Non-binary gender
Non-binary[a] and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or female (identities outside the gender binary).[2][3] 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,[3] though some non-binary people do not consider themselves transgender.[4][5]
"Genderqueer" redirects here. For the book, see Gender Queer.Classification
Non-binary people may identify as an intermediate or separate third gender,[6] identify with more than one gender[7][8] or no gender, or have a fluctuating gender identity.[9] Gender identity is separate from sexual or romantic orientation:[10] non-binary people have various sexual orientations.[11]
Being non-binary is also not the same as being intersex; most intersex people identify as either men or women[12] though some identify as only non-binary, some identify as non-binary and genderfluid, such as Hida Viloria, while others identify as non-binary men or non-binary women.
Non-binary people as a group vary in their gender expressions, and some may reject gender identity altogether.[13] 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.[14]
Population figures
Argentina
On July 20, 2021, President Alberto Fernández signed Decreto 476/2021, mandating that the National Registry of Persons (RENAPER) allow a third gender option on all national identity cards and passports, marked as "X". The measure also applies to non-citizen permanent residents who possess Argentine identity cards.[138] The 2022 national census, carried out less than a year after the resolution was implemented, counted 8,293 (roughly 0.12%) of the country's population identifying with the "X / other" gender marker.[139]
Brazil
A 2021 survey published in Scientific Reports concluded that 1.19% of Brazilian adults are non-binary, but the study did not ask whether they self-identified as non-binary. Because the authors considered most Brazilians unfamiliar with North American gender terminology, more open-ended questions about gender were asked.[140][141]
Canada
In April 2022, Statistics Canada released findings from the 2021 census, making Canada the first country to ask a core question about gender identity, and found that 41,355 Canadians aged 15 and over identified as nonbinary.[142]
A 2019 survey of the two-spirit and LGBTQ+ population in Hamilton, Ontario, called Mapping the Void: Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ Experiences in Hamilton showed that 19% of the 906 respondents identified as non-binary.[143]
A 2017 survey of Canadian LGBT+ people called LGBT+ Realities Survey found that 4% of the 1,897 respondents identified as non-binary transgender and 1% identified as non-binary outside of the transgender umbrella.[144]
Switzerland
A 2021 survey found that 0.4% of adults in Switzerland describe themselves as non-binary.[145] The survey of 2,690 Swiss residents was weighted to be reflective of the entire population.[146]
United Kingdom
According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, 0.06% of the population in England and Wales identified as non-binary.[147] The proportion was highest among people aged 16 to 24 years (0.26% or 17,000).[148]
United States
According to a 2021 study by the Williams Institute, an estimated 1.2 million American adults aged between 18 and 60 identify as non-binary, making up 11% of the LGBTQ population in that age bracket.[149]
A 2020 survey by The Trevor Project found that 26% of LGBTQ youth (ages 13–24) in the U.S. identify as non-binary.[5][150]
According to The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, 35% of the nearly 28,000 transgender respondents to the anonymous online survey identified as non-binary.[151][152]
