ENBYSWHO ARETRANS
Sending love to all of our Trans, Non-Binary, and Queer Relatives: our Siblings here with us today and to all of our Beloved Queer Ancestors.
This resource offers brief movement & design history about the Non-Binary Pride Flag and nonbinary peoples across our shared, global histories. @CreatingFreedomMovements #MoreJusticeMoreJoy
Since2012,InternationalNon-BinaryPeople’sDay hasbeencelebratedonJuly14andservesasan opportunitytocelebrateandraisesawareness aboutnon-binarypeople—orfolkswhodonot identifywithinthe‘traditional’genderbinary.Thisis partofthereasonwhy‘non-binary’issometimes referredtoasan“umbrellaterm”—orawordthat ‘covers’amultitudeofgenderidentities.
“Beingnonbinaryisnotasexcategory(separate from[being]intersex,from[AssignedGenderat Birth])orsexualorientation.Enbies(nonbinary people)can(butdon’thaveto)identifywithany sexuality.WhilesomeofthemorevisibleEnbieswill usethey/them,[non-binarypeople]aren’t beholdentoonesetofpronouns,soit’salways goodto[simply]askjustlikeyouwouldofanyone. Also,despitethemediarepresentation,peopleof colorandfatpeoplecanbenonbinary.Slimmer whitepeopleget[alotof]attentiononthis,but thereisno“oneway”or“look”tobenonbinary,just likethere’snoonewaytobecisgender, transgender,etc.DespitewhatTERFsand[bigots] onFacebooksay,Enbies[a.k.a.Non-Binary People]haveexistedinvariousculturesworldwide (underdifferentnames)forthousandsofyears. ”
—AlyssaShotwell,Artist&Writer
Let’stalkalittlemoreaboutNon-BinaryPeople’s AwarenessWeek,InternationalEnbyDay,andthe historyandmeaningbehindtheEnbyPrideFlag! @CreatingFreedomMovements #MoreJusticeMoreJoy
Non-BinaryAwarenessWeekisfromJuly8-14, withthelastdayservingasInternationalNonBinary(or‘Enby’)People’sDay!Thisdaywas chosenbecauseitfallsdirectlybetween InternationalWomens&MensDay(March8& November19,respectively)—andhasbeen celebratedsinceatleast2012,overadecade!
AsAlyssaShotwellnamed(previousslide),the termnon-binaryencompassesamultitudeof differentgenderidentities.Non-Binaryisnot halfwaybetweenawomanandaman(despitethe rationalebehindInt’lEnbyDay’sDate)butrather,is atermforthosewhodonotidentify(entirelyorat all)withinthe‘traditional’genderbinary— referringtobinaryidentitieslikemale/femaleor men/women.Itfeelsimportant,also,toemphasize thatnon-binaryreferstoone’sgender—whichis notthesamethingasone’ssexuality(a.k.a.sexual orientation).Furthermore,noteveryonewho identifiesasoutsideofthe‘traditional’gender binarywillidentifyasnon-binary.And,likeShotwell shared,thereisnosingularwaythatnon-binary peoplelook.Thisiswhyitisalwaysbettertoask, thanassume(thisisagoodruleofthumb,tbh)!
TheNon-BinaryPrideFlagcelebratedits10th birthdayearlierthisyear,firstdesignedinFeb 2014by(then)teenagerKyeRowan.Let’sexplore somehistory&meaningbehindtheEnbyflag!
A BRIEF HISTORY (& SOME CONTEXT) OF THE
NON-BINARY PRIDE FLAG A
(& CONTEXT) PRIDE
KyeRowan,thecreatoroftheNon-BinaryPrideFlag,first sharedthedesigninFeb2014onTumblr.Whiletheirblog has since been deleted, they did share some information. Thanks to the WayBack Machine from the Internet Archive, we know that Rowan’s 2014 Flag was created, in large part, because “Not all nonbinary peopleidentifyasgenderqueer,andthemusingaflag that has largely become synonymous with “genderqueer” is uncomfortable and forces them underalabeltheydonotwant.“ Alyssa Shotwell adds someadditionalcontext:“Whilethegenderqueerflagis still in use, the fact that the colors share U.K. suffragettes’ palette and, now, U.K. TERFs use the colors online, makes it a complicated situation.” This is not to say that the genderqueer flag is ‘bad’ or shouldn’t be used. The Non-Binary Pride flag is simply another additiontothelargerfamilyofqueer&transidentities— notareplacementforanythingbeforeit,butratheran extension of the same spirit & celebration. Kye Rowan also clarified that the Non-Binary Flag was never intended to replace the Genderqueer flag, and even shared “I love the genderqueer flag. I intend it to sit along side the other, not replace it! I personally, will be using both as I am a genderqueer nonbinary. As I said, the nonbinary flag is for the nbs who need a flag to representthembecausetheyfeelMarilyn’sflagdoesn’t.”
