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DIVA article on non-binary gender

DIVA article on non-binary gender

I wrote an article for  DIVA magazine last month (the September 2013 issue) on non-binary gender. DIVA kindly allowed me to reproduce the article here:

Beyond the binary: Gender outside of the two-box world

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Last month, when I flew to the states, the flight attendants frequently referred to me as ‘Sir’ when they appeared behind me with the drinks trolley. Once I’d spoken they’d correct themselves, flustered, ‘I’m sorry Madam’. Neither word really feels like it refers to me.

Once out in America a waitress greeted me and my friends (a cis lass and a trans guy) as ‘ladies’: a term which none of us related to.

Later on it felt good to share stories about the confusion and discomfort we’d received from department store staff when shopping for clothes. The group I hung out with included transmasculine folk, butch women, and people who identified as non-binary.

This latter term is one which I increasingly relate to myself. So what is it like if neither of the accepted gender labels fit?

DIVA spoke to several non-binary people, as well as to professionals who work across the gender spectrum, to find out how it is to occupy a place outside the binary. The main message is that, like bisexual or gay people, non-binary people are ordinary folk who should be treated with the same respect as anybody, rather than as some kind of special case.

Non-binary identities

As with categories like lesbian or bisexual, non-binary covers a vast range of experiences, which may have little in common. Some people incorporate elements of masculinity and femininity (bigender). Others regard themselves as between genders, having a third gender, not having a gender at all, or shifting gender over time (gender fluid). Some recognise multiple genders (pangender) or explicitly want to challenge the binary (genderqueer or genderfuck). Of the people DIVA spoke to, one was androgynous, another genderqueer, and a third non-gendered.

Language is important here because so many of our words are gendered. Many non-binary people have embraced the – perfectly grammatical – pronoun they (rather than he/she), and some have developed alternative pronouns (like zie, per or hir). There is a useful video about this here (although it is important to remember that some prefer alternatives to ‘they’ for good reasons):

Some use different names in different contexts, or gender-neutral names. Some adopt the title Mx as opposed to Mr/Ms, and words like boi or grrrl are also popular. If you are unsure, the best thing is just to ask what a person’s preference is.

Non-binary, intersex and trans

For many people non-binary gender is unrelated to their biological sex, whereas for some these aspects are related. One such person, Lola, said: “I want people to know that intersex people exist and that sex is actually not a binary either.” As biologist Anne Fausto-Sterling puts it: “While male and female stand on the extreme ends of a biological continuum, there are many bodies […] that evidently mix together anatomical components conventionally attributed to both males and females.” Between 0.5 to 2% of people are intersex, but don’t assume that all intersex people will see themselves as non-binary, or that all non-binary people are intersex.

Being non-binary is part of the wider trans umbrella. Therapist and academic Alex Iantaffi says that “around 10-15% of trans folks seem to identify outside of the gender binary. People with non-binary identities might seek some level of body modification, because this allows them to more fully express their gender identity, but they might also not seek any body modification at all”.

Such modifications are possible these days as medics increasingly recognise genders beyond the binary. Christina Richards, who is a senior specialist psychology associate in two NHS gender identity clinics (GICs), says: “There is a common assumption that GICs only see people who wish to transition to male or female, however this is simply not true. At the two GICs I work for (and many other GICs) we see people from a whole spectrum of gender backgrounds with a wide variety of needs and wishes.”

As with sexuality, which we know can be quite fluid over a lifetime, some non-binary people remain fixed in their gender while others shift. Researcher, Lisa Diamond, found that many lesbian or bisexual women changed their identity over time. Similarly, some folk identify as non-binary and later as binary (and vice versa). Christina Richards recommends that people are mindful of this when considering changes to their names or bodies. It is important to be respectful whether non-binary is a stable identity or part of a process.

While there is more awareness of non-binary these days it has always been around. Musician and activist CN Lester says ‘people other than men or women are nothing new – there’s so much out there, if you’re willing to open your eyes to it.”

Being Non-binary

Just like being out as lesbian or bisexual, there are many benefits to being open about non-binary gender, including the sense of being true to your experience, the possibility of meeting others and forming supportive communities, and the potential to be part of wider protests against gender inequalities and rigid ideas about gender.

However there are, of course, challenges. These are similar to those we face by being lesbian when it is regarded as normal to be straight or – perhaps even more similarly – bisexual when it is considered normal to be attracted to only one gender.

Christina Richards says non-binary people must “negotiate a complex path between an authentic sense of self outside of the gender binary and the pragmatic reality of the two gender system”. According to CN Lester this means there is “an enormous struggle simply to be recognised as ourselves – society is so invested in policing a strict gender binary, and the costs of going against that can be high”. Specific issues include “lack of legal recognition, discrimination in education, in the workplace, in social spaces, and problems with healthcare”.

Alex Iantaffi points out that, as for many LGBT&Q people, constant daily micro-aggressions really mount up, such as being misgendered, asked intrusive questions, and having to decide whether to come out multiple times. “The challenges range from toilet access to legal/medical forms to pronouns to other people invalidating identities.”

