Nonbinary gender in fiction: Difference between revisions

    (→‎Books and other literature: Added Jacqueline Carey's Starless to the media entries. I tried really hard to avoid spoilers!)
    imported>Sekhet
    (Moving entries from "nonbinary gender" to "fictional sexes" whenever the characters are justified as nonbinary only because they have fictional sexes. Correcting formatting. Updated information about Stevonnie. Added Sailor Uranus, though I'd appreciate more and better sources about her from some fans who know where to look.)
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    * ''Stone Butch Blues'' by [[Leslie Feinberg]], a semi-autobiographical novel about a [[butch]] named Jess Goldberg, and the trials and tribulations she faces growing up in the United States before the Stonewall riots. Feinberg defines butch as a gender identity neither female nor male.
    * ''Stone Butch Blues'' by [[Leslie Feinberg]], a semi-autobiographical novel about a [[butch]] named Jess Goldberg, and the trials and tribulations she faces growing up in the United States before the Stonewall riots. Feinberg defines butch as a gender identity neither female nor male.
    *''Take Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica'' edited by Tristan Taormino
    *''Take Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica'' edited by Tristan Taormino
    *In ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Left_Hand_of_Darkness The Left Hand of Darnkess]'' by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_K._Le_Guin Ursula K. Le Guin], the inhabitants of Gethen are referred to as ambisexual, and lack sex characteristics for the majority of the lunar cycle.
    *In ''Surface Detail'', the character Yime Nsokyi is "neuter-gendered" and has an intersex body by choice.
    *In ''Surface Detail'', the character Yime Nsokyi is "neuter-gendered" and has an intersex body by choice.
    *At the end of "Freakboy", the main character, Brendan Chase identifies themselves as [[genderfluid]]. The book is primarily about their transition, and does end on a depressing note regarding their gender."
    *At the end of ''Freakboy'', the main character, Brendan Chase identifies themselves as [[genderfluid]]. The book is primarily about their transition, and does end on a depressing note regarding their gender."
    *In Sam Farren's novel "Dragonoak: The Complete History of Kastelir" (2015) and its sequel "Dragonoak: The Sky Beneath the Sun" (2015), several nonbinary characters play important roles. All of them use "they" pronouns and are only described in gender-neutral terms. Their gender is not their defining feature - the novel's fictional society treats nonbinary genders as just as normal as binary ones. The author also identifies as nonbinary.
    *In Sam Farren's novel ''Dragonoak: The Complete History of Kastelir'' (2015) and its sequel ''Dragonoak: The Sky Beneath the Sun'' (2015), several nonbinary characters play important roles. All of them use "they" pronouns and are only described in gender-neutral terms. Their gender is not their defining feature - the novel's fictional society treats nonbinary genders as just as normal as binary ones. The author also identifies as nonbinary.
    * The main character in "Damsel Knight" by Sam Austin spends much of the book gender questioning, and ends questioning but also settled into an identity somewhere between male and female. She eventually chooses female pronouns and a male name.
    * The main character in "Damsel Knight" by Sam Austin spends much of the book gender questioning, and ends questioning but also settled into an identity somewhere between male and female. She eventually chooses female pronouns and a male name.
    * Alex Fierro is a genderfluid character from the book series Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, by Rick Riordan. Alex switches between she/her and he/him pronouns. She first appears in the book ''The Hammer of Thor''. He is the love interest of the main character of the series, Magnus Chase.
    * Alex Fierro is a genderfluid character from the book series Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, by Rick Riordan. Alex switches between she/her and he/him pronouns. She first appears in the book ''The Hammer of Thor''. He is the love interest of the main character of the series, Magnus Chase.
    *In Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's collaborative novel ''Good Omens,''  Neil Gaiman has confirmed that both of the main characters are non-binary, and they present as different genders at times in both the book and the 2019 tv-series (Crowley presenting as female as a nanny, and Aziraphale presenting as female while possessing madame Tracy). The characters usually present as males, and don't show any inclination to correct people on using masculine pronouns, but this is presented more as them not caring, and less them defining themself as males. The book specifically says that all angels and demons in it are neither male nor female.
