History of nonbinary gender: Difference between revisions

===1940s=== <!--T:41-->

[[File:Claude Cahun.jpg|thumb|Claude Cahun.]]

===1970s=== <!--T:45-->

[[File:D.J._Beck.PNG|thumb|280px|D.J. Beck, who described themself as neither male nor female in a 1978 interview published in ''Philadelphia Gay News''.]]

* Up until the 1970s, LGBT people of all kinds largely had a sense of being on the same side together. A major rift started in 1979, when [[woman#cisgender women|cisgender woman]] Janice Raymond wrote the book ''Transsexual Empire,'' which outlined her transphobic conspiracy theory which told cisgender women to fear trans women. This started the [[cissexism|trans-exclusionary movement]]. As a result, many [[feminism|feminist]], lesbian, and women-only spaces became hostile to trans women. This dividing issue made it difficult for feminism to develop an understanding of transgender issues in general. In response, the movement of transgender studies began with an essay by trans woman Sandy Stone in 1987.<ref>"History of transgenderism in the United States." ''Wikipedia.'' Retrieved November 29, 2014. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_transgenderism_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_transgenderism_in_the_United_States]</ref> Today, the term TERF (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist) means supposed feminists who discriminate against [[woman#transgender women|trans women]].

* A 1978 issue of ''Philadelphia Gay News'' contains an interview with someone who started a [[transfeminine]] [[transition]], lived as a woman for a year and a a half, then ceased taking feminizing hormones. The person, going by the name [[D.J. Beck]] at the time, states in the interview that "[Our culture feels] that one must be male or one must be female. Our society demands that you cannot be both, you cannot be in between, you cannot be flexible." and "As much as I felt uncomfortable as a male, I felt unnatural as a female." The interview concludes with Beck saying, "I learned that I'm something that we haven't put a label on yet. I'm something that I think a lot of men and women will someday be able to accept and admit they are: people of a personal psyche that doesn't have to be male or female. [...] The time is coming when we will quit thinking in terms of he or she, and live in the shades of gray." <ref>{{cite journal|date=October 15, 1978|title=Turning back from a one-way journey|journal=Philadelphia Gay News|last=Cwiek|first=Tim|pages=7, 10, 16 |url=https://voices.revealdigital.org/?a=d&d=JDJAJHJJF19781015.1.10&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN---------------1}}</ref> If Beck was alive today, they may have identified under the nonbinary/genderqueer umbrella.

====2010==== <!--T:82-->

*In August, a user on the Asexual Visibility and Education Network forums took the "demi-" from "demiromantic" and came up with the term "demiguy".<ref>https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/52633-transwhatevers-of-aven/page/20/?tab=comments#comment-1615634</ref> This concept would eventually catch on and broaden into an array of [[demigender]] labels.

*In December, the US state of Arkansas enacted a policy allowing gender on drivers' licenses and state ID cards to be changed to M, F, or X with "no questions asked, no documentation required". However, this policy received very little attention until 2018.<ref name="Qong">{{Cite web |title=Arkansas Has Been Offering A Nonbinary Gender Option On State IDs For Years |last=Wong |first=Curtis M. |work=HuffPost |date=October 17, 2018 |access-date=June 1, 2020 |url= https://www.huffpost.com/entry/arkansas-gender-neutral-state-id-option_n_5bc79f75e4b0d38b5874a669}}</ref>

[[File:Anjali gopalan.jpg|thumb|<translate><!--T:60--> Asia's first gender queer pride parade in Madurai, 2012.</translate>]]

<translate>

*On 14th July, the first annual [[International Nonbinary Day]], created by [[Katje van Loon]], was celebrated.

