The intersection of trans and non-binary

This week is Trans Awareness Week. So I thought that I would do a post talking about what being trans means, and how that intersects with being non-binary.

Transgender is defined as identifying with a different gender than what you were assigned at birth. 

At the moment, around the world, gender is assigned at birth; the vast majority of the time, as only male or female, though there are instances where this may not be the case (which is where we get into intersex, but that's a different issue). But many people, as they grow older, for many and varied reasons, may not identify with this assigned gender. And so they choose to identify with a different gender. For some people, this may be a change from male to female, or female to male; this is probably what is most well-known. But there are also many people that will change to non-binary, or genderqueer, or agender, or any of many other identifiers. Perhaps this will change multiple times over their life, or be fluid and changing day-to-day. And all of these are valid experiences.

The counterpoint to transgender, by the way, is cisgender, or cis, where someone identifies with the same gender that they were assigned at birth. 

As a non-binary person who was assigned male at birth, I also fall under what's often referred to as "the trans umbrella". It's called that because it includes many different gender identities, in the same way that non-binary does. I don't really tend to say "I'm trans" that often, though, I usually instead say "I'm non-binary", even though both are correct. But non-binary is more specific, and when the general populace think of trans, they usually think of binary trans - which I'm not; or someone who is transitioning with hormones or surgery, which I'm also not. And yes, there is value in educating people (which is part of the reason I'm writing this), but I don't want to do that in every interaction. Saying non-binary is a simpler shorthand.

There are non-binary people that choose not to use the trans label for themselves for other reasons, or that do choose to use it - I encourage you to ask people why they use the labels they do, but also keep in mind that nobody owes you an explanation. If people are happy to share, then great. But people might not be, and that's okay too. Not everyone has the energy to talk about these things.

I have the good fortune to now know a good number of trans people; both binary, and non-binary. All of them are rather beautiful and amazing. But we all also have many obstacles in this world that cis people don't. Some of those are starting to come down, thankfully; but we still have a ways to go yet.

And so I encourage you - listen to the trans people around you. Hear what they are finding difficult and struggling with. Be aware, and be active. Because trans rights don't just help trans people. They help everyone.