Notable people who aren't nonbinary

    From Nonbinary Wiki

    Notable people who aren't non-binary is where this wiki lists a few famous contemporary and historical people who may have ended up in the notable nonbinary people article at one point, either because they formerly identified as nonbinary, or who were popularly misrepresented as being nonbinary. This list will be in alphabetical order, by family name.

    Aja[edit | edit source]

    The drag performer Aja lived as nonbinary since 2018, then came out as a trans woman in December 2021.[1]

    Anohni[edit | edit source]

    This wiki previously had an article apparently interpreting the English composer and visual artist Anohni as nonbinary, but not citing sources to support that interpretation, only that Anohni prefers she/her pronouns.[2] In a 2016 essay, Anohni calls herself an "androgynous transwoman." For this reason, we have removed the article that seemed to misrepresent her here.

    jayy dodd[edit | edit source]

    The writer/poet/artist jayy dodd came out as nonbinary in 2016[3], but in December 2020 she stated she is a binary trans woman.[4]

    Tommy Dorfman[edit | edit source]

    Tommy Dorfman (born May 13, 1992) is an American actor known for playing the role of Ryan Shaver in the Netflix drama 13 Reasons Why. Dorfman came out as nonbinary in 2017[5] and had some difficulty finding a talent agency due to discrimination against nonbinary people, with one agent telling Dorfman that being nonbinary was "a fad" which would make the actor a poor investment for the agency.[6]

    Dorfman announced she was a trans woman in July of 2021[7].

    Laganja Estranja[edit | edit source]

    Drag queen Laganja Estranja was previously identifying as nonbinary, but in June 2021 she came out as a trans woman. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she said "I tried to be male and be in-between and nonbinary. The truth is I'm a feminine entity and I can live this life."[8]

    Grimes[edit | edit source]

    The Canadian musician Grimes tweeted in 2015

    « I vibe in a gender neutral space so I'm kinda impartial to pronouns for myself. Don't have a preferred so much but I wish I didn't have to be categorized as female constantly. Everything I ever hear about Grimes is super gendered and it's always really made me uncomfortable. »

    Some people interpreted this to mean that Grimes had a gender neutral identity or that Grimes uses gender neutral pronouns.[9][10] However, Grimes deleted the tweet and has not made any statement on gender since then.

    Amo Hall/Amo Elizabeth[edit | edit source]

    From 2017 to 2019 the reality show star was identifying as nonbinary with singular they pronouns.[11] However, as of 2020, Amo is a trans woman[12] and uses she/her pronouns.[13]

    Jo Kwon[edit | edit source]

    In 2020, the K-pop star Jo Kwon spoke about embracing an androgynous "genderless image". Due to mistranslation, some fans thought that Kwon had come out with a genderless identity.[14][15]

    Anunnaki Ray Marquez[edit | edit source]

    Intersex activist Anunnaki Ray Marquez previously identified as a nonbinary man[16] but later stated that "I now will never refer to myself as non-binary again. I like to now call myself an intersex, nonconforming, androgynous gay man."[17][18] However, Marquez still uses the title Mx.

    Satsuki Nakayama[edit | edit source]

    Satsuki is a Japanese fashion model, is a Japanese model and actor who is known for his roles as Naki in Kamen Rider Zero-One and Shima Nishina in Kiss Him, Not Me. He started his modeling career as an exclusive model for the magazine Pichi Lemon and later became one of the standout models of Japan's genderless trend. In 2019, Nakayama came out as asexual and agender on his blog, expressing his desire at the time, to not be be defined as either male or female. However he later (publicly) came out as a transgender man in August of 2021.[19][20]

    Andreja Pejić[edit | edit source]

    Andreja Pejić (born 1991) is a world-famous fashion model. She came out as a woman in July 2014, with the intention to model only women's fashion.[21] She has stated that she prefers she/her pronouns[22] and that she identifies with the term transgender as an umbrella term.[23].

    During the years before she came out as a woman, she used to self-identify as neither male nor female, which was widely reported by the media. She had modeled both men's wear and women's wear, and would defy interviewers' attempts to label her with a gender. In 2011, in response to a question about how she self-defines, Pejić said "Define, refine, constrict, package, and sell... No thank you. I would like to live in a world where your gender, nationality, sexual orientation, and, above all, financial status didn't affect the opportunities you are given in life, the way you're treated by others, and your overall freedom. In a world like that, I wouldn't be given such a complex definition"[24]. When pressed in an interview to reveal whether she saw a girl or boy in the mirror growing up, Pejić replied simply, "I saw a child"[23].

    Tom Phelan[edit | edit source]

    Actor Tom Phelan used to identify as a nonbinary lesbian but as of 2018 is a gay trans man.[25]

    Elisa Rae Shupe[edit | edit source]

    Elisa Rae Shupe (born 1963) is a retired United States Army soldier who in 2016 became the first person in the United States to obtain legal recognition of a nonbinary gender. In early 2019, she released a statement explaining that she had "returned to [her] male birth sex". She became a vocal critic of transgender rights and the very concept of gender identity, blaming "out-of-control, transgender activism" for making transition too easy.[26][27] However she's since come out as a trans woman, denouncing her former ties to "gender-critical and radical feminists, faith-based groups, and conservatives", and is now supportive of trans and nonbinary people, stating in a 2022 blog post that "All gender identities are valid and should be treated with the utmost respect at all times."[28]

    Billy Dee Williams[edit | edit source]

    William December "Billy Dee" Williams Jr. (born 1937) is one of America's most well-known black film actors of the 1970s, best known for playing the adventurous Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars film franchise. In an interview with Esquire in 2019, Williams said, "I never tried to be anything except myself. I think of myself as a relatively colorful character who doesn’t take himself or herself too seriously. [...] And you see I say ‘himself’ and ‘herself,’ because I also see myself as feminine as well as masculine. I’m a very soft person. I’m not afraid to show that side of myself."[29] Although that Esquire interviewer labels Williams with the word "genderfluid," Williams was not recorded as using that word during that interview. Based on that interview, several other news articles afterward misreported that Williams had come out genderfluid.

