gender spectrum
a national organisation committed to the health and well-being of non-binary, trans+ and gender diverse children and teens.
Non-binary doesn’t describe a single gender identity, but instead a vast range of identities that that don’t fit in to the binary of male or female.
Some non-binary people identify as being trans, and some do not.
the non-binary umbrella covers many different identities, including, but not limited to:
- Agender – a term used by those who identify as having no definable gender or gender identity.
- Bigender – a term used to describe those who have two distinct gender identities that are either simultaneous or fluctuate.
- Genderqueer – a term used by those who do not follow binary gender norms.
- Genderfluid – a term used by people who desire to remain flexible with their gender identity rather than committing to a single definition.
- Two-Spirit – a term used to describe third-gender or gender-variant people from Indigenous communities.
key-dates for the non-binary community in the 21st Century:
2009
- In 2009, India began to allow voters outside the gender binary to register their gender as ‘other’ on ballots submitted to the Election Commission.
2010
- In 2010, the US state of Arkansas enacted a policy allowing gender on drivers’ licenses and state ID cards to be changed to M, F, or X with “no questions asked, no documentation required”.
2011
- In 2011, Australia began to let people mark their gender as “X” on birth certificates and passports.
- It was also in this year that Bangladesh began to offer “other” as a gender option on passports.
2012
- On 14th July 2012, the first annual International Non-Binary People’s Day was celebrated.
2014
- The non-binary pride flag was created by Kye Rowan in February 2014.
- In 2014, Facebook began to let users to choose from 50 gender options.
2015
- In 2015, Nepal began to allow X gender passports.
- Also in this year, Dictionary.com included the non-binary terms ‘agender’, ‘bigender’ and ‘gender-fluid’ to their site.
2017
- In 2017, Malta began to offer “X” gender markers on passports and other official documents.
2018
- In Washington D.C, USA, public schools began to offer “non-binary” as a gender option on school enrolment forms.
2021
- Trans and non-binary people were included in the English and Welsh census for the first time in 2021. This census found that 0.2% of people identified as trans and 0.06 identified as non-binary.
