Family

Revision as of 23:48, 3 May 2021 by imported>TXJ (→‎Being a nonbinary parent)

This page is for collecting resources on the topic of family that have to do with nonbinary identity.

A rhombus is a botanical symbol for a plant of unknown sex, as well as a standard family tree symbol for a person of unknown gender.

Family and relationship words

Some nonbinary people don't feel right about being called words that give an idea of being female or male. Many words for family titles and relationships do: mother, brother, husband, girlfriend, and so on. Nonbinary people who prefer to be called by gender-neutral words can ask to be instead called parent, sibling, spouse, datemate, and so on. See the page Gender neutral language in English#Family and relationship words for a long list. This includes some new words that are not just gender-neutral, but specifically for nonbinary people only.

Being a nonbinary parent

Nonbinary Parents Day is celebrated on April 18; this date was chosen by nonbinary parent and educator Johnny Blazes.[1][2]

In the US state of North Carolina, December 6 is formally recognized as Gender Expansive Parents' Day since 2020.[3]

Family trees

A diagram of a person's family is called a genogram or pedigree. These diagrams use a symbols for different kinds of people and relationships. This includes some standard symbols for a person's sex or gender. A square represents a man or boy, and a circle represents a woman or girl. The standard genogram symbol for a person whose gender is unknown is a rhombus or triangle. Some nonbinary people, if they are put into a family tree diagram, may prefer to have themselves represented by a genderless symbol.

In the Journal of Genetic Counseling in 2020, a group of scientists proposed a downward-pointing equilateral triangle to be the pedigree symbol for a nonbinary or gender questioning person, with additional markings to indicate assigned sex.[4]

Marriage

Nonbinary people who have a legal gender of "X" (or something else besides M or F) may face barriers to marriage, especially in places that define marriage as "between a man and a woman", as happened in Australia for intersex nonbinary person Tony Briffa. Additionally, some jurisdictions offer M and F as the only options on applications for marriage, requiring nonbinary people to misgender themselves even if they have other documents recognizing their nonbinary gender.[5]

See also

References

  1. "Celebrating Nonbinary Parents Day with Parent & Educator Johnny Blazes". Family Equality. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  2. debi (18 April 2021). "Happy Nonbinary Parents Day!". Trans Families. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  3. Vaughan, Dawn Baumgartner (4 December 2020). "A day to celebrate all parents, including LGBTQ parents, in NC". The News & Observer. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  4. Tuite; et al. (2020). "Beyond circles and squares: A commentary on updating pedigree nomenclature to better represent patient diversity". Journal of Genetic Counseling. doi:10.1002/jgc4.1234. Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
  5. Sosin, Kate (4 August 2019). "Can You Actually Get Married With a Non-Binary ID?". NewNowNext. Retrieved 12 November 2020.