There are also severe aggressions against non-binary people. Many share the experience, particularly during childhood, of being ridiculed and attacked for not fitting the gender rules. Lola says “I strove for most of my life to be ‘normal’ and part of this included behaving like a binary person should stereotypically behave. I constantly failed at that and was consistently bullied.”

What can we all do?

Experiences of wider LGB&T communities are mixed. CN Lester says: “I’ve found some very supportive people – I’ve also been sexually harassed, insulted, excluded. I’ve had many lesbians tell me that I’m letting the side down, and that I’m ‘obviously’ a butch lesbian – I’ve had quite a few gay men try to treat me as a kind of erotic experiment.”

Lola reports that “being non-binary is difficult because people don’t take it seriously. You’re not a real trans person to a lot of people”. There can be tensions between non-binary and binary trans people, whilst others are welcoming of diversity while appreciating the differences.

It is helpful to use wording which demonstrate awareness. For example, if you’re putting on a women’s event or network you might adapt the wording from the excellent SM Dykes: “We welcome all people who live full time as women as well as genderqueer, non-binary, intersex and transmasculine people who feel that they have links to women’s communities.” It would be great to have explicitly trans and non-binary events too of course.

We might also consider ensuring there are non-gendered toilets available, supporting those who decide not to gender their kids, and helping with campaigns like Christie Elan-Cane’s fight for non gender-specific “X” passports, as have been introduced in India and Australia.

Perhaps everyone can learn from non-binary folk that gender is more complex than box M or box F. As Lola points out, gender roles are “unrealistic things that no one can really keep up with… they’re almost always about being skinny, able-bodied, white, relatively wealthy, etc..”. Maybe we could agree with Alex Iantaffi that “humans are more creative than the boxes we’d like to give ourselves”.

Some Non-Binary Dos and Don’ts

Do…
  • Say “Hi, fancy some tea and cake?” (We’re just ordinary people, remember).
  • Make it regular practice to ask for preferred pronouns, and do your best to remember.
  • Read articles like this!

 

Don’t…
  • Say “What are you really?”
  • “Check” by groping us.
  • Refer to the gender somebody was assigned at birth as their identity (eg AFAB – assigned female at birth)
  • Say “It’s a phase” or “You’ll feel differently when you transition”.
  • Assume that all non-binary people are young, or androgynous, or want body modifications, or don’t want body modifications, or anything about all non-binary people, really.
  • Beat yourself up if you mess up pronouns. We all do it, including non-binary people. Just correct it and move on.

 

Further reading

 


Meg-John (MJ) Barker (they/them) is a writer, zine-maker, collaborator, contemplative practitioner, and friend. They are the author of a number of zines and popular books on sex, gender, and relationships, including graphic guides to Queer, Gender, and Sexuality (with Jules Scheele), and How To Understand Your Gender, Sexuality and Relationships (with Alex Iantaffi).

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  1. Good article! & thanks to the people at Diva for letting you copy it here (and for publishing it in the first place).

  2. Wotever World

    23 September

    Great article and writing, and exactly why we at Wotever started doing our events and meet ups all those years ago… Spaces where you do not have to conform/chose and BE more than you wanna be. Will def share this. // Ing

  3. Binary Today

    20 August

    I’ve truly never practiced this system, many thanks for conveying it.

  4. Jim Costich

    18 April

    Thanks for writing such a usable and referable article on this topic! I’m an intersex, gay, man of a certain age… who has been using gender neutral everything since coming out as a gay kid and learning the survival techniques of gay men in 1970’s USA- New York. Back then you could be thrown into a mental hospital for life or into prison for dancing with the “same sex” in public if the bar was raided and the protection money not paid up. I heard stories from the 50’s-60’s of flashing lights in bars that signaled everyone to quick change partners from m/m, f/f to m/f and other quaint customs of gender policing . And me with an anatomy that made the whole sordid mess a cruel joke. I have no more physical reason to claim female than male – no gonads, and genitals in between male or female so…. I was afraid for my life of course. So much for Philadelphia Freedom — Elton didn’t know shit. Anyway, we all used gender neutral pronouns etc. so we could talk openly about our love lives without anyone suspecting we were talking about someone of our own gender much less sex. Even today, almost 2020 – gay men of all ages and sexes refer to each other and ourselves by interchangeable pronouns depending on our mood, our behavior, and personality. There are certain women’s names used only to refer to other gay men like Mary Louise, Felicia, Mary Jane, Mary, JOAN….. and the gender implications are complex here – like a friend of mine who does drag is known to have said to a heckler who shouted, “A REAL woman wouldn’t be caught dead in a dress like that!” She replied, dropping his voice into the bass range, “You’re damned right, sister! Only a MAN could pull off a dress like this!” The policing of gender and sex is holding humanity back. The least we can all do is purge ourselves of it once an for all. Yes, for all! Even straight, CIS, mundane people suffer from the bad habit.