Nonbinary gender in fiction: Difference between revisions
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*In Kameron Hurley's fantasy novel, ''Empire Ascendant,'' all people in a consent culture get to choose which of the five gender roles they identify with. Hurley calls characters who are "ungendered" by singular they pronouns.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GUEST POST: Beyond He-Man & She-Ra: Writing Non-Binary Characters by Kameron Hurley |author=Hurley Kameron |work=Intellectus Speculativus |date=3 September 2014 |access-date=27 September 2021 |url= https://intellectusspeculativus.wordpress.com/2014/09/03/guest-post-beyond-he-man-she-ra-writing-non-binary-characters-by-kameron-hurley/}}</ref> | *In Kameron Hurley's fantasy novel, ''Empire Ascendant,'' all people in a consent culture get to choose which of the five gender roles they identify with. Hurley calls characters who are "ungendered" by singular they pronouns.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GUEST POST: Beyond He-Man & She-Ra: Writing Non-Binary Characters by Kameron Hurley |author=Hurley Kameron |work=Intellectus Speculativus |date=3 September 2014 |access-date=27 September 2021 |url= https://intellectusspeculativus.wordpress.com/2014/09/03/guest-post-beyond-he-man-she-ra-writing-non-binary-characters-by-kameron-hurley/}}</ref> | ||
*In a short sci-fi story by Benjanun Sriduangkaew, "[http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/sriduangkaew_12_13/ Silent Bridge, Pale Cascade]" (2013), one of the characters is described as a "[[neutrois]]," and called by "they" pronouns.<ref>Alex Dally MacFarlane, "Post-Binary Gender in SF: ExcitoTech and Non-Binary Pronouns." June 3, 2014. ''Tor.'' http://www.tor.com/blogs/2014/06/post-binary-gender-in-sf-excitotech-and-non-binary-pronouns</ref><ref>Benjanun Sriduangkaew, "Silent Bridge, Pale Cascade." ''Clarkesworld Magazine.'' 2013. http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/sriduangkaew_12_13/</ref> | *In a short sci-fi story by Benjanun Sriduangkaew, "[http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/sriduangkaew_12_13/ Silent Bridge, Pale Cascade]" (2013), one of the characters is described as a "[[neutrois]]," and called by "they" pronouns.<ref>Alex Dally MacFarlane, "Post-Binary Gender in SF: ExcitoTech and Non-Binary Pronouns." June 3, 2014. ''Tor.'' http://www.tor.com/blogs/2014/06/post-binary-gender-in-sf-excitotech-and-non-binary-pronouns</ref><ref>Benjanun Sriduangkaew, "Silent Bridge, Pale Cascade." ''Clarkesworld Magazine.'' 2013. http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/sriduangkaew_12_13/</ref> | ||
* 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." | ||
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* ''Light Up The Dark'', by Suki Fleet, has a minor character named Loz who uses [[singular they]] pronouns. Another character says about Loz: "They don't want to identify as a boy or a girl." | * ''Light Up The Dark'', by Suki Fleet, has a minor character named Loz who uses [[singular they]] pronouns. Another character says about Loz: "They don't want to identify as a boy or a girl." | ||
* ''Kink Aware'', by Morticia Knight, is a BDSM romance book starring a [[genderqueer]] character named Cruella. Cruella uses singular they, and the other protagonist, a man named Ray, says that Cruella is "the first person I've wanted who doesn't identify as male or female." Content note: references to past physical abuse.<ref>{{cite book|title=Kink Aware|last=Knight|first=Morticia|year=2018|publisher=Pride Publishing}}</ref> | * ''Kink Aware'', by Morticia Knight, is a BDSM romance book starring a [[genderqueer]] character named Cruella. Cruella uses singular they, and the other protagonist, a man named Ray, says that Cruella is "the first person I've wanted who doesn't identify as male or female." Content note: references to past physical abuse.<ref>{{cite book|title=Kink Aware|last=Knight|first=Morticia|year=2018|publisher=Pride Publishing}}</ref> | ||
* In ''Recipe for Two'', by Tia Fielding and Lisa Henry, Wyatt Abbot is "struggling to come to terms with the fact that he's [[genderfluid]]."<ref>https://www.amazon.com/Recipe-Two-Tia-Fielding-ebook/dp/B085FZZGJ9/</ref> | * In ''Recipe for Two'', by Tia Fielding and Lisa Henry, Wyatt Abbot is "struggling to come to terms with the fact that he's [[genderfluid]]."<ref>https://www.amazon.com/Recipe-Two-Tia-Fielding-ebook/dp/B085FZZGJ9/</ref> | ||