{{Clear}}

* Singer, songwriter, and actor [[Miley Cyrus]] explained she didn't relate to being a girl or a boy.<ref name=cyrusout>{{Cite web |title=Exclusive: Miley Cyrus Launches Anti-Homelessness, Pro-LGBT ‘Happy Hippie Foundation’ |last=Krochmal |first=Shana Naomi |work=out.com |date=May 5, 2015 |access-date=October 27, 2020 |url= https://www.out.com/music/2015/5/05/exclusive-miley-cyrus-launches-anti-homelessness-pro-lgbt-happy-hippie-foundation}}</ref>

*The Washington Post style guide was updated to allow use of [[singular they]], with Post copy editor Bill Walsh saying: {{quote|What finally pushed me from acceptance to action on [[gender neutral pronouns|gender-neutral pronouns]] was the increasing visibility of [[gender-neutral]] people. The Post has run at least one profile of a person who identifies as neither male nor female and specifically requests ''they'' and the like instead of ''he'' or ''she''. Trans and [[genderqueer]] awareness will raise difficult questions down the road, with some people requesting [[Neopronouns|newly invented or even individually made-up pronouns]]. [...] But simply allowing ''they'' for a [[gender-nonconforming]] person is a no-brainer. And once we've done that, why not allow it for the most awkward of those ''he or she'' situations that have troubled us for so many years?<ref>{{cite web |date= December 4, 2015 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-post-drops-the-mike--and-the-hyphen-in-e-mail/2015/12/04/ccd6e33a-98fa-11e5-8917-653b65c809eb_story.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200117232610/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-post-drops-the-mike--and-the-hyphen-in-e-mail/2015/12/04/ccd6e33a-98fa-11e5-8917-653b65c809eb_story.html |archive-date=January 17, 2020 |last=Walsh |first=Bill |title=The Post drops the 'mike' — and the hyphen in 'e-mail'}}</ref>}}

* The American Psychological Association (APA) Style Guide was updated to endorse the use of [[singular they]]: "Writers should use the singular 'they' in two main cases: (a) when referring to a generic person whose gender is unknown or irrelevant to the context and (b) when referring to a specific, known person who uses 'they' as their pronoun."<ref name="LeeAPA">{{Cite web |title=Welcome, singular “they” |last=Lee |first=Chelsea |work=APA Style |date=31 October 2019 |access-date=21 June 2020 |url= https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/singular-they}}</ref>

====2020==== <!--T:88-->

*In the US state of North Carolina, December 6 was formally recognized by the legislature as Gender Expansive Parents' Day.<ref name="news_Aday">{{Cite web |title=A day to celebrate all parents, including LGBTQ parents, in NC |last=Vaughan |first=Dawn Baumgartner |work=The News & Observer |date=4 December 2020 |access-date=4 January 2021 |url= https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article247605375.html}}</ref>

*Early in January, in Iceland, private businesses and government offices alike began to offer "male, female, nonbinary, [[other]], and the option to decline to answer" regarding gender registrations. This was the taking effect of a gender determination law that was passed in June 2019.<ref name="IcelandGrapevine">{{Cite web |title=Nonbinary Gender Registration Finally Opens In Iceland |last=Fontaine |first=Andie Sophia |work=The Reykjavik Grapevine |date=8 January 2021 |access-date=10 January 2021 |url= https://grapevine.is/news/2021/01/08/nonbinary-gender-registration-finally-opens-in-iceland/}}</ref>

*In April, Dictionary.com officially added the word "enby"<ref name="Kinlaw">{{Cite web |title=OPINION: 'Sourdough' finally gets its own entry in online dictionary |last=Kinlaw |first=Bernadette |work=Arkansas Online |date=19 April 2021 |access-date=19 April 2021 |url= https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/apr/19/dictionary-has-added-new-words/?features-style }}</ref> with the definition "a person whose gender identity is nonbinary, not fitting into the male/female division (often used attributively)."<ref name="dictionary.com">{{Cite web |title=Definition of enby |author= |work=Dictionary.com |date= |access-date=19 April 2021 |url= https://www.dictionary.com/browse/enby}}</ref>