Priya Saha | Contributor
Featured image: Branco created this self portrait after a transgender woman was beaten to death in her home country of Brazil. | Bárbara Branco
Male, female, or non-binary? Gender seems to be a controversial topic in modern Western society, especially with the construction of the gender binary.
The belief that gender is binary is the belief that only two genders, male and female, exist. The Oxford English Dictionary defines gender as a reference to the two sexes, male or female, and to identities that do not fit in these two categories.
There are gender characteristics that Western society associates with men and women, but there are people within these societies who do not identify as male or female.
Second-year Financial and Business Economics student Li Fro states: “I still see gender as a binary system with transitioning points. So, ultimately, there are two genders, with everything you can imagine in between. Just because some people don’t identify as strictly male or female, we shouldn’t call it a spectrum—but this is an unpopular opinion.”
A student who wishes to remain anonymous says: “I find that I don’t really assume genders, but I do believe that only two genders exist, but I also believe everyone has their own choice of how they’d like to identify.”
The term non-binary can describe an individual who does not identify as male or female in terms of their gender identity. A non-binary person may experience their gender as male and/or female, or as neither. It is important to acknowledge that the definition of non-binary differs for anyone who identifies as such. Non-binary is known as an umbrella term, which encompasses terms such as: agender, gender fluid, boi, bigender, and multigender underneath it.
The emergence of this identity is not a recent phenomenon; non-binary genders have been recorded since 400 B.C. to 200 A.C. In Hawaii, there are the mahu, which refers to people who identify with both feminine and masculine characteristics.
Traditional Hawaiian society has always accepted genders that were not singularly defined by male and female traits. In India, there are hijras, who are people that do not identify as male or female, and are considered auspicious by Hindus, making them critical figures in Hindu celebrations to provide blessings and good luck.
Understanding that an individual’s gender identity does not correlate with their sex, or that someone’s gender identity is non-binary, may be difficult for some to understand.
Second-year Social Work student Helen Lam states: “I find that, even though I have read many articles about the damage that heteronormativity can do in the world, I still unintentionally assume people’s genders all the time.”
Taking into consideration that someone’s gender identity and expression are individual to them, in turn, can help society to become more inclusive.
A few tips on how to respect someone’s gender identity include: refraining from making assumptions about an individual’s gender, addressing them by using the name they are comfortable with, and asking them what pronouns they wish to be addressed by.
