What Exactly Does It Mean to be Non-Binary? Non Binary Gender Identity

Gender identity refers to a person’s internal sense of being male, female or something else. How they feel from inside, ‘their inner sense of who they are’ It is called Gender Identity.

When a child is born, a doctor says, “It’s a boy” or “It’s a girl” based on biology. Cisgender people are those whose gender identity is the same as the sex they were assigned at birth. For Cisgender, or non-transgender people, their gender identity matches their sex at birth. Some cases person’s gender identity is different from what their gender labeled at birth, for example transgenders.

One more thing to understand here is, Gender identity is different from gender role or Gender Expression. While gender identity is an internal, deeply-rooted sense of self, gender expression is how a person externally expresses their gender. how they behave and present themselves and it may or may not correspond to a person’s gender identity.

Gender identity is also different from sex and sexual orientation. People often confuse gender identity with sexual orientation. Gender identity is about who you are. Sexual orientation is about who you want to be with. lesbian, gay, bisexual, or straight etc are terms for sexual orientation. Being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or straight describes who you’re attracted to and who you feel yourself drawn to romantically, emotionally, and sexually.

• Also Read: What Does Transgender Mean? Gender Identity

While there are many types of non-binary gender, some are more commonly discussed than others. These include:

Agender: Having no gender or being without any gender identity or having a gender identity that is neutral. Sometimes used interchangeably with gender neutral, genderless, or neutrois.

Bigender: Where the person moves between feminine and masculine gender identities and behaviour, possibly depending on context. Having two distinct gender identities or behaviour, either simultaneously, at different times, or in different situations.

Genderfluid: Moving between two or more gender identities or expressions. Experience shifts or changes in gender.

Third Gender: May also be referred to as third sex or othergender. A gender identity or expression that is not defined in terms of the male/female, masculine/feminine.

Demigender: is a gender identity of a person identifying partially or mostly with one gender and at the same time with another gender.

Genderqueer: A catch-all term for individuals with non-binary gender identities. Genderqueer is also a term some people like to use rather than non-binary. It is an umbrella term for people who do identify as genders other then male or female. Genderqueer is an earlier term with the same meaning as non-binary.

• Also Read: ‘Q’ in LGBTQ+ mean Queer. But What Does Queer  Mean ?

Non-Binary: The umbrella term covering all gender identities and expressions outside the gender binary. Also referred to as NB or enby.

Some FAQ about Non Binary Gender Identity

Why the term non-binary?

As the National Centre for Transgender Equality explains, “some societies – like ours – tend to recognise just two genders, male and female.” This concept, which suggests there are only two genders, is often referred to as a Gender Binary, with binary meaning “having two parts”. Therefore, “Non-Binary” is a term people can use to “describe genders that don’t fall into one of these two categories, male or female”.

Is non-binary different to being transgender? 

While some transgender people are nonbinary, But most transgender people have a gender identity that is either male or female, and should be treated like any other man or woman. Therefore transgender people can be binary or nonbinary.

• Also Read: What Does Transgender Mean? Gender Identity

What pronouns are used to describe someone who is non-binary?

Different non-binary people may use different pronouns. Many nonbinary people use gender-neutral pronoun such as “they”, while others use binary pronouns, such as: “he” or “she,” and still others use other pronouns. If you’re not sure what pronouns someone uses, ask.  Asking whether someone should be referred to as “he,” “she,” “they,” or another pronoun, is one of the simplest and most important ways to show respect for someone’s identity.

Symbols and Flags:

Many flags have been used in nonbinary and genderqueer communities to represent various identities. There are separate nonbinary and genderqueer pride flags. also there are Agender, Genderfluid, Genderqueer pride flags.

• Read More about LGBTQ Flags: Lgbt Pride Flags: All the Flags and What They Mean

In nonbinary pride flag, Yellow for people who identify outside of the gender binary. The white, a mix of all colors, represents those with many or all genders. Purple for those who feel both binary male and female or fluid between them. and black for agender individuals.

Nonbinary Gender Symbol: