aje/kwab221 |issn=0002-9262 |pmid=34409983|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Gender Census, an international survey of non-binary people, found in 2025 that 25% of participants identified as agender.<ref name=":02" />
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, which added an entry for ''agender'' in 2016,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lukin |first=Annabelle |date=July 13, 2016 |title=The Oxford dictionary's new words are a testament to the fluid beauty of English |url=http://theconversation.com/the-oxford-dictionarys-new-words-are-a-testament-to-the-fluid-beauty-of-english-62356 |access-date=October 21, 2025 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}}</ref> the first recorded use of the word was in 1996, as "A-gender", in an article in the ''Independent''.<ref>{{Citation |title=agender, adj. |date=2023-03-02 |work=Oxford English Dictionary |url=https://oed.com/dictionary/agender_adj |access-date=2025-03-21 |edition=3 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/oed/1111057139|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In 2014, the agender flag was created by Salom X,<ref name=":15">{{Cite web |date=2023-07-27 |title=Resources for the agender community |url=https://www.akt.org.uk/resources/resources-for-the-agender-community/ |access-date=2024-12-29 |website=akt |language=en}}</ref> and "agender" and "neutrois" were among the custom gender options added to Facebook and to OkCupid.<ref name="Telegraph20142">{{cite news |last=Sparkes |first=Matthew |date=February 14, 2014 |title=Facebook sex changes: which one of 50 genders are you? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/10637968/Facebook-sex-changes-which-one-of-50-genders-are-you.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521104128/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/10637968/Facebook-sex-changes-which-one-of-50-genders-are-you.html |archive-date=May 21, 2018 |access-date=April 5, 2018 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=November 17, 2014 |title=OkCupid expands gender and sexuality options |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/okcupid-expands-gender-sexuality-options |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141119184104/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/okcupid-expands-gender-sexuality-options |archive-date=November 19, 2014 |access-date=November 18, 2014 |publisher=PBS NewsHour}}</ref> In 2017, Judge Amy Holmes Hehn ruled that Patch, an agender resident of Portland, could be legally identified as agender.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-03-23 |title=Judge grants Oregon resident the right to be genderless |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/judge-grants-oregon-resident-right-be-genderless-n736971 |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>
=== Bigender === {{Anchor|Trigender}}{{redirect|Bigender|the sexual attraction to more than one gender|Bisexual}} '''Bigender''' individuals possess two distinct gender identities that can manifest simultaneously or fluctuate between masculine and feminine expressions.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Ruth Dudley|last=Edwards|url=https://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/ruth-dudley-edwards/asexual-bigender-transexual-or-cis-cant-we-all-just-be-kind-to-each-other-30513083.html|archive-date=December 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218121523/https://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/ruth-dudley-edwards/asexual-bigender-transexual-or-cis-cant-we-all-just-be-kind-to-each-other-30513083.html|title=Asexual, bigender, transexual or cis, can't we all just be kind to each other?|newspaper=The Independent|date=August 17, 2014 |access-date=December 18, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newsweek.com/what-third-gender-x-oregon-and-california-are-breaking-mf-binary-626551|title=Oregon becomes first state to allow option "X" to end gender binary|first=Sofia Lotto|last=Persio|date=June 16, 2017|magazine=Newsweek|access-date=December 18, 2019|archive-date=December 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218161158/https://www.newsweek.com/what-third-gender-x-oregon-and-california-are-breaking-mf-binary-626551|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailydot.com/irl/nonbinary-definition-pronouns|title=Everything you ever wanted to know about being nonbinary|date=September 28, 2017|website=The Daily Dot|access-date=December 18, 2019|archive-date=September 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190928222022/https://www.dailydot.com/irl/nonbinary-definition-pronouns|url-status=live}}</ref> This differs from genderfluid identities, which may not involve fixed gender states but rather a fluid range across the gender spectrum.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/billy-dee-williams-what-is-gender-fluid|title=Billy Dee Williams: What is gender fluid?|date=December 2, 2019|website=Monsters and Critics|access-date=December 18, 2019|archive-date=December 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218123528/https://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/billy-dee-williams-what-is-gender-fluid|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/04/26/non-binary|title=This is the term for people who aren't exclusively male or female|date=April 26, 2018|website=PinkNews|access-date=December 18, 2019|archive-date=December 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218124825/https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/04/26/non-binary|url-status=live}}</ref> The American Psychological Association recognizes bigender identity as part of the broader transgender category.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation|title=Sexual orientation and gender identity|access-date=December 18, 2019|archive-date=January 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102055739/https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation|url-status=live}}</ref> Surveys and studies, including a 1999 San Francisco Department of Public Health survey and a 2016 Harris poll, have documented the prevalence of bigender identification, particularly within younger generations.<ref>Clements, K. [http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/InSite?page=cftg-02-02 San Francisco Department of Public Health] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060915140217/http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/InSite?page=cftg-02-02 |date=September 15, 2006}}, 1999</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thinkprogress.org/eeoc-now-gives-nonbinary-people-a-way-to-be-counted-in-workplace-6cd48e1cc804|title=EEOC now gives nonbinary people a way to be counted in workplace|website=ThinkProgress|date=August 20, 2019 |access-date=December 18, 2019|archive-date=December 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218123520/https://thinkprogress.org/eeoc-now-gives-nonbinary-people-a-way-to-be-counted-in-workplace-6cd48e1cc804|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.glaad.org/files/aa/2017_GLAAD_Accelerating_Acceptance.pdf|title=Accelerating Acceptance 2017|publisher=GLAAD|access-date=December 27, 2019|archive-date=January 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200106041601/https://www.glaad.org/files/aa/2017_GLAAD_Accelerating_Acceptance.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> '''Trigender''' people can shift among any three genders, but usually male, female, and a third gender.<ref name="Bosson-2018" />
=== Demigender === {{Dist|Demisexuality}} Individuals identifying as '''demigender''' feel a partial connection to one gender while also identifying with another gender or none at all (agender).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gibson |first1=Sarah |title=Gender Diversity and Non-Binary Inclusion in the Workplace: The Essential Guide for Employers |last2=Fernandez |first2=J. |publisher=Jessica Kingsley Publishers |location=London |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-78450-523-3 |page=25}}</ref><ref name="Kenney">{{Cite book |last1=Brill |first1=Stephanie |title=The Transgender Teen |last2=Kenney |first2=Lisa |publisher=Cleis Press |location=Berkeley, California |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-62778-174-9 |page=311}}</ref> Subcategories include demi-boy or demi-man, who partially identify as male and non-binary, and demi-girl or demi-woman, who are partially female and non-binary. Demiflux people experience a stable non-binary identity with varying intensities of other gender identities.<ref name="Kenney" />
=== Genderfluid === {{main|Gender fluidity}}
