Nonbinary: Difference between revisions

'''Nonbinary''' (also spelled '''non-binary''')<ref>"Gender Census 2018 - the spelling question." ''Gender Census.'' April 22, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2020. http://gendercensus.com/post/173182166480/gender-census-2018-the-spelling-question [https://web.archive.org/web/20221223073715/http://www.gendercensus.com/post/173182166480/gender-census-2018-the-spelling-question Archived] on 17 July 2023</ref> means any [[gender identity]] that is not strictly male or female all the time, and so does not fit within the [[gender binary]]. For some people, "nonbinary" is as specific as they want to get about labeling their gender. For others, they call themselves a more specific gender identity under the nonbinary umbrella. Many people who call themselves nonbinary also consider themselves [[genderqueer]]. However, the terms have different meanings and connotations: genderqueer means any gender identity or [[gender expression|expression]] which is, itself, queer.

Since 2012, the [[International Nonbinary Day]] has been celebrated each 14th of July, with the aim to celebrate and focus on nonbinary people, their successes and contributions to the world and their issues. Katje of "Fierce Femme's Black Market," the person who proposed it, chose that date because it is exactly between International Men's Day and International Women's Day.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://femmesblackmarket.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/calling-for-an-international-non-binary-gender-day|title=Calling for an International Non-Binary Gender Day|author=Katje|date=8 March 2012|website=Fierce Femme's Black Market|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=30 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/non-binary-day-allies/#gs.b0zrkg|title=Prepare for International Non-binary Day by learning how to be a better ally|last=Mathers|first=Charlie|date=13 July 2018|website=Gay Star News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213102537/https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/non-binary-day-allies/#gs.b0zrkg|archive-date=13 February 2023|dead-url=|access-date=30 March 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2013, a user of the social media site Tumblr coined an abbreviation of nonbinary or N.B., "enby." This word and how people have come to use it is discussed below.<ref name="enby cassolotl">[https://cassolotl.tumblr.com/post/620371385484722176 @cassolotl] on Tumblr (September 2013) [https://web.archive.org/web/20230315012519/https://cassolotl.tumblr.com/post/620371385484722176 Archived] on 17 July 2023</ref><ref name="enby revolutionator">vector (revolutionator). ''[http://revolutionator.tumblr.com/post/60853952929/i-wish-there-was-an-nb-equivalent-to-words-like Untitled post]'', September 2013. revolutionator's blog is password-protected, but the post has been reblogged many times, eg: [http://adventuresingender.tumblr.com/post/60940278905/revolutionator-i-wish-there-was-an-nb here], date unknown, captured April 2016.</ref><ref name="enby archeart">{{Cite web |title=Queer Etymology: Enby |author= |work=Androgyne of the Archeart |date=16 December 2019 |access-date=20 September 2020 |url= https://blog.sixy.name/2020/09/20/queer-etymology-enby/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330055748/https://blog.sixy.name/2020/09/20/queer-etymology-enby/ |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref>

In 2014, Kye Rowan designed the nonbinary flag in response to a call put out for a nonbinary flag that was separate from the genderqueer flag, the final design is shown at the top of this article.<ref>"genderweird".  https://web.archive.org/web/20191227195608/https://thejasmineelf.tumblr.com/post/77007286542/after-counting-up-all-the-votes-for-each. 2019-12-27. Retrieved 2020-11-24.</ref><ref>"genderweird". https://web.archive.org/web/20190604080020/https://thejasmineelf.tumblr.com/flagfaq. 2019-06-04. Retrieved 2020-11-24.</ref><ref>"genderweird". https://web.archive.org/web/20190604080022/https://thejasmineelf.tumblr.com/post/76929910941/a-call-was-put-out-for-a-nonbinary-flag-that-is. 2019-06-04. Retrieved 2020-11-24.</ref> This flag is meant to "represent nonbinary folk who did not feel that the [[genderqueer flag]] represented them. This flag was intended to go alongside Marilyn Roxie's genderqueer flag rather than replace it. The flag consists of four stripes. From top to bottom: yellow represents those whose gender exists outside of and without reference to the binary as yellow is often used to distinguish something as its own. White represents those who have many or all genders, as white is the photological presence of color and/or light. The purple stripe represents those who feel their gender is between or a mix of female and male as purple is the mix of traditional boy and girl colors. The purple also could be seen as representing the fluidity and uniqueness of nonbinary people. The final black stripe represents those who feel they are without gender, as black is the photological absence of color and/or light." The nonbinary flag and the genderqueer flag are both options for nonbinary people to use to symbolize themselves, and take different approaches to how to symbolize nonbinary genders.