Non-Binary Gender 101 What is Gender? O A complex combination of roles, expressions, identities, performances, and more which is assigned gendered meaning. O Gender is self-defined as well as defined by the larger society through gender roles. O Sex is defined and assigned by doctors. O Male assigned at birth (MAAB) O Female assigned at birth (FAAB) O Intersex people usually have an assigned gender O Sex does not equal gender. Binary Gender Boy Girl Non-Binary Gender O Bi/Poly/Pangender O Genderfluid O Agender O Gender Neutral/ Neutrois O Third Gender O and many more. Buckle up. Some English Pronouns Binary O He/Him/His/His/ Himself O She/Her/Her/Hers/ Herself Gender Neutral O They/Them/Their/ Theirs/Themself O Ze/Hir/Hir/Hirs/Hirself O Ey/Em/Eir/Eirs/Emself O Ou/Ou/Ou/Ous/Ouself Bi/Poly/Pangender O Experience of two or more genders and/or a shift between them. O “Some days I wake up and feel like a woman. Other days I wake up and feel like a man. Sometimes feeling like a woman or man depends on who I’m with.” O “I’ve always been male, and I’ve always been female, too. I’ve always been both.” Genderfluid O Experience of gender that changes. O “I have boy days and girl days and some days where I’m somewhere in between or I don’t really know what I am.” O “My gender floats around. I’d spent years trying to pin it down, but I finally decided to stop. I don’t need to pin it down – I’m going to live in this funny, middle, around space.” Agender O Having no experience of gender. O “Genderless” is sometimes a synonym. O “I have a complete lack of "gender" feelings. Gender is a language I don’t speak.” O “I didn’t know what it meant, exactly, to be a girl or a boy, all I knew was that I wasn’t either.” Gender Neutral/Neutrois O Experience of a single gender-neutral gender. O “It’s not an absence of gender, and it’s not apathy about my gender… I care very strongly about my gender, my gender expression, and my gender perception. I have a gender, and it’s a neutral gender.” Third Gender O Umbrella term for non-binary genders that exist in specific cultures, including: O Two-Spirit (NDN) O Hijra (SE Asia) O Meti (Nepal) O Ashtime (Maale; S Ethiopia) O Fa’afafine (Samoa) O Bakla (Philippines) O Bissu, Calabai, & Calalai (Bugis; Indonesia) O Among hundreds of others. And others O Non-binary & genderqueer are blanket terms, so they cover other variations in gender identity that don’t necessarily fit anything we’ve talked about. O “Gender is not a line - it is a huge three- dimensional space with infinite points.” O Some people prefer to simply identify as non- binary/genderqueer, rather than try to find a box. O What matters is how people choose to describe themselves – they know their gender best. Sex: M F X O Some countries allow “other” option on identification O Australia, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and growing O Great for intersex, non-binary and other trans* people Be Non-Binary Friendly O Be aware O Don’t assume that people are cisgender or binary. If someone tells you to use a name or pronoun, absolutely do your best to use it. O Be educated O Don’t tell people that their identity is invalid. Ever, really. Bad form in any situation. O Don’t erase non-binary people. O Make LGBT spaces safe and friendly for non- binary people.