Genderfluid individuals do not adhere to a fixed gender identity; their genders change depending on time, place and situation, combining elements from one or more genders at different times.<ref name=":13" /><ref name="McGuire2015">{{cite news |last1=McGuire |first1=Peter |date=November 9, 2015 |title=Beyond the Binary: What Does It Mean to Be Genderfluid? |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/beyond-the-binary-what-does-it-mean-to-be-genderfluid-1.2418434 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122121336/http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/beyond-the-binary-what-does-it-mean-to-be-genderfluid-1.2418434 |archive-date=November 22, 2015 |access-date=December 1, 2015 |newspaper=The Irish Times}}</ref> This identity can overlap with bigender, trigender, polygender or pangender expressions.<ref name="Bosson-2018">{{cite book |last1=Bosson |first1=Jennifer K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XStGDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT54 |title=The Psychology of Sex and Gender |last2=Vandello |first2=Joseph A. |last3=Buckner |first3=Camille E. |publisher=Sage Publications |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-5063-3134-8 |location=Thousand Oaks, California |page=36 |oclc=1038755742 |access-date=August 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528040645/https://books.google.com/books?id=XStGDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT54 |archive-date=May 28, 2020 |url-status=live |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="Whyte">{{cite journal |last1=Whyte |first1=Stephen |last2=Brooks |first2=Robert C. |last3=Torgler |first3=Benno |title=Man, Woman, "Other": Factors Associated with Nonbinary Gender Identification |journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior |publisher=Springer Science+Business Media|location=Heidelberg, Germany|date=September 25, 2018 |volume=47 |issue=8 |pages=2397–2406 |doi=10.1007/s10508-018-1307-3 |pmid=30255409 |s2cid=52823167 |quote=2 out of 7479 (0.03 percent) of respondents to the Australian Sex Survey, a 2016 online research survey, self-identified as trigender.}}</ref>
=== Pangender === {{Dist|Pansexuality}} '''{{visanc|Pangender|Polygender|Omnigender}}''' individuals identify with multiple or all genders, sometimes experiencing all these identities simultaneously.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ginicola |first1=Misty M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pi8bDgAAQBAJ&q=polygender&pg=PA366|title=Affirmative Counseling with LGBTQI+ People |last2=Smith |first2=Cheri |last3=Filmore |first3=Joel M. |date=February 10, 2017 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-37549-4 |page=366 |access-date=June 22, 2021 |archive-date=August 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803194905/https://books.google.com/books?id=pi8bDgAAQBAJ&q=polygender&pg=PA366 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Queer Undefined |url=https://www.queerundefined.com/search/pangender |access-date=October 10, 2020 |website=Queer Undefined |archive-date=January 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121135730/https://www.queerundefined.com/search/pangender |url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Polygender === {{Dist|Polysexuality|Plurisexuality}} ''Polygender'', ''plurigender'' or ''multigender'' is a non-binary identity in which the person experiences multiple genders.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Moreno|first=Nik|date=2016-03-15|title=Polygender: Many Genders in One|url=https://wearyourvoicemag.com/polygender-many-genders-one/|access-date=2020-12-04|website=Wear Your Voice|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114000439/https://wearyourvoicemag.com/polygender-many-genders-one/}}</ref> Pangender, bigender, and trigender are examples of multi-gender identities,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=McKinney|first1=Rob|last2=Desposito|first2=Michael|last3=Yoon|first3=Eunhui|date=2020-08-03|title=Promoting Identity Wellness in LGBTGEQIAP+ Adolescents Through Affirmative Therapy|journal=Journal of LGBTQ Issues in Counseling|volume=14|issue=3|pages=176–190|doi=10.1080/15538605.2020.1790464|s2cid=221142691|issn=1553-8605}}</ref> sometimes along with androgyne, associated with demigender.<ref name=":14">{{Cite journal |last1=Harrison |first1=Jack |last2=Grant |first2=Jaime |last3=Herman |first3=Jody L. |date=2012 |title=A Gender Not Listed Here: Genderqueers, Gender Rebels, and OtherWise in the National Transgender Discrimination Survey |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2zj46213 |url-status=live |journal=LGBTQ Public Policy Journal at the Harvard Kennedy School |language=en |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421175117/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2zj46213 |archive-date=April 21, 2023 |access-date=June 24, 2023}}</ref>
=== Two-spirit === {{Main|Two-spirit}}
Originating from a 1990 Indigenous LGBTQ gathering in Winnipeg, the term two-spirit refers to individuals within Indigenous North American communities who embody qualities or fulfill roles across traditional gender distinctions.<ref name="de Vries 2009">{{cite book |last1=de Vries |first1=Kylan Mattias |title=Encyclopedia of gender and society |date=2009 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=978-1-4129-0916-7 |editor1-last=O'Brien |editor1-first=Jodi |location=Los Angeles |page=64 |chapter=Berdache (Two-Spirit) |access-date=March 6, 2015 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_nyHS4WyUKEC |archive-date=May 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501010210/http://books.google.com/books?id=_nyHS4WyUKEC |url-status=live |via=Google Books}}</ref>
=== Xenogender === {{not to be confused with|Xenomelia|Therian (identity)|Otherkin}} '''Xenogender''' encompasses a variety of gender identities that are defined using concepts not based on traditional male or female categories, often drawn from natural, inanimate, or abstract sources, representing a departure from the typical human gender binary.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Beattie |first1=Michael |author2=Penny Lenihan |author3=Robin Dundas |author4=Christiane Sanderson |date=2018 |title=Counselling skills for working with gender diversity and identity |location=London |publisher=Jessica Kingsley Publishers |isbn=978-1-78450-481-6 |oclc=1028945173}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Morin |first=Florentin Félix |date=April 3, 2017 |title=EGO HIPPO: the subject as metaphor |journal=Angelaki |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages= |doi=10.1080/0969725X.2017.1322822 |page=91}}</ref> People who identify with a xenogender may not have the words to describe their gender, so instead they compare it to something else.<ref name=":27">{{Cite web |last=Nation |first=LGBTQ |date=March 2, 2022 |title=What you need to know about xenogender |url=https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/03/need-know-xenogender/ |access-date= |website=LGBTQ Nation |language=en |archive-date=August 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240801004706/https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/03/need-know-xenogender/ |url-status=live |quote=Xenogender identities are said to fill a “lexical gap” or the lack of words in the English language to define one’s particular experience with gender. Xenogenders fill these gaps by comparing their gender identities to certain concepts – pre-existing or imaginary.}}</ref> The term was coined in 2014 by Tumblr user ''Baaphomett''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hansen |first=Ashley |date=2022 |title=Revolutionized Experiences of Gender in an Internet Dominated World |journal=Journal of Undergraduate Research in Anthropology |volume=6 |page=7 |pages=}}</ref>
==History== {{Further|Third gender#History|Transgender history}} [[File:Shea Coulee Baking with Bambi May 2021.png|thumb|Drag queen and musician Shea Couleé, who identifies as gay and non-binary and uses "they/them" pronouns offstage<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 15, 2014 |title=THE Q LIST Shea Coulee's drag revolution will be televised – Windy City Times News |url=https://www.windycitytimes.com/lgbt/THE-Q-LIST-Shea-Coulees-drag-revolution-will-be-televised/45856.html |access-date=January 11, 2023 |website=Windy City Times |archive-date=January 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111042941/https://www.windycitytimes.com/lgbt/THE-Q-LIST-Shea-Coulees-drag-revolution-will-be-televised/45856.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 30, 2019 |title=Shea Couleé Opens Up About Embracing Their Non-Binary Identity |url=https://www.them.us/story/shea-coulee-interview |access-date=January 11, 2023 |website=Them |archive-date=February 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213100104/https://www.them.us/story/shea-coulee-interview |url-status=live }}</ref>]] [[File:JudithButler2013.jpg|thumb|Judith Butler, an American philosopher, who published ''Gender Trouble'' in 1990 and publicly came out as non-binary in 2019, is a contemporary figure in the non-binary movement.<ref name="McManus">{{Cite web |last=McManus |first=Matthew |date=July 21, 2020 |title=Matt McManus Interviews Judith Butler |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A1uuD0nm1k |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811092403/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A1uuD0nm1k |archive-date=August 11, 2020 |access-date=July 26, 2020 |website=YouTube |publisher=Zero Books |at=37:01}}</ref>]]
