Non-binary
Non-binary or genderqueer gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gender that is different from the sex assigned to them at birth, although some non-binary people do not consider themselves transgender.
Non-binary people may identify as an intermediate or separate third gender, identify with more than one gender or no gender, or have a fluctuating gender identity. Gender identity is separate from sexual or romantic orientation; non-binary people have various sexual orientations.
Non-binary people as a group vary in their gender expressions, and some may reject gender identity altogether. Some non-binary people receive gender-affirming care to reduce the mental distress caused by gender dysphoria, such as gender-affirming surgery or hormone replacement therapy.
Terms and definitions
The term genderqueer first appeared in queer zines of the 1980s and early 1990s. It gained prominence in the mid-1990s through activists, such as Riki Anne Wilchins, who used it to describe individuals deviating from traditional gender norms. In a 1995 newsletter published by The Transexual Menace, Wilchins wrote that the new fight against gender oppression was political and:It's about all of us who are genderqueer: diesel dykes and stone butches, leatherqueens and radical fairies, nelly fags, crossdressers, intersexed, transexuals, transvestites, transgendered, transgressively gendered, and those of us whose gender expressions are so complex they haven't even been named yet.Similar terms that preceded genderqueer included genderfuck and genderbender. In the context of 1990s early queer activism, genderqueer began as a political stance for resisting the gender binary; the term carried the non-normative and anti-assimilationist connotations of the recently reclaimed word queer. In 2002, the term had further dissemination through the anthology GenderQueer: Voices From Beyond the Sexual Binary.
Genderqueer evolved into both an umbrella term for identities outside the gender binary and an adjective or self-identity term for those who challenge or diverge from conventional gender norms, or who "queer" gender. The rise of the internet and public identification by celebrities brought the term genderqueer into mainstream awareness during the late 2000s and early 2010s.
The term non-binary was not in widespread use until the early 2010s, when it quickly increased in popularity and surpassed genderqueer as the most-used umbrella term for all people who do not exclusively identify as women/girls or men/boys. The popularity of non-binary is sometimes credited to the fact that it has a more neutral and less political connotation than genderqueer to many people. Some critics of non-binary dislike it because the term itself reinforces the concept of a binary.
Today, there is broad overlap in the meaning and usages of genderqueer and non-binary, although they still carry different connotations for many people. As umbrella terms, both are used to encompass a wide range of identities and expressions that transcend the binary gender categories of man and woman.
The term transgender often includes those who are genderqueer or non-binary, reflecting a broad spectrum of gender diversity. This inclusive usage dates back to at least 1992, with significant contributions from figures such as Leslie Feinberg and Kate Bornstein, who emphasized the shared experiences of "gender outlaws."
Other related umbrella terms include gender nonconforming, gender expansive, and gender diverse. Gender nonconforming usually refers to those whose gender expression does not match masculine or feminine gender norms, but it has been alternately used in some contexts to refer to people whose gender identities do not match binary gender norms. Some US organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign and Gender Spectrum use gender expansive to denote a broader range of gender identities and expressions than those typically associated with the binary gender system. Many organizations in Australia and the UK use gender diverse to refer to people who " not conform to their society's norms or values when it comes to their gendered physicality, gendered identity, gender expression or combination of those factors."
The term enby, derived from the English pronunciation of the acronym NB for non-binary, is also sometimes used.
Additionally, being non-binary is associated with gender ambiguity. Androgyny is often used to describe a blend of socially defined masculine and feminine traits. However, not all non-binary individuals are androgynous; some identify with traditionally masculine or feminine traits, use alternative descriptors such as masculine woman or feminine man, or experience or express themselves in ways that fluidly change between feminine and masculine at different times.
Being non-binary is also not the same as being intersex. Most intersex people identify as either men or women, although some identify as only non-binary, some identify as non-binary and genderfluid, while others identify as non-binary men or non-binary women. A national UK survey conducted in 2017 found that, of 1,980 intersex respondents, 38% identified as women, 32% as men, and 25% as non-binary.