    *''Halfway Human'' by Carolyn Ives Gilman is from the perspective of Tedla, an adult nonbinary character in a high science fiction setting [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1082276.Halfway_Human]. It is worth noting that this portrayal deals with the genderless as a sub-class of people.
    *''Halfway Human'' by Carolyn Ives Gilman is from the perspective of Tedla, an adult nonbinary character in a high science fiction setting [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1082276.Halfway_Human]. It is worth noting that this portrayal deals with the genderless as a sub-class of people.
    *'' Starless''* by Jacqueline Carey includes a major character who discovers their own identity and unique relationship with gender while tracelling all over their world in an effort to prevent an ancient consuming darkness. They encounter a number of different cultural expressions of gender and expected gender roles and eventually find their own place among them.
    *'' Starless''* by Jacqueline Carey includes a major character who discovers their own identity and unique relationship with gender while tracelling all over their world in an effort to prevent an ancient consuming darkness. They encounter a number of different cultural expressions of gender and expected gender roles and eventually find their own place among them.
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    *''[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0001.html Order of the Stick]'' by Rich Burlew - Webcomic parody of Dungeons & Dragons. One of the main characters is an androgynous-looking elven mage named Vaarsuvius. Their gender and sex are never explicitly revealed, and they are referred to using male and female pronouns by other characters, but the author has said that these are the views of other characters and may not reflect the reality. We later learn that Vaarsuvius is married and has two adopted children, refers to their partner with gender-neutral terms, and that the children (translated from Elvish) call the two adults 'Parent' and 'Other Parent'.
    *''[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0001.html Order of the Stick]'' by Rich Burlew - Webcomic parody of Dungeons & Dragons. One of the main characters is an androgynous-looking elven mage named Vaarsuvius. Their gender and sex are never explicitly revealed, and they are referred to using male and female pronouns by other characters, but the author has said that these are the views of other characters and may not reflect the reality. We later learn that Vaarsuvius is married and has two adopted children, refers to their partner with gender-neutral terms, and that the children (translated from Elvish) call the two adults 'Parent' and 'Other Parent'.
    *''[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25898265-username Username: Evie]'' by Joe Sugg - Sci-fi graphic novel about a teenage girl's adventures in a virtual universe. One character, Unity, has an androgynous appearance and was coded "to represent every man and woman here". Other characters seem to be unable to gender them (e.g. "I've seen that guy before. Or is it a girl?").
    *''[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25898265-username Username: Evie]'' by Joe Sugg - Sci-fi graphic novel about a teenage girl's adventures in a virtual universe. One character, Unity, has an androgynous appearance and was coded "to represent every man and woman here". Other characters seem to be unable to gender them (e.g. "I've seen that guy before. Or is it a girl?").
    * In the Sailor Moon franchise, across the various comic and animated adaptations (not counting bowdlerized English dubs), there are some characters who aren't gender conforming.