Non-binary gender, often included within the concept of third gender, has historical roots that extend well before the modern term was established.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Towle |first1=Evan B |last2=Morgan |first2=Lynn Marie |date=2002 |title=Romancing the Transgender Native: Rethinking the Use of the "Third Gender" Concept |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/4/article/12222 |journal=GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=469–497 |doi=10.1215/10642684-8-4-469 |s2cid=143201735 |issn=1527-9375|url-access=subscription }}</ref> For instance, the Public Universal Friend, who emerged in 1776, was a genderless evangelist who renounced their birth name and gendered pronouns, representing an early instance of non-binary gender expression in America.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wisbey |first=Herbert A. Jr. |orig-date=1964 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nu_Kk0mwm00C |title=Pioneer Prophetess: Jemima Wilkinson, the Publick Universal Friend |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8014-7551-1 |pages=7–14 |access-date=September 8, 2021 |archive-date=June 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607163811/https://books.google.com/books?id=nu_Kk0mwm00C |url-status=live |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Moyer |first=Paul B. |title=The Public Universal Friend: Jemima Wilkinson and Religious Enthusiasm in Revolutionary America |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-8014-5413-4 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/publicuniversalf00moye |pages=12, 18, 100}}</ref><ref name="Schmidt">Samantha Schmidt, ''[https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/01/05/long-before-theythem-pronouns-genderless-prophet-drew-hundreds-followers/ A genderless prophet drew hundreds of followers long before the age of nonbinary pronouns] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231181417/https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/01/05/long-before-theythem-pronouns-genderless-prophet-drew-hundreds-followers |date=December 31, 2021 }}'', January 5, 2020, ''The Washington Post''</ref>
In 1781, Jens Andersson from Norway, assigned female at birth but identifying as male, faced imprisonment and a trial after marrying a woman. When questioned, Andersson stated, "Hand troer at kunde henhøre til begge Deele" ('He believes he belongs to both parts'), indicating a recognition of his dual gender identity.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 16, 2014 |title=Et besynderligt givtermaal mellem tvende fruentimmer |trans-title=A strange marriage between two women |url=https://skeivtarkiv.no/skeivopedia/et-besynderligt-givtermaal-mellem-tvende-fruentimmer |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727113614/https://skeivtarkiv.no/skeivopedia/et-besynderligt-givtermaal-mellem-tvende-fruentimmer |archive-date=July 27, 2021 |access-date=September 7, 2021 |website=Skeivt arkiv |language=no}}</ref>
Judith Butler's ''Gender Trouble'', published in 1990, challenged the fixed male/female binary and advocated for a broader understanding of gender as a spectrum, a view Butler has expanded upon since coming out as non-binary in 2019.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Butler |first=Judith |title="Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity" |publisher=Routledge |year=1990 |isbn=0-415-90043-3 |edition=1st |location=New York |page=149}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Interviews by Kian |date=December 27, 2019 |title=Judith Butler on her Philosophy and Current Events |url=https://interviewsbykian.wordpress.com/2019/12/27/judith-butler-on-her-philosophy-and-current-events |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726182552/https://interviewsbykian.wordpress.com/2019/12/27/judith-butler-on-her-philosophy-and-current-events |archive-date=July 26, 2020 |access-date=July 26, 2020 |website=Interviews by Kian}}</ref><ref name="McManus" /><ref name="DerTagesspiegel2020-05-13a2">{{cite news |first=Kathryn |last=Fischer |date=July 13, 2020 |trans-title=The Pronoun is free from the Body – but it is not free from Gender |title=Das Pronomen ist frei vom Körper – aber es ist nicht frei vom Geschlecht |url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft/queerspiegel/gender-und-grammatik-das-pronomen-ist-frei-vom-koerper-aber-es-ist-nicht-frei-vom-geschlecht/25826376.html |access-date=December 24, 2021 |work=Der Tagesspiegel |language=de |quote=Welches Pronomen bevorzuge ich? Butler lacht{{nbsp}}... 'Es ist they', sagt Butler{{nbsp}}... Wir haben das Jahr 2020 und Butler outet sich als 'they' – ein wahrhaft historischer Moment. |trans-quote=Which pronoun do I prefer? Butler laughs{{nbsp}}... 'It is they', Butler says{{nbsp}}... It is the year 2020, and Butler outs theirself as 'they' – a truly historic moment. |archive-date=March 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327084943/https://www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft/queerspiegel/gender-und-grammatik-das-pronomen-ist-frei-vom-koerper-aber-es-ist-nicht-frei-vom-geschlecht/25826376.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
The term "genderqueer" surfaced in the mid-1990s, notably used by activist Riki Wilchins in the newsletter ''In Your Face'' in 1995, and later in their 1997 autobiography. Wilchins contributed significantly to the discourse, particularly with the 2002 anthology ''GenderQueer: Voices from beyond the Sexual Binary''.<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wilchins |first=Riki Anne |date=Spring 1995 |title=In Your Face No. 1 (Spring 1995) |url=https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/downloads/1831ck00f |website=Digital Transgender Archive |access-date=November 22, 2022 |archive-date=February 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217105236/https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/downloads/1831ck00f |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilchins |first=Riki |year=2017 |title=Burn the Binary! Selected Writings on the Politics of Trans, Genderqueer and Nonbinary |location=Riverdale, NY |publisher=Riverdale Avenue Books |isbn=978-1-62601-407-7}}</ref>
Jim Sinclair, an autism-rights activist and a founder of Autism Network International, publicly embraced a gender-neutral identity in 1997, declaring a physical and social neuter status in an introduction to the Intersex Society of North America.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 7, 2009 |title=Brief Biography |url=http://web.syr.edu/~jisincla/brief_bio.htm |access-date=November 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207013228/http://web.syr.edu/~jisincla/brief_bio.htm |archive-date=February 7, 2009}}</ref>
In Japan, the expression "X-gender" ({{Transliteration|ja|x-jendā}}) has been recognized since the late 1990s, describing a non-binary identity, with notable individuals such as manga artists Yūki Kamatani and Yuu Watase identifying as such.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Intersections: An Introduction to X-Jendā: Examining a new gender identity in Japan |url=http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue31/dale.htm |access-date=November 21, 2022 |website=intersections.anu.edu.au |archive-date=May 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507214727/http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue31/dale.htm }}</ref><ref>{{Cite tweet |first=Yuu |last=Watase |author-link=Yuu Watase |user=wataseyuu_ |number=1130461270358908928 |script-title=ja:ブログでもここでも呟いたけど、再度。漫画にも影響してると思うから。私はXジェンダーと医師に診断されてて、中身は、男にも女にも寄れるし男でも女でもない。見た目はちゃんと(20代後半から社会に合わせて)どうせやるならやるでメイクもオシャレもする、それだけ。女性の身体は否定しないが→ |title=Burogu demo koko demo tsubuyaitakedo, saido. Manga ni mo eikyō shi teru to omoukara. Watashi wa X jendā to ishi ni shindan sa re tete, nakami wa, otoko ni mo on'na ni mo yorerushi otoko demo on'na demonai. Mitame wa chanto (20-dai kōhan kara shakai ni awa sete) dōse yarunara yarude meiku mo oshare mo suru, sore dake. Josei no karada wa hitei shinaiga ￫ |trans-title=I muttered it on my blog and here, but again. I think it affects comics too. I've been diagnosed as X-gender by a doctor, and I'm neither male nor female. If you want to look good (in your late 20s and in line with society), do it anyway, make up and be fashionable, that's all. I don't deny the female body, but |language=ja |access-date=November 21, 2022}}</ref>
In 2012, the Intersex & Genderqueer Recognition Project began advocating for more inclusive gender options on official documents, a milestone realized when Elisa Rae Shupe became the first person in the U.S. to obtain official documents with a non-binary gender marker.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.intersexrecognition.org/about |title=About Us – Intersex & Genderqueer Recognition Project (IGRP) |website=igrp |access-date=December 9, 2019 |archive-date=April 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404231432/https://www.intersexrecognition.org/about |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|first=Mary Emily|last=O'Hara|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/movement-third-gender-option-exploding-u-s-n696446|title=Movement for third gender option 'exploding' in U.S.|website=NBC News|date=December 16, 2016|access-date=December 9, 2019|archive-date=October 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018055948/https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/movement-third-gender-option-exploding-u-s-n696446|url-status=live}}</ref>
Alberta legislator Estefan Cortes-Vargas openly identified as non-binary during a 2015 legislative session, marking a significant moment in political recognition of non-binary identities.<ref name="Macleans 2015">[//www.macleans.ca/news/canada/for-the-record-an-alberta-mla-on-battling-gender-identity/ "An Alberta MLA on battling gender identity"]. ''Maclean's'', December 1, 2015</ref>
On January 20, 2025, immediately after being sworn in for his second term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government". This order established that the U.S. federal government would recognize only two sexes—male and female—defined strictly by biological characteristics at birth. It explicitly rejected the concept of gender identity as a basis for legal recognition for non-binary people.