*''Best Game Ever: A Virtuella Novel'', by R R Angell, is a sci-fi young adult story centering on "a group of gay, nonbinary, and straight college nerds".<ref>https://www.amazon.com/Best-Game-Ever-Virtuella-Novel/dp/1949532097/</ref> | *''Best Game Ever: A Virtuella Novel'', by R R Angell, is a sci-fi young adult story centering on "a group of gay, nonbinary, and straight college nerds".<ref>https://www.amazon.com/Best-Game-Ever-Virtuella-Novel/dp/1949532097/</ref> | ||
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*In ''No More Heroes'', by Michelle Kan, the character Fang is genderfluid and aroace.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/No-More-Heroes-Michelle-Kan-ebook/product-reviews/B010TDJ0BM/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews|title=Customer Reviews for No More Heroes|website=Amazon}}</ref> | *In ''No More Heroes'', by Michelle Kan, the character Fang is genderfluid and aroace.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/No-More-Heroes-Michelle-Kan-ebook/product-reviews/B010TDJ0BM/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews|title=Customer Reviews for No More Heroes|website=Amazon}}</ref> | ||
* ''Finding Me'', by Stella Rainbow, is a romance between a [[genderfluid]] [[nonbinary]] person named Charlie and a [[gender-nonconforming]] man named Brady.<ref>{{cite book |title=Finding Me|last=Rainbow|first=Stella|year=2020}}</ref> | * ''Finding Me'', by Stella Rainbow, is a romance between a [[genderfluid]] [[nonbinary]] person named Charlie and a [[gender-nonconforming]] man named Brady.<ref>{{cite book |title=Finding Me|last=Rainbow|first=Stella|year=2020}}</ref> | ||
* The protagonist of ''Annabel'', written by Kathleen Winter, is [[intersex]] and raised as male, including genital surgery and being put on masculinizing medical treatments. They are given the name "Wayne" but sometimes go by "Annabel", and they identify "at least in part" with femininity/girlhood.<ref>{{cite book |title=Annabel |last=Winter |first=Kathleen |year=2010 |publisher=House of Anansi Press |quote=...he wondered what would happen if he could tell her they were both girls, at least in part.}}</ref> The protagonist's father takes great strides to encourage his child to be more masculine, whereas multiple women encourage the child's feminine side. Wayne/Annabel has been interpreted as nonbinary by some readers, with one reviewer saying the character is "both male/female in both body and soul".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/487958071?book_show_action=false |date=28 December 2012 |title=Laurie's Reviews > Annabel |access-date=13 February 2021}}</ref> Content note: Coercively assigned gender, infant genital surgery, sexual assault, ectopic pregnancy, some inaccurate/unrealistic depiction of intersex experiences. | * The protagonist of ''Annabel'', written by Kathleen Winter, is [[intersex]] and raised as male, including genital surgery and being put on masculinizing medical treatments. They are given the name "Wayne" but sometimes go by "Annabel", and they identify "at least in part" with femininity/girlhood.<ref>{{cite book |title=Annabel |last=Winter |first=Kathleen |year=2010 |publisher=House of Anansi Press |quote=...he wondered what would happen if he could tell her they were both girls, at least in part.}}</ref> The protagonist's father takes great strides to encourage his child to be more masculine, whereas multiple women encourage the child's feminine side. Wayne/Annabel has been interpreted as nonbinary by some readers, with one reviewer saying the character is "both male/female in both body and soul".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/487958071?book_show_action=false |date=28 December 2012 |title=Laurie's Reviews > Annabel |access-date=13 February 2021}}</ref> Content note: Coercively assigned gender, infant genital surgery, sexual assault, ectopic pregnancy, some inaccurate/unrealistic depiction of intersex experiences. | ||
* ''No Man of Woman Born'', by Ana Mardoll, is a collection of fantasy short stories with a range of non-cis protagonists, including trans women, trans men, genderfluid protagonists, bigender protagonists, and agender protagonists.<ref name="IllustratedPage">{{Cite web |title=LGBTQIAP Protagonists in Fantasy and Science Fiction |author= |work=The Illustrated Page |date= |access-date=20 February 2021 |url= https://www.theillustratedpage.net/diversity-in-fantasy-and-science-fiction/lgbtq-protagonists-in-fantasy-and-science-fiction/}}</ref> | * ''No Man of Woman Born'', by Ana Mardoll, is a collection of fantasy short stories with a range of non-cis protagonists, including trans women, trans men, genderfluid protagonists, bigender protagonists, and agender protagonists.<ref name="IllustratedPage">{{Cite web |title=LGBTQIAP Protagonists in Fantasy and Science Fiction |author= |work=The Illustrated Page |date= |access-date=20 February 2021 |url= https://www.theillustratedpage.net/diversity-in-fantasy-and-science-fiction/lgbtq-protagonists-in-fantasy-and-science-fiction/}}</ref> | ||