    ** One such character is Haruka Tenoh, whose heroic alter-ego is Sailor Uranus. She looks like a masculine woman, and is in a lesbian relationship with Sailor Neptune. Japanese has several different first-person pronouns (equivalent to "I, me") that speakers can use to express their gender. Sailor Uranus uses the informal masculine first-person pronoun "boku" for herself. She alternates between feminine attire (including a uniform with a skirt) and dressing in such a masculine way that other characters think she is a man, so she is gender nonconforming. Because all Senshi are women, she is necessarily a woman, at least in some way. However, some dialog in the canon talks about Haruka's gender, and fans disagree on how to interpret these remarks. In the manga, Sailor Neptune tells Sailor Moon, “Uranus is both a man and a woman. A soldier of both genders, with strengths and personalities of each.” This line also appears in the animated adaptation, in Sailor Moon Crystal. In the manga, when Sailor Moon (in her alter ego as Usagi) directly asks Haruka if she is a man or a woman, Haruka responds, “A man or a woman… is it that important?” (Or, depending on the translation: "Man, woman... why should something like that matter?")<ref>SailorSoapbox, "Setting The Record Straight: Haruka’s Gender & The Prince Uranus 'Scandal'." ''The Art of (Overanalyzing) Animation'' (blog). January 29, 2014. https://overanalyzinganimation.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/setting-the-record-straight-harukas-gender-identity-the-prince-uranus-scandal</ref> Fans have variously interpreted these remarks in the canon as meaning that Haruka is a butch lesbian woman who is in touch with her masculine side, and/or physically intersex, and/or that her gender identity is not strictly male or female. This is with the understanding that in the 1990s in Japan, we did not have the widely-known familiarity with or jargon for nonbinary identities that we have today, but people with nonbinary identities did exist in that time and place. The characters in Sailor Moon are all based around astrological symbolism, so it's relevant that Uranus is a planet associated with gender nonconformity and same-gender attraction. These associations with the planet Uranus in astrology are so widely known that in the 1870s, one of the first movements for LGBT rights referred to themselves as [[history of nonbinary gender#1870s|Uranians]].


    ===Movies===
    ===Movies===
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    * In the Faction Paradox novel ''This Town Will Never Let Us Go...'' by Philip Purser-Hallard (a [[Gender in Doctor Who|Doctor Who]] spinoff), there is a species of posthumans who are engineered to change sex from male to female as they mature. Some of these transformations are never completed. One of the main characters, Keth Marrane, is part of this species and has a body with both male and female characteristics. Marrane is fully happy with this body and is referred to as a "hermaphrodite" by other characters; a word without negative connotations in the cultures that are described. Marrane uses "one" pronouns when narrating.
    * In the Faction Paradox novel ''This Town Will Never Let Us Go...'' by Philip Purser-Hallard (a [[Gender in Doctor Who|Doctor Who]] spinoff), there is a species of posthumans who are engineered to change sex from male to female as they mature. Some of these transformations are never completed. One of the main characters, Keth Marrane, is part of this species and has a body with both male and female characteristics. Marrane is fully happy with this body and is referred to as a "hermaphrodite" by other characters; a word without negative connotations in the cultures that are described. Marrane uses "one" pronouns when narrating.
    * Adam Rex's sci-fi novel, ''The True Meaning of Smekday'' (2007), features the Boov, an alien people with seven genders (boy, girl, girlboy, boygirl, boyboy, boyboygirl, and boyboyboyboy) based on their fish-like role in fertilizing an egg after they lay it in a designated part of town. Because of the impersonal way they reproduce, Boov society is egalitarian and aromantic. The sequel, ''Smek for President'' (2015), has a girlboy character named Ponch Sandhandler. She-he is addressed as "ladyfellow," and by she-he pronouns. The movie loosely based on the books, ''Home'' (2015), doesn't directly mention anything about Boov gender, and only refers to any Boov by he pronouns.
    * Adam Rex's sci-fi novel, ''The True Meaning of Smekday'' (2007), features the Boov, an alien people with seven genders (boy, girl, girlboy, boygirl, boyboy, boyboygirl, and boyboyboyboy) based on their fish-like role in fertilizing an egg after they lay it in a designated part of town. Because of the impersonal way they reproduce, Boov society is egalitarian and aromantic. The sequel, ''Smek for President'' (2015), has a girlboy character named Ponch Sandhandler. She-he is addressed as "ladyfellow," and by she-he pronouns. The movie loosely based on the books, ''Home'' (2015), doesn't directly mention anything about Boov gender, and only refers to any Boov by he pronouns.