==Pronouns and titles== {{Main|Gender neutrality in languages with gendered third-person pronouns|Gender-neutral language}}
thumb|upright=0.8|Pronoun pin badges from a 2016 art and tech festival
Many non-binary people use gender-neutral pronouns with the singular "they", "their" and "them" being used most commonly in English. Some non-binary individuals opt for neopronouns such as {{wt|en|xe|i=-}}, {{wt|en|ze|i=-}}, {{wt|en|sie|i=-}}, {{wt|en|co|i=-}}, and ey.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-30 |title=Beyond 'he' and 'she': 1 in 4 LGBTQ youths use nonbinary pronouns, survey finds |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/beyond-he-she-1-4-lgbtq-youths-use-nonbinary-pronouns-n1235204 |access-date=2024-05-20 |website=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=August 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817214710/https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/beyond-he-she-1-4-lgbtq-youths-use-nonbinary-pronouns-n1235204 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Hekanaho2020">{{cite thesis |last=Hekanaho |first=Laura |date=December 8, 2020 |title=Generic and Nonbinary Pronouns: Usage, Acceptability and Attitudes |type=PhD |publisher=University of Helsinki |isbn=978-951-51-6831-3 |url=https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/321581/hekanaho_laura_dissertation_2020.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |access-date=March 7, 2021 |page=221 |archive-date=March 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307171934/https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/321581/hekanaho_laura_dissertation_2020.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="gendercensus2021">{{cite web |title=Gender Census 2021: Worldwide Report |url=https://gendercensus.com/results/2021-worldwide/#pronouns |website=Gender Census |access-date=April 16, 2021 |date=April 1, 2021 |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417031047/https://gendercensus.com/results/2021-worldwide/#pronouns |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Marcus |first=Ezra |date=April 8, 2021 |title=A Guide to Neopronouns |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/style/neopronouns-nonbinary-explainer.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/style/neopronouns-nonbinary-explainer.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=limited |access-date=April 30, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Others may use traditional gender-specific pronouns such as "he" or "she", switch between them, or prefer to use their name without pronouns.<ref>{{cite book |last=Feinberg |first=Leslie |author-link=Leslie Feinberg |title=Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman |url=https://archive.org/details/transgenderwarri0000fein |url-access=registration |publisher=Beacon Press |location=Boston, Massachusetts |date=1996 |isbn=978-0-8070-7940-9 |oclc=33014093}}</ref> Gender Census, which since 2013 has run a worldwide annual survey of English-speaking non-binary people, surveyed 43,000 people in 2025 and found that the most common pronouns respondents use for themselves were "they/them" (75%), "he/him" (41%), "she/her" (34%), "it/its" (23%), no personal pronouns at all (14%), and any pronouns (14%).<ref name=":02" /> Thirty-three percent of respondents reported using a neopronoun such as xe, ze, fae, or ey at least some of the time.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |date=September 14, 2025 |title=Gender Census 2025: Worldwide Report |url=https://www.gendercensus.com/results/2025-worldwide/ |access-date=October 13, 2025 |website=Gender Census |language=en-GB}}</ref>
The title Mx. is sometimes used as a gender-neutral honorific. Invented in the 1970s, it began being used by non-binary people in online discussion spaces in the late 1990s and early 2000s and became increasingly popular in the 2010s.<ref>{{cite web |last=Pearce |first=Ruth |date=July 21, 2011 |title=Non-gendered titles see increased recognition |url=http://www.lesbilicious.co.uk/non-gendered-titles-see-increased-recognition |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918104612/http://www.lesbilicious.co.uk/non-gendered-titles-see-increased-recognition |archive-date=September 18, 2019 |access-date=August 29, 2012 |work=Lesbilicious}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Titman |first=Nat |date=August 28, 2014 |title=When Was the Mx Gender-Inclusive Title Created? |url=https://practicalandrogyny.com/2014/08/28/when-was-the-mx-gender-inclusive-title-created/ |access-date=October 14, 2025 |website=Practical Androgyny |language=en}}</ref> According to Gender Census, Mx. has been decreasing in popularity over the last decade; in 2025 only 15% of respondents reported using Mx., while 43% preferred no honorific at all.<ref name=":02" /> Smaller numbers of non-binary people use Mr. (11%), Ms. or Miss (9%), or a non-gendered professional, academic, religious, military, or nobility title (9%).<ref name=":02" /> thumb|A non-binary pride flag at a parade in Paris reading {{lang|fr|Mon genre est non-binaire}} ('My gender is non-binary') The 2025 Gender Census also found that the five most commonly selected identity labels among people who aren't exclusively women/girls or men/boys were non-binary (62%), queer (56%), trans (47%), transgender (41%), and a category described as a person/human/[my name]/"I'm just me" (40%).<ref name=":02" />
==Legal recognition== {{Globalize|date=June 2023|2=US|section}}{{Update section|date=August 2025|reason=Increased legal recognition of non-binary people}}{{main|Legal recognition of non-binary gender}}
{{see also|List of non-binary political office-holders}} thumb|Third gender recognition world map (2025)|263x263px Many non-binary/genderqueer people use the gender they were given at birth to conduct everyday business, as many institutions and forms of identification—such as passports and driver's licenses — accept, in the sense of recorded recognition, only binary gender identities. But with the increasing acceptance of non-binary gender identities and the rise in wider societal recognition, this is slowly changing, as more governments and institutions recognize and allow non-binary identities.<ref name=richardsetal>{{Cite journal |last1=Richards |first1=Christina |last2=Bouman |first2=Walter Pierre |last3=Seal |first3=Leighton |last4=Barker |first4=Meg John |last5=Nieder |first5=Timo O. |last6=T'Sjoen |first6=Guy |date=2016 |title=Non-binary or genderqueer genders |journal=International Review of Psychiatry |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=95–102 |pmid=26753630 |doi=10.3109/09540261.2015.1106446 |s2cid=29985722 |url=https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/7279758 |access-date=June 9, 2019 |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626224658/https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/7279758|url-status=live|hdl=1854/LU-7279758 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>
Multiple countries legally recognize non-binary or third gender classifications. Some non-Western societies have long recognized transgender people as a third gender, although this may not (or may only recently)<ref name=BBC-20091223>{{cite news |title=Pakistani eunuchs to have distinct gender |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8428819.stm |date=December 23, 2009 |work=BBC News |access-date=December 23, 2009 |archive-date=May 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518094705/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8428819.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> include formal legal recognition. In Western societies, Australia may have been the first country to legally recognize a classification of sex outside of "male" and "female" on legal documentation, with the recognition of Alex MacFarlane's intersex status in 2003.<ref name="asa">{{cite journal |url=http://www.asanet.org/sectionsex/documents/SUMMER03sexnews.pdf |title=Newsletter of the Sociology of Sexualities Section of the American Sociological Association |journal=American Sociological Association Sexualities News |volume=6 |issue=1 |date=Summer 2003 |access-date=December 9, 2013 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054219/http://www.asanet.org/sectionsex/documents/SUMMER03sexnews.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> The wider legal recognition of non-binary people—following the recognition of intersex people in 2003—in Australian law followed between 2010 and 2014, with legal action taken against the New South Wales Government Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages by transgender activist Norrie May-Welby to recognize Norrie's legal gender identity as "non-specific". India's Supreme Court formally recognized transgender and non-binary people as a distinct third gender in 2014, following legal action taken by transgender activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi.<ref>{{Cite news |title=In India, Landmark Ruling Recognizes Transgender Citizens |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/04/15/303408581/in-india-landmark-ruling-recognizes-transgender-citizens |access-date=April 30, 2021 |newspaper=NPR |date=April 15, 2014 |last1=McCarthy |first1=Julie |archive-date=April 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430203253/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/04/15/303408581/in-india-landmark-ruling-recognizes-transgender-citizens |url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2021, Argentina incorporated non-binary gender in its national ID card, becoming the first country in South America to legally recognize non-binary gender on all official documentation; non-binary people in the country will have the option to renew their ID with the letter "X" under gender.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alberto Fernández pone en marcha el DNI para personas no binarias en un paso más por la igualdad de género |trans-title=Alberto Fernández launches the DNI for non-binary people in one more step for gender equality |url=https://www.clarin.com/politica/gobierno-pone-marcha-dni-personas-binarias-paso-igualdad-genero_0_wHMaz8YnA.html |access-date=July 26, 2021 |website=www.clarin.com |date=July 21, 2021 |language=es |archive-date=July 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727011740/https://www.clarin.com/politica/gobierno-pone-marcha-dni-personas-binarias-paso-igualdad-genero_0_wHMaz8YnA.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/07/22/argentina-nonbinary-id |title=Argentina rolls out gender-neutral ID |last=Westfall |first=Sammy |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 22, 2021 |access-date=July 27, 2021 |archive-date=October 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003012209/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/07/22/argentina-nonbinary-id |url-status=live}}</ref>
===United States===