Identities
Agender
individuals, also known as genderless, gender-free, non-gendered, or ungendered, have no gender at all. This group represents a spectrum of identities that diverge from conventional gender norms. A 2017 analysis of surveys of gender identity found that, of the transgender participants, 14% identified as agender. Gender Census, an international survey of non-binary people, found in 2025 that 25% of participants identified as agender.According to the Oxford English Dictionary, which added an entry for agender in 2016, the first recorded use of the word was in 1996, as "A-gender", in an article in the Independent. In 2014, the agender flag was created by Salom X, and "agender" and "neutrois" were among the custom gender options added to Facebook and to OkCupid. In 2017, Judge Amy Holmes Hehn ruled that Patch, an agender resident of Portland, could be legally identified as agender.
Bigender
Bigender individuals possess two distinct gender identities that can manifest simultaneously or fluctuate between masculine and feminine expressions. This differs from genderfluid identities, which may not involve fixed gender states but rather a fluid range across the gender spectrum. The American Psychological Association recognizes bigender identity as part of the broader transgender category. Surveys and studies, including a 1999 San Francisco Department of Public Health survey and a 2016 Harris poll, have documented the prevalence of bigender identification, particularly within younger generations. Trigender people can shift among any three genders, but usually male, female, and a third gender.Demigender
Individuals identifying as demigender feel a partial connection to one gender while also identifying with another gender or none at all. Subcategories include demi-boy or demi-man, who partially identify as male, and demi-girl, who are partly female and partly non-binary. Demiflux people experience a stable non-binary identity with varying intensities of other gender identities.Genderfluid
individuals do not adhere to a fixed gender identity; their genders change depending on time, place and situation, combining elements from one or more genders at different times. This identity can overlap with bigender, trigender, polygender or pangender expressions.Pangender
individuals identify with multiple or all genders, sometimes experiencing all these identities simultaneously.Polygender
Polygender, plurigender or multigender is a non-binary identity in which the person experiences multiple genders. Pangender, bigender, and trigender are examples of multi-gender identities, sometimes along with androgyne, associated with demigender.Two-spirit
Originating from a 1990 Indigenous LGBTQ gathering in Winnipeg, the term two-spirit refers to individuals within Indigenous North American communities who embody qualities or fulfill roles across traditional gender distinctions.Xenogender
Xenogender encompasses a variety of gender identities that are defined using concepts not based on traditional male or female categories, often drawn from natural, inanimate, or abstract sources, representing a departure from the typical human gender binary. People who identify with a xenogender may not have the words to describe their gender, so instead they compare it to something else.History
Non-binary gender, often included within the concept of third gender, has historical roots that extend well before the modern term was established. For instance, the Public Universal Friend, who emerged in 1776, was a genderless evangelist who renounced their birth name and gendered pronouns, representing an early instance of non-binary gender expression in America.In 1781, Jens Andersson from Norway, assigned female at birth but identifying as male, faced imprisonment and a trial after marrying a woman. When questioned, Andersson stated, "Hand troer at kunde henhøre til begge Deele", indicating a recognition of his dual gender identity.
Judith Butler's Gender Trouble, published in 1990, challenged the fixed male/female binary and advocated for a broader understanding of gender as a spectrum, a view Butler has expanded upon since coming out as non-binary in 2019.
The term "genderqueer" surfaced in the mid-1990s, notably used by activist Riki Wilchins in the newsletter In Your Face in 1995, and later in their 1997 autobiography. Wilchins contributed significantly to the discourse, particularly with the 2002 anthology GenderQueer: Voices from beyond the Sexual Binary.
Jim Sinclair, an autism-rights activist and a founder of Autism Network International, publicly embraced a gender-neutral identity in 1997, declaring a physical and social neuter status in an introduction to the Intersex Society of North America.
In Japan, the expression "X-gender" has been recognized since the late 1990s, describing a non-binary identity, with notable individuals such as manga artists Yūki Kamatani and Yuu Watase identifying as such.
In 2012, the Intersex & Genderqueer Recognition Project began advocating for more inclusive gender options on official documents, a milestone realized when Elisa Rae Shupe became the first person in the U.S. to obtain official documents with a non-binary gender marker.
Alberta legislator Estefan Cortes-Vargas openly identified as non-binary during a 2015 legislative session, marking a significant moment in political recognition of non-binary identities.
On January 20, 2025, immediately after being sworn in for his second term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government". This order established that the U.S. federal government would recognize only two sexes—male and female—defined strictly by biological characteristics assigned at birth. It explicitly rejected the concept of gender identity as a basis for legal recognition for non-binary people.