#trans non-binary

Secondly, Non-binary (and transgender at that) is an “umbrella term” meaning there’s actually a lot of different identities and labels that fall under the umbrella term of Non-binary! Non-binary itself basically means that a person does not identify with anything on the gender binary range! (though there is further indentifiers of trans non-binary and some other labels (like genderfluid and genderflux and demigirl/boy) that I can try to get into later but we’ll stick with classic non-binary!)

I’m going to go ahead and give a disclaimer! My experiences and opinions and what I say here, does not speak for every transgender, or non-binary person in the world. These are solely my experiences, and should not be taken as law, as every single person is different in their journey and their relationship with their gender.

To me, Non-binary simply means “I am not on the gender binary scale(aka either female or male)”. I simply never felt connected to either genders, and non-binary is the label that seems to fit me the best! (of course labels are dumb and you shouldn’t feel pressured to assign one to yourself) I do occasionally tend to use the label “Trans Non-binary” which for me, simply means “I am not on the gender binary scale, but sometimes I feel more like (gender) then my AGAB” (AGAB stands for Assigned Gender at Birth).

Aka: most of the time I do not align with male or female, but somedays I do, and on those days trans fits me more properly than non-binary. (Again, this not everyone views Trans Non-binary to mean the same thing that I do!)

Non-binary people don’t always experience dysphoria, too! I did not for a long time, and most days I don’t! I’m comfortable in my body, but I know without a doubt that I am not my AGAB. And for awhile I struggled with that. There was a lot of doubting of my validity - especially due to some discourse on the internet at the time over dysphoria - because if I didn’t experience that dysphoria, what right did I have to say I was non-binary? But despite my lack of dysphoria(I do experience it now these days and it sucks ass), I was confident that my gender identity was non-binary, and will stubbornly tell you that it’s valid.

If you meet non-binary people, no need to treat them any different then anyone else! You should probably ask to confirm their pronouns, and how they feel about certain gendered terms (like compliments, ma’am/sir/mx, dude/bro/sis, etc-) as some NB people prefer one over the other, if androgynous terms can’t be used! And just remember, every single person is different, whether they’re cisgender, non-binary, transgender, gay, lesbian, queer, pansexual, bisexual, whatever! Everyone is different, they all have different experiences and different ways to define their labels, so as long as you’re being kind and respectful when you do, I always encourage asking! It’s better to ask then to assume!