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* ''Gender Optics'', by genderfluid author [[Shalen Lowell]], has a genderfluid protagonist named Alex. Content note: the novel is set in a world where [[Cisnormativity|cisnormative]] gender ideals are legally enforced.<ref name="Farrell-GenderOptics">{{Cite web |title=An Exclusive Interview with Shalen Lowell, Author of Debut Novel Gender Optics |last=Farrell |first=Robyn Hussa |work=We Are The Real Deal |date=22 March 2021 |access-date=25 August 2021 |url= http://wearetherealdeal.com/2021/03/22/an-exclusive-interview-with-shalen-lowell-author-of-debut-novel-gender-optics/}}</ref> | * ''Gender Optics'', by genderfluid author [[Shalen Lowell]], has a genderfluid protagonist named Alex. Content note: the novel is set in a world where [[Cisnormativity|cisnormative]] gender ideals are legally enforced.<ref name="Farrell-GenderOptics">{{Cite web |title=An Exclusive Interview with Shalen Lowell, Author of Debut Novel Gender Optics |last=Farrell |first=Robyn Hussa |work=We Are The Real Deal |date=22 March 2021 |access-date=25 August 2021 |url= http://wearetherealdeal.com/2021/03/22/an-exclusive-interview-with-shalen-lowell-author-of-debut-novel-gender-optics/}}</ref> | ||
* ''Loveless'', by Alice Oseman, has a nonbinary side character.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=PineappleRobin|number=1401566434170376193 |title=Loveless by Alice Oseman One of my all time favorite books, I love the characters, I love the enemy to love romance between two side characters but the book is mostly about friendships. rep: Aroace MC, lesbian best friend, pansexual roommate, non binary side character|date= 6 June 2021}}</ref> | * ''Loveless'', by Alice Oseman, has a nonbinary side character.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=PineappleRobin|number=1401566434170376193 |title=Loveless by Alice Oseman One of my all time favorite books, I love the characters, I love the enemy to love romance between two side characters but the book is mostly about friendships. rep: Aroace MC, lesbian best friend, pansexual roommate, non binary side character|date= 6 June 2021}}</ref> | ||
====1993==== | |||
*''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. | |||
====1995==== | ====1995==== | ||
*Greg Egan's novel ''Distress'' (1995) includes transgender humans who transition to a specific gender outside the binary that they call "asex", called by [[Pronouns#Ve|ve pronouns]].<ref>John McIntosh, "ve, vis, ver." [http://www.urticator.net/essay/0/30.html]</ref> | *Greg Egan's novel ''Distress'' (1995) includes transgender humans who transition to a specific gender outside the binary that they call "asex", called by [[Pronouns#Ve|ve pronouns]].<ref>John McIntosh, "ve, vis, ver." [http://www.urticator.net/essay/0/30.html]</ref> | ||
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====2008==== | ====2008==== | ||
* ''Down to the Bone'', a young-adult book by Mayra Dole, contains a character named Tazer who self-describes as [[genderqueer]] and a [[boi]]. [[He/him]] pronouns are used for Tazer. Another character describes him as "Tazer is a boy ''and'' a girl". Note: The main plot involves the protagonist being kicked out of her home because of her sexuality, and there are some LGBT-phobic opinions expressed by characters, as well as use of words that could be triggering to readers, such as "homo", "lesbo", and "[[dyke]]".<ref>{{cite book|title=Down to the Bone|year=2008|last= Dole|first= Mayra L.}}</ref> | * ''Down to the Bone'', a young-adult book by Mayra Dole, contains a character named Tazer who self-describes as [[genderqueer]] and a [[boi]]. [[He/him]] pronouns are used for Tazer. Another character describes him as "Tazer is a boy ''and'' a girl". Note: The main plot involves the protagonist being kicked out of her home because of her sexuality, and there are some LGBT-phobic opinions expressed by characters, as well as use of words that could be triggering to readers, such as "homo", "lesbo", and "[[dyke]]".<ref>{{cite book|title=Down to the Bone|year=2008|last= Dole|first= Mayra L.}}</ref> | ||
====2011==== | |||
*''Take Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica'' edited by Tristan Taormino | |||
====2012==== | ====2012==== | ||
*''Beyond Binary: Genderqueer and Sexually Fluid Speculative Fiction'' edited by Brit Mandelo | *''Beyond Binary: Genderqueer and Sexually Fluid Speculative Fiction'' edited by Brit Mandelo | ||