Legal recognition of non-binary gender identities in the United States has varied significantly across time and jurisdictions. In June 2016, a court in Oregon issued the first known ruling in the U.S. recognizing a non-binary gender.<ref name="ohara2016">{{Cite web |last=O'Hara |first=Mary Emily |date=June 10, 2016 |title='Nonbinary' is now a legal gender, Oregon court rules |url=http://www.dailydot.com/lifestyle/oregon-court-rules-non-binary-gender-legal |access-date=June 10, 2016 |website=The Daily Dot}}</ref> In subsequent years, several states, beginning with California in 2017, enacted legislation or adopted policies allowing residents to select a non-binary or "X" gender marker on official documents such as driver's licenses and birth certificates.<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Hara |first=Mary Emily |date=September 26, 2016 |title=Californian Becomes Second US Citizen Granted 'Non-Binary' Gender Status |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/californian-becomes-second-us-citizen-granted-non-binary-gender-status-n654611 |access-date=September 26, 2016 |website=NBC News |archive-date=September 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160926204210/https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/californian-becomes-second-us-citizen-granted-non-binary-gender-status-n654611 |url-status=live }}</ref> As of early 2025, over 20 states and the District of Columbia continue to offer non-binary gender markers on some state-issued documents. At the federal level, non-binary recognition advanced during the early 2020s. In 2021, the U.S. Department of State issued the first passport bearing an "X" gender marker,<ref name="Lambda Legal">{{Cite web |date=October 27, 2021 |title=Lambda Legal Client Dana Zzyym Receives First 'X' U.S. Passport |url=https://www.lambdalegal.org/blog/co_20211027_dana-zzyym-receives-first-us-passport-with-x-gender-marker |access-date=November 7, 2021 |website=Lambda Legal |archive-date=January 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103213152/https://www.lambdalegal.org/blog/co_20211027_dana-zzyym-receives-first-us-passport-with-x-gender-marker |url-status=live }}</ref> and beginning in April 2022, this option became available to all applicants without medical documentation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=X Gender Marker Available on U.S. Passports Starting April 11 |url=https://www.state.gov/x-gender-marker-available-on-u-s-passports-starting-april-11/ |access-date=2022-04-17 |website=United States Department of State |language=en |archive-date=February 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240203061845/https://www.state.gov/x-gender-marker-available-on-u-s-passports-starting-april-11/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Passports {{!}} National Center for Transgender Equality |url=https://transequality.org/know-your-rights/passports |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=transequality.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Selecting your Gender Marker |url=https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/need-passport/selecting-your-gender-marker.html |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=travel.state.gov |archive-date=March 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307133536/https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/need-passport/selecting-your-gender-marker.html |url-status=live }}</ref> However, this policy was reversed in January 2025 when President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to recognize only male and female categories.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Luhby |first=Tami |date=20 January 2025 |title=Trump two-gender edict would upend 'X' identity on passports |language=en |work=CNN |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/20/politics/two-genders-us-passports-federal-government-trump/index.html |access-date=20 January 2025 |archive-date=January 21, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250121035755/https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/20/politics/two-genders-us-passports-federal-government-trump/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Watson |first1=Kathryn |last2=Linton |first2=Caroline |title=Trump executive order says federal government only recognizes "two sexes" |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-executive-order-says-federal-government-only-recognizes-two-sexes/ |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=CBS News |date=January 21, 2025}}</ref> The U.S. Department of State subsequently suspended all new passport applications requesting an "X" marker,<ref name="guard-23jan2025">{{cite news |last1=Gedeon |first1=Joseph |title=Rubio instructs staff to freeze passport applications with 'X' sex markers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/23/trump-rubio-x-gender-passport |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=January 23, 2025 |archive-date=January 23, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123184342/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/23/trump-rubio-x-gender-passport |url-status=live }}</ref> though previously issued passports with an "X" designation remain valid until expiration.<ref>{{cite news |title=Passports with 'X' sex markers will be valid until they expire or are renewed, State Department says |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/passports-x-sex-marker-guidance-valid-expire-state-department-rcna191539 |agency=NBC News}}</ref> Legal protections for non-binary individuals under U.S. federal law remain limited. While Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has been interpreted to prohibit employment discrimination based on gender nonconformity and transgender status, there are no explicit nationwide protections that specifically name non-binary individuals or ensure their rights across areas such as identification, healthcare, housing, or public services. As a result, access to recognition and protection continues to depend heavily on state and local laws and policies.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Cecka |first1=Dale Margolin |author2-link=Martha Chamallas |last2=Chamallas |first2=Martha |date=2016 |chapter=Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228 (1989) |title=Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Opinions of the United States Supreme Court |pages=341–360 |doi=10.1017/cbo9781316411254.020 |isbn=978-1-107-12662-6 |quote=See ''Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins'', 490 U.S. 228, 250 (1989 (holding that an employer who punishes employees who fail to conform to stereotypical expectations of members of his or her sex discriminates on the basis of sex).}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Liptak |first=Adam |date=June 15, 2020 |title=Civil Rights Law Protects Gay and Transgender Workers, Supreme Court Rules |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/us/gay-transgender-workers-supreme-court.html |access-date=March 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617162445/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/us/gay-transgender-workers-supreme-court.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
==Discrimination== {{Main|Discrimination against non-binary people}}
Various countries throughout history have criminalized transgender and non-binary gender identities.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wareham |first=Jamie |title=New Report Shows Where It's Illegal To Be Transgender In 2020 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiewareham/2020/09/30/this-is-where-its-illegal-to-be-transgender-in-2020 |access-date=April 30, 2021 |website=Forbes |archive-date=April 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430203254/https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiewareham/2020/09/30/this-is-where-its-illegal-to-be-transgender-in-2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=September 28, 2017 |title=Trans Legal Mapping Report |url=https://ilga.org/trans-legal-mapping-report |access-date=July 14, 2022 |website=ILGA |archive-date=November 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127223133/https://ilga.org/trans-legal-mapping-report |url-status=live }}</ref>
In the U.S., 13% of respondents to the 2008 National Transgender Discrimination Survey chose "a gender not listed here".{{Efn|Q3 asked "What is your primary gender identity today?". Possible answers were male, female, "part time as one gender, part time as another", and "a gender not listed here, please specify".}} The "not listed here" respondents were more likely than the general sample (36% compared to 27%) to report forgoing healthcare due to fear of discrimination. 90 percent reported experiencing anti-trans bias at work, and 43 percent reported having attempted suicide.<ref name=":14" />
The reported discrimination non-binary people face includes disregard, disbelief, condescending interactions, and disrespect.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |url=https://harvardlawreview.org/2019/01/they-them-and-theirs |title=They, Them, and Theirs |website=harvardlawreview.org |date=January 10, 2019 |access-date=December 9, 2019 |archive-date=December 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205005233/https://harvardlawreview.org/2019/01/they-them-and-theirs |url-status=live}}</ref> Non-binary people are also often viewed as partaking in a trend and thus dismissed as insincere or attention-seeking. As an accumulation, erasure is often a significant form of discrimination non-binary people face.<ref name=":6" />
Misgendering, intentional or not, is also a problem that many face. In the case of intentional misgendering, transphobia is a driving force. Additionally, the use of they/them pronouns is lumped into{{Clarify|date=July 2023}} the larger, controversial, subject of safe spaces and political correctness,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qFJDDwAAQBAJ&q=Cf.+S.+Bear+Bergman+&pg=PR5 |title=Genderqueer and Non-Binary Genders |last1=Richards |first1=Christina |last2=Bouman |first2=Walter Pierre |last3=Barker |first3=Meg-John |year=2017 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-137-51053-2 |access-date=October 19, 2020 |archive-date=March 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302223320/https://books.google.com/books?id=qFJDDwAAQBAJ&q=Cf.+S.+Bear+Bergman+&pg=PR5 |url-status=live}}</ref> causing pushback and intentional misgendering by some people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Misgendering |url=https://www.californialawreview.org/print/misgendering |access-date=November 11, 2022 |website=California Law Review |archive-date=December 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222162826/https://californialawreview.org/print/misgendering }}</ref>
Non-binary and transgender people also face discrimination in sports participation. Non-binary athletes have an immediate barrier as most sports competitions are divided into men's and women's categories.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Erikainen |first1=Sonja |last2=Vincent |first2=Ben |last3=Hopkins |first3=Al |date=October 9, 2020 |title=Specific Detriment: Barriers and Opportunities for Non-Binary Inclusive Sports in Scotland |journal=Journal of Sport & Social Issues |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=75–102 |doi=10.1177/0193723520962937 |s2cid=225167557 |doi-access=free|hdl=2164/18985 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Harassment when using public bathrooms is also frequent. According to the Trevor Project, 58% of non-binary and transgender youth have been discouraged from using the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity.<ref name=":16" />
==Healthcare== Non-binary people may report significantly worse health and general well being than binary transgender people, although current research demonstrates conflicting perspectives on this topic.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Price-Feeney |first1=Myeshia |last2=Green |first2=Amy E. |last3=Dorison |first3=Samuel |date=June 2020 |title=Understanding the Mental Health of Transgender and Nonbinary Youth |journal=Journal of Adolescent Health |volume=66 |issue=6 |pages=684–690 |doi=10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.11.314 |pmid=31992489 |s2cid=210947113 |issn=1054-139X|doi-access=free }}</ref> These health disparities may be exacerbated by minority stress by breaking gender and social norms.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Burgwal |first1=Aisa |last2=Gvianishvili |first2=Natia |last3=Hård |first3=Vierge |last4=Kata |first4=Julia |last5=García Nieto |first5=Isidro |last6=Orre |first6=Cal |last7=Smiley |first7=Adam |last8=Vidić |first8=Jelena |last9=Motmans |first9=Joz |date=July 3, 2019 |title=Health disparities between binary and non binary trans people: A community-driven survey |journal=International Journal of Transgenderism |volume=20 |issue=2–3 |pages=218–229 |doi=10.1080/15532739.2019.1629370 |issn=1553-2739 |pmc=6831016 |pmid=32999608}}</ref><ref name=":14" />