    A few days afterward, Williams explained that that was a misrepresentation of him, that he had never identified as genderfluid, and that he didn't know what the word "genderfluid" meant. He explained that his remark in the Esquire interview was meant as a reference to the anima, the feminine side present in all manhood, in Jungian psychology.[30]

    See also[edit | edit source]

    References[edit | edit source]

    1. Smith, Reiss (20 December 2021). "Drag Race royalty Aja opens up about her gender journey as a proud trans woman". PinkNews. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
    2. Traynor, Cian (4 November 2014). "An Intimate Portal: Antony Hegarty Interviewed". The Quietus. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
    3. dodd, jayy (2 July 2016). "homies don't come out, they let you in". Medium. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
    4. dodd, jayy [@jxzz_hndz] (6 December 2020). "(I identify as a binary trans woman for context)" – via Twitter.
    5. Peoples, Landon (16 November 2017). "Tommy Dorfman's Latest Fashion Statement: Gender". Refinery29. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
    6. "How gender-nonconforming actors are changing Hollywood". NBC News. June 8, 2020. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
    7. tommy.dorfman (22 July 2021). "thrilled to reintroduce myself as the woman i am today. my pronouns are she/her". Instagram. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
    8. Nolfi, Joey (15 June 2021). "RuPaul's Drag Race star Laganja Estranja comes out as trans: 'I feel so beautiful'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
    9. "Archive copy". Archived from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2020-10-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Grimes_(musician)#Pronouns Archived on 17 July 2023
    11. "The Challenge's Amo Reveals They Are Transitioning, Started Taking Hormones". Us Weekly. October 23, 2019. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
    12. I AM A PROUD TRANSGENDER WOMAN., September 29, 2020
    13. Instagram bio, retrieved Nov 3 2020.
    14. Gonsalves, Jenifer (13 August 2020). "Jo Kwon embraces his 'genderless image', fans misconstrue his words and remain divided in supporting K-pop star". MEAWW. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
    15. @hyunsuinseoul (12 August 2020). "Mistranslation got people arguing over which pronounce to call Jo Kwon when all he said was embracing his "genderless image"" – via Twitter.
    16. Marquez, Anunnaki Ray (1 March 2016). "The Difference Between my Biological Sex and My Gender". Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2021. What all this means is that my SEX is INTERSEX. My GENDER is MALE. And I am a NON-BINARY man. My personhood is HUMAN. I am valid. I EXIST.
    17. Marquez, Anunnaki Ray (10 October 2016). "Why I don't like saying "non-binary gender" anymore". Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2021. However, I now will never refer to myself as non-binary again. I like to now call myself an intersex, nonconforming, androgynous gay man.
    18. @anunnakiray (3 October 2019). "I love you back! I am not non-binary, but I am a nonconforming 46XX intersex man. I was told I can't exist too. Your message to the world has helped me profoundly! Much love to you!" – via Twitter.
    19. "中山咲月がトランスジェンダー&無性愛者公表「性別の枠超えご覧頂けたら」". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 2021-08-16. Retrieved 2021-09-24. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
    20. "トランスジェンダー告白した中山咲月、"ジェンダーレス女子"から「男性として生きていくと決めた」覚悟". Oricon (in Japanese). 2021-08-19. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
    21. "Model Andreja Pejic comes out publicly as a transgender woman, shares her experience with media and Facebook fans", glaad.com, July 2014 Archived on 17 July 2023
    22. "ANDREJ PEJIC" in La Monda, 2013-11-05 Archived on 17 July 2023
    23. 23.0 23.1 "Genderless: World's Most Popular Male Model Walks Runways in Heels, Dresses", Sept 2011, abc Archived on 17 July 2023
    24. "Catching Up With Andrej Pejic", Out.com, Nov 2011 Archived on 17 July 2023
    25. Broadly Hotline (24 October 2018). "Trans Actor Tom Phelan on Gender Pronouns". YouTube. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
    26. Shupe, Elisa (10 March 2019). "I Was America's First 'Nonbinary' Person. It Was All a Sham". The Daily Signal. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
    27. Shupe, Elisa (26 January 2019). "Public Announcement: I Have Returned To My Male Birth Sex". Website Of James Shupe. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019.
    28. Shupe, Elisa (3 March 2022). "Elisa Shupe: Setting The Record Straight". Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
    29. Matt Miller. "The Enduring, Intergalactic Cool of Billy Dee Williams." Esquire. Nov 26, 2019. https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a29817501/billy-dee-williams-star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-lando-calrissian-interview/ Archived on 17 July 2023
    30. Wakefield, Lily (5 December 2019). "Star Wars actor Billy Dee Williams says he's not actually gender fluid and he doesn't 'really know what it means'". PinkNews. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2020.