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====2019==== | ====2019==== | ||
* ''Weak Heart'', by Ban Gilmartin, has a nonbinary side character.<ref name="ReadsRainbow2021">{{Cite web |title=Book Recs: Standalone Fantasy |author= |work=Reads Rainbow |date=13 May 2021 |access-date=21 August 2021 |url= https://readsrainbow.com/2021/05/book-recs-standalone-fantasy}}</ref> | * ''Weak Heart'', by Ban Gilmartin, has a nonbinary side character.<ref name="ReadsRainbow2021">{{Cite web |title=Book Recs: Standalone Fantasy |author= |work=Reads Rainbow |date=13 May 2021 |access-date=21 August 2021 |url= https://readsrainbow.com/2021/05/book-recs-standalone-fantasy}}</ref> | ||
* ''All That Entails'', by E.M. Hamill: "A [[gender-fluid]] prince finds an unexpected ally in an arranged marriage with a [[transgender man]]."<ref>https://www.queeromanceink.com/book/all-that-entails/</ref> The genderfluid Prince Dorian is described as having a "fluid nature", "suspended between male and female, one rising, the other ebbing without pattern or reason." | |||
====2020==== | ====2020==== | ||
* ''The First Sister'', by [[Linden A. Lewis]], has multiple protagonists; one of them (Hiro val Akira) is nonbinary and genderqueer.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=lindenalewis |number=1300381570197598218|date=31 August 2020|title=The First Sister is bisexual; I am bisexual. Hiro is nonbinary; I am nonbinary. However, Hiro is Japanese, which I am not. Lito is panromantic asexual, which I am not. In these cases, I hired sensitivity readers for feedback.}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|user=lindenalewis|number=1290286655304171522|title=Tomorrow THE FIRST SISTER releases! Meet Hiro, our final POV char. Hiro val Akira is:[Sparkles] Nonbinary genderqueer (they/them) [Sparkles] A spy-like Dagger [Sparkles] Lito’s former partner [Sparkles] A traitor to the Icarii?!|date= 3 August 2020}}</ref> At one point in the book, someone asks "Hey, Hiro, are you a boy or a girl?" and Hiro answers "I am what I am. Neither. Both. Who cares?"<ref name="Beeson">{{Cite web |title=My Favorite Bit: Linden Lewis talks about THE FIRST SISTER |last=Beeson |first=Donovan |work=Mary Robinette Kowal |date= |access-date=13 July 2021 |url= https://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/my-favorite-bit-linden-lewis-talks-about-the-first-sister/}}</ref> | * ''The First Sister'', by [[Linden A. Lewis]], has multiple protagonists; one of them (Hiro val Akira) is nonbinary and genderqueer.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=lindenalewis |number=1300381570197598218|date=31 August 2020|title=The First Sister is bisexual; I am bisexual. Hiro is nonbinary; I am nonbinary. However, Hiro is Japanese, which I am not. Lito is panromantic asexual, which I am not. In these cases, I hired sensitivity readers for feedback.}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|user=lindenalewis|number=1290286655304171522|title=Tomorrow THE FIRST SISTER releases! Meet Hiro, our final POV char. Hiro val Akira is:[Sparkles] Nonbinary genderqueer (they/them) [Sparkles] A spy-like Dagger [Sparkles] Lito’s former partner [Sparkles] A traitor to the Icarii?!|date= 3 August 2020}}</ref> At one point in the book, someone asks "Hey, Hiro, are you a boy or a girl?" and Hiro answers "I am what I am. Neither. Both. Who cares?"<ref name="Beeson">{{Cite web |title=My Favorite Bit: Linden Lewis talks about THE FIRST SISTER |last=Beeson |first=Donovan |work=Mary Robinette Kowal |date= |access-date=13 July 2021 |url= https://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/my-favorite-bit-linden-lewis-talks-about-the-first-sister/}}</ref> | ||
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* ''All Our Hidden Gifts'', by Caroline O'Donoghue, has a genderfluid love interest.<ref name="magicalreads2021" /> | * ''All Our Hidden Gifts'', by Caroline O'Donoghue, has a genderfluid love interest.<ref name="magicalreads2021" /> | ||
* ''There's Magic Between Us'', by Jillian Maria, has a genderfluid side character.<ref name="magicalreads2021" /> | * ''There's Magic Between Us'', by Jillian Maria, has a genderfluid side character.<ref name="magicalreads2021" /> | ||
* ''Love Kills Twice'', by Rien Gray, is a romance between a woman and the nonbinary assassin she hires to kill her abusive husband. The assassin is named Campbell and uses [[singular they]] pronouns.<ref>https://www.queeromanceink.com/book/love-kills-twice/</ref> | |||
=== Comics/Webcomics/Graphic Novels=== | === Comics/Webcomics/Graphic Novels=== | ||