Healthcare professionals are often uninformed about non-binary people's specific health needs, sometimes requiring non-binary patients to educate them.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kcomt |first1=Luisa |last2=Gorey |first2=Kevin M. |last3=Barrett |first3=Betty Jo |last4=McCabe |first4=Sean Esteban |date=August 1, 2020 |title=Healthcare avoidance due to anticipated discrimination among transgender people: A call to create trans-affirmative environments |journal=SSM – Population Health |volume=11 |article-number=100608 |doi=10.1016/j.ssmph.2020.100608 |issn=2352-8273 |pmc=7276492 |pmid=32529022}}</ref> Some providers may believe that non-binary people do not require transition-related treatment,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vincent |first=Ben |title=Non-Binary Genders: Navigating Communities, Identities, and Healthcare |publisher=Policy Press |year=2020 |doi=10.56687/9781447351931|isbn=978-1-4473-5193-1 }}</ref> while others may not understand the difference between their identity and the identities of binary transgender patients.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Taylor |first1=Jessica |last2=Zalewska |first2=Agnieszka |last3=Gates |first3=Jennifer Joan |last4=Millon |first4=Guy |date=July 3, 2019 |title=An exploration of the lived experiences of non-binary individuals who have presented at a gender identity clinic in the United Kingdom |journal=International Journal of Transgenderism |volume=20 |issue=2–3 |pages=195–204 |doi=10.1080/15532739.2018.1445056 |issn=1553-2739 |pmc=6831017 |pmid=32999606}}</ref> Non-binary patients report lower rates of respect from healthcare providers than binary transgender people.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kattari |first1=Shanna K. |last2=Bakko |first2=Matthew |last3=Hecht |first3=Hillary K. |last4=Kattari |first4=Leonardo |date=April 1, 2020 |title=Correlations between healthcare provider interactions and mental health among transgender and nonbinary adults |journal=SSM – Population Health |volume=10 |article-number=100525 |doi=10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100525 |issn=2352-8273 |pmc=6909214 |pmid=31872041}}</ref>
Beliefs that affirm the existence of gender/sex diversity are associated negatively with prejudices toward non-binary people.<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101499| issn = 2352-250X| volume = 48| article-number = 101499| last1 = Schudson| first1 = Zach C.| last2 = Morgenroth| first2 = Thekla| title = Non-binary gender/sex identities| journal = Current Opinion in Psychology| date = 2022-12-01| pmid = 36401906| quote = Research on gender/sex diversity affirming ontological beliefs has found that they are negatively associated with both implicit and explicit prejudice toward people with androgynous gender expressions, suggesting important links to positive attitudes toward non-binary and gender/sex diverse people.| doi-access = free}}</ref>
===Transgender health care=== Some non-binary people desire gender-affirming health care, including hormone replacement therapy or surgery.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Beek |first1=Titia F. |last2=Kreukels |first2=Baudewijntje P.C. |last3=Cohen-Kettenis |first3=Peggy T. |last4=Steensma |first4=Thomas D. |date=November 1, 2015 |title=Partial Treatment Requests and Underlying Motives of Applicants for Gender Affirming Interventions |journal=The Journal of Sexual Medicine |volume=12 |issue=11 |pages=2201–2205 |doi=10.1111/jsm.13033 |pmid=26553507 |url=https://pure.amsterdamumc.nl/en/publications/2fdeca11-a01f-4548-9e49-8c0796b1dfc2 }}</ref> Others do not,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Burgwal |first1=Aisa |last2=Motmans |first2=Joz |date=November 2021 |title=Trans and gender diverse people's experiences and evaluations with general and trans-specific healthcare services: a cross-sectional survey |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-021-00432-9 |journal=International Journal of Impotence Research |volume=33 |issue=7 |pages=679–686 |doi=10.1038/s41443-021-00432-9 |pmid=33854204 |s2cid=233225133 |issn=1476-5489 |hdl=1854/LU-8704468 |hdl-access=free |access-date=June 24, 2023 |archive-date=June 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230624054919/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-021-00432-9 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the ratio of those who desire care to those who do not is unclear. The factors that lead to this decision are complex and unique to each person.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vincent |first=Ben |date=July 3, 2019 |title=Breaking down barriers and binaries in trans healthcare: the validation of non-binary people |journal=International Journal of Transgenderism |volume=20 |issue=2–3 |pages=132–137 |doi=10.1080/15532739.2018.1534075 |issn=1553-2739 |pmc=6831034 |pmid=32999601}}</ref>
Non-binary people may also have distinct transition goals compared to binary trans individuals, posing several challenges for effective gender-affirming care. In particular, the desire for partial feminization or masculinization poses several challenges for hormone therapy. Masculinizing hormone therapy such as testosterone may be used in significantly lower doses than in binary transgender men to achieve desired results.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Overview of masculinizing hormone therapy {{!}} Gender Affirming Health Program |url=https://transcare.ucsf.edu/guidelines/masculinizing-therapy |access-date=2026-01-23 |website=transcare.ucsf.edu}}</ref> Feminizing hormone therapy may be used to develop feminine secondary sex characteristics such as breast growth, fat redistribution, and skin changes. For those who desire partial feminization, selective estrogen receptor modulators are being explored as a potential option to minimize breast growth while developing other feminine phenotypes. These medications are typically used alongside an antiandrogen or GnRH agonist to suppress testosterone, as selective estrogen receptor modulators lack the antigonadotropic properties of estrogens.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Xu |first1=Jane Y. |last2=O'Connell |first2=Michele A. |last3=Notini |first3=Lauren |last4=Cheung |first4=Ada S. |last5=Zwickl |first5=Sav |last6=Pang |first6=Ken C. |date=2021 |title=Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators: A Potential Option For Non-Binary Gender-Affirming Hormonal Care? |journal=Frontiers in Endocrinology |volume=12 |article-number=701364 |doi=10.3389/fendo.2021.701364 |doi-access=free |issn=1664-2392 |pmc=8253879 |pmid=34226826}}</ref> Non-binary hormone therapy is a far more recent development compared to hormone therapy for binary transgender individuals, and this is still a developing field of medicine.
Non-binary patients seeking gender-affirming care typically begin treatment earlier than binary transgender patients.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kattari |first1=Shanna K. |last2=Atteberry-Ash |first2=Brittanie |last3=Kinney |first3=M. Killian |last4=Walls |first4=N. Eugene |last5=Kattari |first5=Leonardo |date=October 21, 2019 |title=One size does not fit all: differential transgender health experiences |journal=Social Work in Health Care |volume=58 |issue=9 |pages=899–917 |doi=10.1080/00981389.2019.1677279 |pmid=31618117 }}</ref>
===Mental health care=== Due to the discrimination and harassment they face, non-binary and transgender people are more likely to have worse mental health outcomes than cisgender people.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last1=James |first1=S.E. |url=https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS%20Full%20Report%20-%20FINAL%201.6.17.pdf |title=The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey |last2=Herman |first2=J.L. |last3=Rankin |first3=S. |last4=Keisling |first4=M. |last5=Mottet |first5=L. |last6=Anafi |first6=M. |publisher=National Center for Transgender Equality |access-date=November 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221125120058/https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS%20Full%20Report%20-%20FINAL%201.6.17.pdf |archive-date=November 25, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Advocates for Trans Equality |title=The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey: Executive Summary |url=http://www.transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/USTS-Executive-Summary-FINAL.PDF |access-date=11 November 2025 |website=Advocates for Trans Equality |archive-date=February 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201032258/http://www.transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/USTS-Executive-Summary-FINAL.PDF }}</ref> According to the Trevor Project, 54% of non-binary and transgender youth have considered suicide.<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |last=Paley |first=Amit |date=2019 |title=The National Survey on LGBTQ Mental Health |url=https://www.thetrevorproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/The-Trevor-Project-National-Survey-Results-2019.pdf |website=The Trevor Project |access-date=August 22, 2024 |archive-date=August 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240828162116/https://www.thetrevorproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/The-Trevor-Project-National-Survey-Results-2019.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> However, the presence of protective factors, such as acceptance of one's gender diversity, support from family and community, and connection with the broader non-binary community, result in markedly better mental health outcomes for non-binary and transgender people.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tebbe |first1=Elliot A |last2=Budge |first2=Stephanie L |date=26 September 2022 |title=Factors that drive mental health disparities and promote well-being in transgender and nonbinary people |journal=Nature Reviews Psychology |volume=1 |issue=12 |pages=694–707 |doi=10.1038/s44159-022-00109-0 |pmid=36187743 |pmc=9513020 }}</ref>
==Symbols and observances== {{Main|LGBTQ symbols}}
[[File:Anjali gopalan.jpg|thumb|Anjali Gopalan and Gopi Shankar Madurai inaugurating Asia's first Genderqueer Pride Parade at Madurai with a rainbow and genderqueer flag<ref name="One Who Fights For an Other">{{cite web |url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/education/edex/One-Who-Fights-For-an-Other/2015/04/13/article2756559.ece |title=One Who Fights For an Other |work=The New Indian Express |access-date=May 11, 2015 |archive-date=September 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924062152/http://www.newindianexpress.com/education/edex/One-Who-Fights-For-an-Other/2015/04/13/article2756559.ece }}</ref><ref name="merinews">{{cite web |url=http://www.merinews.com/article/worldwide-gay-rights-as-a-social-movement-picks-up/15914647.shtml |publisher=merinews.com |title=Worldwide gay rights as a social movement picks up |access-date=May 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802091818/http://www.merinews.com/article/worldwide-gay-rights-as-a-social-movement-picks-up/15914647.shtml |archive-date=August 2, 2017 }}</ref>]]
