Sorry, But I Don’t Understand What It Means To Be Non-Binary.
When gender is not just pink or blue.
Let me preface this story by saying, I am in support of all gender identities. It’s wrong to dehumanize or discriminate anyone on the basis of their gender identity.
That being said, the term non-binary is honestly confusing to me. Recently, celebrities such as Elliot Page and Demi Lovato identified as non-binary and revealed new pronouns — they/them.
But what does it mean to be non-binary?
Turns out, it is not exactly pink or blue. Non-binary is an umbrella term that encompasses many points on the gender spectrum between pink and blue. First it is important to understand the concept of gender.
When we are born, the doctor checks our genitalia and ticks a box. We are assigned a sex/gender — male, female, or intersex. Gender identity on the other hand is our personal experience of that gender.
While gender is based on the anatomy between our legs, gender identity is based on what’s between our ears- the brain. In your mind, do you feel like a woman or a man? There are more than 50 gender identities identified, many of which overlap.
