- What is a non-binary gender person?
- Non binary gender flag
- history of non-binary gender
- What is gender identity?
- What is gender expression?
- Other gender identities
We explain what a non-binary gender person is, their history and their flag. Also, gender identity and gender expression.
What is a non-binary gender person?
A person of gender non-binary is one that does not feel identified with any of the terms of the traditional duality between the feminine and the masculine in the society, that is to say, that she considers herself somewhere in between, or in both categories at the same time, or even in one or the other depending on the moment of her life.
It is an “umbrella” term, that is, a very broad category within which different positions regarding gender can be found, such as:
- People agender. Those who identify with a "null gender" or "white gender" that does not fit into either the masculine or the feminine.
- People from fluid gender. Those who identify with a masculine gender, a feminine gender or a non-binary gender depending on the vital moment and the specific conditions.
- Bigender people. Those who identify with both genders at the same time, that is, they can be masculine and feminine simultaneously.
- Pangender people. Those who identify with multiple genders, not only the two traditional binaries, but also with others included in this list.
It is important to understand that non-binary gender has nothing to do with sexual orientation or with people's erotic tastes, but rather it is a way of thinking about the relationship with one's own essence, that is, with what we understand as our identity psychological and social.So a non-binary person can be attracted to people of any sex or gender, just as anyone who identifies with binary genders (male-female) does.
Non binary gender flag
Non-binary gender people have chosen a flag to represent themselves as a collective and to group their efforts to be recognized and accepted within a traditionally binary society. This flag is rectangular and contains four horizontal stripes of yellow, white, purple and black.
history of non-binary gender
Since ancient times, there have been characters in stories and mythological representations that did not fit with the idea of the time of what a man or a woman was. That includes people intersex, homosexuals or that had features of both genders, occupying a kind of intermediate position.
Even in some ancestral ethnic groups the possibility of people of a third gender was admitted, as was the case of certain eunuchs (castrated men) who did not consider themselves neither women nor men properly speaking.
On the other hand, throughout Western history there have been various personalities who have announced themselves to the world as "genderless" or of the "third sex". For example, in the 18th century, the American Jemima Wilkinson became a Protestant preacher after suffering a mortal experience, and she returned to the world convinced that she had no gender, adopting the pseudonym of Public Universal Friend (“Universal Public Friend”).
Another well-known case is that of the 19th century German activist, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, who advocated for the rights of homosexuals, arguing that in reality they were people of a "third sex", whom he baptized as "Uranians": intersex people, transsexuals and homosexuals.
What is gender identity?
Gender identity is a person's intimate and personal perception of themselves in terms of sexual identity (but not sexual or romantic orientation). In other words, gender identity is the way in which we think of ourselves within the social possibilities of gender, that is, being a man, being a woman, being both or being something else.
Gender identity is often defined as “psychological sex”, to differentiate it from what is strictly bodily and biological, and it is thought that it would be shaped by the (self)perceptions and experiences of the individual. Gender identity, together with sexual orientation (to whom she is attracted) and gender role (how she experiences her sex socially), constitutes a person's sexual identity.
What is gender expression?
Gender expression is the way in which people socially communicate their gender identity. This includes their tastes, attitudes, gestures and clothing, as well as their gender roles, that is, what is socially attributed to a person of one gender or another. It is equivalent to all the external (social) elements through which a person lives her sexual identity, which is opposed to the psychological and internal perception of gender.
Thus, people whose gender expression is not subject to binary distinctions, that is, to what society attributes to "masculine behaviors" or "feminine behaviors", are usually called cuirgénero (from the English gender queer). While people whose gender expression is indistinguishable, that is, it is impossible to judge externally if it is a man or a woman, they are often called androgynous.
Other gender identities
In addition to the set of non-binary gender identities, such as agender, bigender, pangender or fluid gender, there are other commonly used categories, such as:
- cisgender. It refers to those people whose gender identity coincides with their body and biological sexuality, that is, who feel they are men or women and their bodies biologically and socially reflect that feeling.
- Transgender. It refers to those people whose gender identity does not coincide with their biological body and sexuality, that is, who feel they are men or women, despite having been born with a female or male body, respectively.