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 by Marilyn Roxie. Lavender represents androgyny or queerness, white represents agender identity, and green represents those whose identities which are defined outside the binary.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |first=Lynn |last=Deater |url=http://ncccommuter.org/he-she-or-they |title=He, She or They? » The Commuter |website=ncccommuter.org |access-date=December 20, 2016 |date=April 29, 2015 |archive-date=December 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221090439/http://ncccommuter.org/he-she-or-they |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite web |url=https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/Flags%2520and%2520Symbols.pdf |title=Flags and Symbols |publisher=Amherst College |location=Amherst, Massachusetts |access-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-date=May 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510154054/https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/Flags%2520and%2520Symbols.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.davidmariner.com/flags |title=Gender and Sexuality Awareness Flags |date=October 26, 2015 |newspaper=David Mariner |access-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-date=February 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203153557/http://www.davidmariner.com/flags |url-status=live}}</ref> The non-binary pride flag was created in 2014 by Kye Rowan.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://letsqueerthingsup.com/2015/03/15/8-things-non-binary-people-need-to-know |title=8 Things Non-Binary People Need to Know |date=March 15, 2015 |website=Let's Queer Things Up! |access-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-date=December 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222123705/https://letsqueerthingsup.com/2015/03/15/8-things-non-binary-people-need-to-know |url-status=live}}</ref> Yellow represents people whose gender exists outside the binary, purple represents those whose gender is a mixture of—or between—male and female, black represents people who have no gender, and white represents those who embrace many or all genders.<ref name="nbflagtumblr">{{cite web |title=After counting up all the 'votes' for each variation of my nonbinary flag (to be separate from the genderqueer flag), it seems this is the most loved! Yay! |url=http://thejasmineelf.tumblr.com/post/77007286542/after-counting-up-all-the-votes-for-each |website=genderweird |publisher=Tumblr |access-date=June 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624214236/http://thejasmineelf.tumblr.com/post/77007286542/after-counting-up-all-the-votes-for-each |archive-date=June 24, 2018}}</ref>
Several symbols have been proposed for non-binary people, to complement the Mars symbol for men and Venus symbol for women. One popular symbol is a circle with a stem above it, crossed by an X, in reference to the use of Xs as a gender marker for non-binary people.<ref>{{cite news |last1=<!--staff--> |title=All about the nonbinary symbol |url=https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/07/all-about-the-nonbinary-symbol/ |access-date=3 June 2025 |work=LGBTQ Nation |date=2022-07-30 |language=en |archive-date=April 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418062235/https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/07/all-about-the-nonbinary-symbol/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Genderfluid people, who fall under the genderqueer umbrella, also have their own flag. Pink represents femininity, white represents lack of gender, purple represents mixed gender or androgyny, black represents all other genders, and blue represents masculinity.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2016/09/gender-fluid-added-oxford-english-dictionary |title=Gender-fluid added to the Oxford English Dictionary |newspaper=LGBTQ Nation |access-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-date=October 25, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025023342/http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2016/09/gender-fluid-added-oxford-english-dictionary |url-status=live}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web |last=Manzella |first=Samantha |url=http://www.newnownext.com/guide-lgbt-flags/07/2017 |title=Beyond The Rainbow: Your Guide To LGBT Flags |publisher=NewNowNext |date=October 7, 2017 |access-date=June 25, 2018 |archive-date=June 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625075216/http://www.newnownext.com/guide-lgbt-flags/07/2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
International Non-Binary People's Day is celebrated on July 14.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mathers |first1=Charlie |title=Prepare for International Non-binary Day by learning how to be a better ally |url=https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/non-binary-day-allies |website=Gay Star News |access-date=July 14, 2018 |date=July 13, 2018 |archive-date=July 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714193018/https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/non-binary-day-allies |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hirst |first1=Jordan |title=Inclusive Brisbane Party To Mark International Non-Binary Day |url=https://www.qnews.com.au/inclusive-brisbane-party-to-celebrate-international-non-binary-day |website=QNEWS Magazine |access-date=July 14, 2018 |date=July 10, 2018 |archive-date=July 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714164834/https://www.qnews.com.au/inclusive-brisbane-party-to-celebrate-international-non-binary-day |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Important LGBT Dates |url=http://www.lgbtlifewestchester.org/important_lgbt_dates |website=LGBT LifeWestchester |access-date=June 12, 2019 |location=White Plains, NY |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626224659/http://www.lgbtlifewestchester.org/important_lgbt_dates |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=International Non-Binary People's Day |url=http://www.prideinclusionprograms.com.au/event/international-non-binary-peoples-day |website=Pride Inclusion Programs |publisher=acon |access-date=June 12, 2019 |archive-date=August 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803134910/http://www.prideinclusionprograms.com.au/event/international-non-binary-peoples-day |url-status=live}}</ref> Other observances with non-binary participation include International Transgender Day of Visibility, observed on March 31,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fowlkes |first=A. C. |title=Transgender Day Of Visibility: Honoring The Visible And The Invisible |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleefowlkes/2019/03/31/transgender-day-of-visibility-honoring-the-visible-and-the-invisible |access-date=November 11, 2022 |website=Forbes |archive-date=November 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111170621/https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleefowlkes/2019/03/31/transgender-day-of-visibility-honoring-the-visible-and-the-invisible/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 27, 2014 |title=Opinion {{!}} A time to celebrate |work=The Hamilton Spectator |url=https://www.thespec.com/opinion/contributors/2014/03/27/a-time-to-celebrate.html |access-date=November 11, 2022 |issn=1189-9417 |archive-date=April 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406133530/https://www.thespec.com/opinion/contributors/2014/03/27/a-time-to-celebrate.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia, observed on May 17.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://may17.org/ |access-date=November 11, 2022 |website=May17.org |archive-date=March 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305044751/https://may17.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{gallery|mode=nolines|whitebg=y|height=100 |File:Transgender_Pride_flag.svg|Transgender pride flag, in which white represents non-binary people<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/we-have-a-navy-veteran-to-thank-for-the-transgender-pride-flag_us_5978c060e4b0e201d57a711f |title=We Have A Navy Veteran To Thank For The Transgender Pride Flag |first1=Emma |last1=Gray |first2=Alanna |last2=Vagianos |work=Huffington Post |date=July 27, 2017 |access-date=August 31, 2017 |archive-date=September 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901113228/https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/we-have-a-navy-veteran-to-thank-for-the-transgender-pride-flag_us_5978c060e4b0e201d57a711f |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/bransonlb/the-veteran-who-created-the-trans-pride-flag-reacts-to |title=The Veteran Who Created The Trans Pride Flag Reacts To Trump's Trans Military Ban |first=Branson |last=LB |work=BuzzFeed |date=July 26, 2017 |access-date=August 31, 2018 |archive-date=September 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901080527/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/bransonlb/the-veteran-who-created-the-trans-pride-flag-reacts-to |url-status=live}}</ref>|alt1=Trans pride flag, made up of horizontal stripes of (from top to bottom) light blue, pink, white (which represents nonbinary people), pink and light blue. |File:Agender pride flag.svg|Agender pride flag|alt2=Agender pride flag, made up of horizontal stripes of, from top to bottom, black, gray, white, green, white, gray, and black. |File:Bigender Flag.svg|Bigender pride flag|alt3=Bigender pride flag, made up of horizontal stripes of, from top to bottom, pink, light pink, lavender, white, light blue, and blue. |File:Genderfluidity Pride-Flag.svg|Genderfluid pride flag|alt4=Genderfluid pride flag, made up of horizontal stripes of, from top to bottom, pink, white, purple, black, and blue. |File:Genderqueer Pride Flag.svg|Genderqueer pride flag|alt5=Genderqueer pride flag, made up of three horizontal stripes, which are, from top to bottom, purple, white, and green. |File:Nonbinary flag.svg|Non-binary flag|alt6=Non-binary pride flag, made up of four horizontal stripes, which are, from top to bottom, yellow, white, purple, and black. |File:Trigender flag.svg|Trigender pride flag|alt7=Trigender pride flag, made up of five horizontal stripes; which are, from top to bottom, pink, blue, green, blue, and pink. |File:Asteroid symbol (fixed width).svg|Non-binary gender symbol|alt8=Upside down female symbol with an x instead of a cross. |File:Agender symbol.svg|Agender symbol|File:Genderfluid symbol.svg|Genderfluid symbol}}
== Population figures ==
=== Argentina === According to provisional results from Argentina's 2022 national census, 8,293 people (about 0.018% of the total population) identified as non-binary.<ref>{{cite web|title=Census data in Argentina officially include non-binary people for the first time|publisher=NewsEndIP|date=February 1, 2023|url=https://www.newsendip.com/census-data-in-argentina-for-the-first-time-officially-reports-non-binary-people-in-the-country/|access-date=2025-05-17}}</ref>
=== Brazil === A 2021 representative survey estimated that about 1.19% of Brazilian adults identify as non-binary.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Proportion of people identified as transgender and non-binary gender in Brazil|last1=Spizzirri|first1=Giancarlo|last2=Eufrásio|first2=Raí|last3=Pereira Lima|first3=Maria Cristina|last4=de Carvalho Nunes|first4=Hélio Rubens|last5=Kreukels|first5=Baudewijntje P.C.|last6=Steensma|first6=Thomas D.|last7=Abdo|first7=Carmita H.N.|journal=Scientific Reports|volume=11|year=2021|issue=1 |page=2240|doi=10.1038/s41598-021-81411-4|pmid=33500432 |pmc=7838397 |hdl=11449/207170|hdl-access=free}}</ref> This corresponds to roughly 1.9 million adults at the time of the survey.