    * In ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Left_Hand_of_Darkness The Left Hand of Darnkess]'' by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_K._Le_Guin Ursula K. Le Guin], the inhabitants of the planet Gethen are referred to as ambisexual, and lack sex characteristics for the majority of the lunar cycle, which they acquire in order to reproduce.
    * In Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's collaborative novel ''Good Omens,''  Neil Gaiman has confirmed that both of the main characters are non-binary, and they present as different genders at times in both the book and the 2019 tv-series (Crowley presenting as female as a nanny, and Aziraphale presenting as female while possessing madame Tracy). The characters usually present as males, and don't show any inclination to correct people on using masculine pronouns, but this is presented more as them not caring, and less them defining themself as males. The book specifically says that all angels and demons in it are neither male nor female, which is the standard belief about [[Gender variance in Christianity#Angels in Christianity|angels in Christianity]].


    ===Comics and graphic novels===
    ===Comics and graphic novels===
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    * Time Lords in ''[[Gender in Doctor Who|Doctor Who]]'' are able to transform their bodies in order to prevent death, giving them a new personality each time they undergo this process. See [[Gender in Doctor Who]] for more information.
    * Time Lords in ''[[Gender in Doctor Who|Doctor Who]]'' are able to transform their bodies in order to prevent death, giving them a new personality each time they undergo this process. See [[Gender in Doctor Who]] for more information.
    * "Simoun" takes place in a world that recognizes three genders: male, female, and a feminine "maiden" gender which everyone is assigned at birth. When people in this world come of age, they're required to give up the "maiden" gender and commit to male or female--those who do not choose have it chosen for them. Several of the main characters, including the two leads, decide that they do not want to be men or women, but rather keep their "maiden" gender, which goes against the rules of society. Despite the maiden gender being feminine, the fact that choosing to keep it is regarded as significantly different from choosing to become a woman shows that it is a third gender role and not the same as womanhood.
    * "Simoun" takes place in a world that recognizes three genders: male, female, and a feminine "maiden" gender which everyone is assigned at birth. When people in this world come of age, they're required to give up the "maiden" gender and commit to male or female--those who do not choose have it chosen for them. Several of the main characters, including the two leads, decide that they do not want to be men or women, but rather keep their "maiden" gender, which goes against the rules of society. Despite the maiden gender being feminine, the fact that choosing to keep it is regarded as significantly different from choosing to become a woman shows that it is a third gender role and not the same as womanhood.
    * ''Steven Universe'' is about an alien kind called Gems, who all look similar to human women, except for the half-human Gem named Steven. The show creator, Rebecca Sugar, says the Gems aren't female: "Steven is the first and only male Gem, because he is half human! Technically, there are no female Gems! There are only Gems!"<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2e4gmx/i_am_rebecca_sugar_creator_of_steven_universe_and/cjw8e1p</ref> The Gems are called by [[Pronouns#She|she]] pronouns just because it's easy: Sugar said, "There's a 50 50 chance to use some pronoun on Earth, so why not feminine ones-- it's as convenient as it is arbitrary!"<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2e4gmx/i_am_rebecca_sugar_creator_of_steven_universe_and/cjw8ztw/</ref> In a later interview, Rebecca stated outright that "the Gems are all nonbinary women. [...] They wouldn’t think of themselves as women, but they’re fine with being interpreted that way amongst humans." (She also identified herself as a nonbinary woman in this same interview.)<ref>[https://the1a.org/audio/#/shows/2018-07-09/the-mind-behind-americas-most-empathetic-cartoon/114886/ The Mind Behind America's Most Empathetic Cartoon], July 09 2018</ref> Furthermore, Gems can temporarily fuse together to become a combined being. In episode "Alone Together", the aforementioned Steven manages to pull off this skill with human girl Connie, resulting in a fusion named "Stevonnie." When asked about Stevonnie's gender, Rebecca Sugar replied that "Stevonnie is an experience! The living relationship between Steven and Connie," describing them as a "metaphor that is so complex and so specific but also really, really relatable, in the form of a character."<ref>http://io9.com/steven-universe-guidebook-spills-the-secrets-of-the-cry-1704470546</ref> In that episode, the characters don't use any pronouns for Stevonnie ([[Pronouns#No pronouns|no pronouns]]), but [http://steven-universe.wikia.com/wiki/Matt_Burnett Matt Burnett] confirmed on Twitter that Stevonnie uses they/them pronouns.<ref>https://twitter.com/mcburnett/status/620637717731217408</ref>.
    * ''Steven Universe'' is about an alien kind called Gems, who all look similar to human women, except for the half-human Gem named Steven. The show creator, Rebecca Sugar, says the Gems aren't female: "Steven is the first and only male Gem, because he is half human! Technically, there are no female Gems! There are only Gems!"<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2e4gmx/i_am_rebecca_sugar_creator_of_steven_universe_and/cjw8e1p</ref> The Gems are called by [[Pronouns#She|she]] pronouns just because it's easy: Sugar said, "There's a 50 50 chance to use some pronoun on Earth, so why not feminine ones-- it's as convenient as it is arbitrary!"<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2e4gmx/i_am_rebecca_sugar_creator_of_steven_universe_and/cjw8ztw/</ref> In a later interview, Rebecca stated outright that "the Gems are all nonbinary women. [...] They wouldn’t think of themselves as women, but they’re fine with being interpreted that way amongst humans." (She also identified herself as a nonbinary woman in this same interview.)<ref>[https://the1a.org/audio/#/shows/2018-07-09/the-mind-behind-americas-most-empathetic-cartoon/114886/ The Mind Behind America's Most Empathetic Cartoon], July 09 2018</ref> Furthermore, Gems can temporarily fuse together to become a combined being. In episode "Alone Together", the aforementioned Steven manages to pull off this skill with human girl Connie, resulting in a fusion named "Stevonnie." When asked about Stevonnie's gender, Rebecca Sugar replied that "Stevonnie is an experience! The living relationship between Steven and Connie," describing them as a "metaphor that is so complex and so specific but also really, really relatable, in the form of a character."<ref>http://io9.com/steven-universe-guidebook-spills-the-secrets-of-the-cry-1704470546</ref> [http://steven-universe.wikia.com/wiki/Matt_Burnett Matt Burnett] confirmed on Twitter that Stevonnie uses they/them pronouns,<ref>https://twitter.com/mcburnett/status/620637717731217408</ref> which do get used for Stevonnie in later episodes. Later, in a 2019 public service announcement about self-esteem and social media, which is also part of the canon, Stevonnie is briefly seen scrolling past their Instagram profile, in which they have described themself with the words "nonbinary" and "intersex."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pride.com/geek/2019/6/26/cartoon-network-confirmed-steven-universe-character-intersex|last=Ermac|first=Raffy|title=Cartoon Network Confirmed This ''Steven Universe'' Character Is Intersex|date=June 26, 2019|website=Pride.com|accessdate=September 10, 2019}}</ref> These are both real human identities and conditions, even though Stevonnie's origins are only possible in fiction.
    * Izana Shinatose in Knights of Sidonia is neither female nor male, but has the ability to eventually choose a sex if they fall in love.  Izana's uniform is different from that of her classmates, reflecting her lack of gender (while females have skirts and males wear pants, Izana wears shorts). This gender is given the name of "middlesex" in the second season. Izana's body does eventually become female after falling in love with Nagate, against her conscious wishes and to her dismay.
    * Izana Shinatose in Knights of Sidonia is neither female nor male, but has the ability to eventually choose a sex if they fall in love.  Izana's uniform is different from that of her classmates, reflecting her lack of gender (while females have skirts and males wear pants, Izana wears shorts). This gender is given the name of "middlesex" in the second season. Izana's body does eventually become female after falling in love with Nagate, against her conscious wishes and to her dismay.


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