=== Canada === Statistics Canada reported that in the 2021 Census, 41,355 Canadians aged 15 or older (about 0.14% of that age group) identified as non-binary.<ref>{{cite web|title=Canada is the first country to provide census data on transgender and non-binary people|publisher=Statistics Canada|date=April 27, 2022|url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220427/dq220427b-eng.htm|access-date=2025-05-17|archive-date=June 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620215331/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220427/dq220427b-eng.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Mexico === In 2024, the Williams Institute reported 340,620 Mexicans aged 15 or older identified as non-binary.<ref>{{cite web |title=NONBINARY PEOPLE IN MEXICO Results from the 2021 National Survey on Sexual and Gender Diversity |url=https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Mexico-Nonbinary-English-Jun-2024.pdf |website=williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu |access-date=22 March 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250722024400/https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Mexico-Nonbinary-English-Jun-2024.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2025|page=9}}</ref> This corresponds to roughly 0.26% of the population.
=== Switzerland === A nationwide survey conducted in late 2021 found that roughly 0.4% of Swiss adults described themselves as non-binary.<ref>{{cite news|title=Only 0.4% of Swiss residents describe themselves as non-binary|publisher=SWI swissinfo.ch|date=December 29, 2021|url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/society/only-0-4-of-swiss-residents-describe-themselves-as-non-binary/47224644|access-date=2025-05-17}}</ref>
=== United Kingdom === According to the 2021 census (England and Wales), 30,000 people identified as non-binary, about 0.06% of the population.<ref>{{cite web|title=First census estimates on gender identity and sexual orientation|publisher=Office for National Statistics|date=January 6, 2023|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/news/firstcensusestimatesongenderidentityandsexualorientation|access-date=2025-05-17|archive-date=March 28, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250328092105/https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/news/firstcensusestimatesongenderidentityandsexualorientation|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== United States === Recent U.S. surveys suggest roughly 1–2% of American adults identify as non-binary. For example, a 2024 Gallup poll found between 1% and 2% of U.S. adults reported a non-binary gender identity.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Jeffrey M.|title=LGBTQ+ Identification in U.S. Rises to 9.3%|publisher=Gallup|date=February 20, 2025|url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/656708/lgbtq-identification-rises.aspx|access-date=2025-05-17|archive-date=May 13, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250513023355/https://news.gallup.com/poll/656708/lgbtq-identification-rises.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>
A 2021 study conducted by the Williams Institute estimated the sexual orientation of non-binary adults in the United States. About 31% identify as queer, 17% bisexual, 17% pansexual, 14% on the asexual spectrum, 10% gay, 6% lesbian, 3% same-gender loving, and 2% another identity.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Bianca D.M. |last2=Meyer |first2=Ilan H. |title=Nonbinary LGBTQ Adults in the United States |url=https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/nonbinary-lgbtq-adults-us/ |date=June 2021 |access-date=January 16, 2026 |website=Williams Institute |language=en-US}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|LGBTQ}} {{Div col}} * Genderqueer fashion * Gender neutrality ** Gender-neutral language *** Gender neutrality in languages with grammatical gender *** Gender neutrality in genderless languages *** Gender neutrality in English *** Gender marking in job titles *** Gender-specific and gender-neutral pronouns * Gender transitioning * Gender variance * Include Mx * List of fictional non-binary characters * List of people with non-binary gender identities * Postgenderism{{Div col end}}
==Explanatory notes== {{Notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== {{refbegin|30em}} * Barker, Meg-John; Scheele, Julia (2016). ''Queer: A Graphic History''. London: Icon Books. {{ISBN|978-1-78578-071-4}}. {{OCLC|939427299}}. * {{cite book |title=Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity |editor-last=Bernstein Sycamore |editor-first=Mattilda |editor-link=Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore |year=2006 |publisher=Seal Press |location=Emeryville |isbn=978-1-58005-184-2 |oclc=50389309}} * {{cite book |editor-last=Bornstein |editor-first=Kate |editor-link=Kate Bornstein |editor2-last=Bergman |editor2-first=S. Bear |title=Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation |year=2010 |publisher=Seal Press |edition=Reprint |location=Berkeley |isbn=978-1-58005-308-2 |oclc=837948378 |url=https://archive.org/details/genderoutlawsnex00born_0}} * {{cite book |last=Fine |first=Cordelia |title=Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference |year=2011 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |location=New York |edition=Reprint |isbn=978-0-393-34024-2 |oclc=449865367 |title-link=Delusions of Gender}} * {{cite journal |last1=Fineman |first1=Martha Albertson |title=Feminism, masculinities, and multiple identities |journal=Nevada Law Journal |volume=13 |issue=2 |page=16 |url=http://scholars.law.unlv.edu/nlj/vol13/iss2/16 |date=2013 |access-date=December 11, 2017 |archive-date=December 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211160925/http://scholars.law.unlv.edu/nlj/vol13/iss2/16 |url-status=live}} * {{cite book |last=Hines |first=Melissa |title=Brain Gender |year=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-518836-3 |oclc=846105995}} * {{cite book |editor1-last=Nestle |editor1-first=Joan |editor1-link=Joan Nestle |editor2-last=Howell |editor2-first=Clare |editor3-last=Wilchins |editor3-first=Riki Anne |editor3-link=Riki Wilchins |title=GenderQueer: Voices from Beyond the Sexual Binary |year=2002 |publisher=Alyson Books |location=Los Angeles |isbn=978-1-55583-730-3 |oclc=50389309 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781555837303}} * {{cite book |editor-last=Peterson |editor-first=Tim Trace |editor2-last=Tolbert |editor2-first=T. C. |title=Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics |year=2013 |publisher=Nightboat Books |location=Callicoon |isbn=978-1-937658-10-6 |oclc=839307399}} * Richards, C., Bouman, W. P., & Barker, M.-J. (2017). ''Genderqueer and non-binary genders''. London: Palgrave Macmillan. {{ISBN|978-1-137-51052-5}}. {{OCLC|1021393997}}. * {{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scout-phd/a-male-b-female-c-both-d-neither_b_2887462.html |title=(A) Male, (B) Female, (C) Both, (D) Neither |author=Scout |date=July 23, 2013 |website=The Huffington Post |publisher=AOL |access-date=August 2, 2013 |archive-date=July 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727144053/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scout-phd/a-male-b-female-c-both-d-neither_b_2887462.html |url-status=live}} * {{cite book |title=The Transgender Studies Reader |editor-last=Stryker |editor-first=Susan |editor1-link=Susan Stryker |editor2-last=Whittle |editor2-first=Stephen |editor2-link=Stephen Whittle |year=2006 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=978-1-58005-184-2 |oclc=50389309}} {{refend}}
==External links== * {{Wiktionary inline|non-binary}} * [https://www.thetrevorproject.org/trvr_support_center/trans-gender-identity The Trevor Project] a suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit organization for LGBTQ+ young people
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Category:Non-binary gender Category:Feminist terminology Category:Gender identity Category:Neologisms Category:Third gender Category:Transgender identities