Kye’s design features 4, equally (but unspecified) sized, horizontal stripes, in the colors yellow, white, purple (a shade of lavender, to be specific) and black. In a more recent design, Kye proposed changing the original White to the shade of ‘Cosmic Latte’ (as opposed to unmodified white) but both color schemes are used. This flag, like many other pride flags, were designed in the ‘digital age’ so we knowtheexactcolorcodesthedesignerintended!
TheNon-Binaryflagconsistsoffourequally-sizedhorizontalbars: yellow,white,purple,andblack.Thereisnoofficialoragreeduponproportion(thougha2:3aspectratioisoftenused).Kye Rowan,thedesigner,providedtheexactcolors.Themostupto dateversionoftheEnbyPrideFlagincludesthefollowingcolors:
#2D2D2D—Black
EACH COLOR HAS A SPECIFIC MEANING: EACH COLOR HAS A SPECIFIC MEANING:
Yellow(closetotheshade‘GoldenFizz’)representsthose whosegenderexistsbeyondthe‘traditional’orcisgenderbinary
CosmicLatte(ashadeofbeige-ishwhite)representsthose withmultipleand/orallgenders.Theoriginalwhitewas chosenbecauseWhiteLightcontainsallwavelengthsofvisible light.RowanproposedchangingthistoCosmicLatteinan updateddesign,perhapsbecausethecolorofCosmicLatteis thesameasthatoftheaveragecoloroftheuniverse*.
Purple(ashadeofLavender,sometimesQueerPurple)isfor those‘inbetween’and/orasamixofmasc&femmegenders
Blackrepresentsagenderfolksorpeoplewithnogender, chosenas(inphysics)thisisnovisiblelightorwavelengths.
*as determined a team of Astronomers from Johns Hopkins in 2003 of by combining the spectra of galaxies, gas clouds, and dust to create a visible light spectrum that represented the entire universe, known as the cosmic spectrum or the representation of the sum of all the energy in the universe emitted at different wavelengths of light.
Non-Binary People have always existed all around the world, albeit under different names and we always will. The graphic below shares some examples (of many!) and terminology for people who’ve existed beyond the cisgender binary, throughout history:
via Out & Equal outandequal.org/nonbinary-gender-identities-a-diverse-global-history
“2Spirit
Individuals & BIPOC Non-Binary and Trans
People are not breaking gender roles or gender norms. We are merely practicing our ancestral memory and ancient cultural understandings.”
— Bobby Sanchez in IndigenousCosmology(CommaDee)
Further Learning & Related Resources
WeappreciatetheworkofQueerActivists,Educators,andScholarswhohave workedtirelesslytounearth&shareawealthofknowledge presence-ing transnational,queerhistories&present(s):Non-BinaryPeoplehavealways existedallaroundtheworld,albeitunderdifferentnames—andwealwayswill.
Wehavesharedsomeresourcestosupportfurthereducation&action,below:
LGBTQSexEd:Health,Rights,andPleasure ARecording& TrainingToolkit
SexeducationforLGBTQyouthtendstobeverylimited,bothinformalandinformalspaces. ThisworkshopwillraiseawarenessoftheimportanceofprovidingLGBTQyouthwithsex educationthatfollowsthe“triangleapproach”oflinkingsexualhealth,sexualrights,and sexualpleasure,whichwasformulatedbytheGlobalAdvisoryBoardforSexualHealthand Wellbeing(GAB).Theworkshopwillalsoprovidetheopportunitytolearnaboutspecific onlineLGBTQsexeducationresources.AresourceofPFLAGAcademyOnline.
SupportingTrans&NonbinaryLovedOnes:WhatWouldYouDo? ARecording+TrainingToolkit
Peoplewhoaretransgenderandnonbinary(andtheiraffirmingfamilies)areunderattack–in statelegislatures,inthemedia,andinschools.Therehasneverbeenagreaterneedtohave educatedandengagedalliesfightingforequality.Inthissession,weʼllreviewwhatadvocates needtoknowtofightfortheirtransandnonbinarylovedone.Thenweʼllputwhatweʼve learnedtowork,navigatingreal-worldscenarios.AresourceofPFLAGAcademyOnline.
MorefromPFLAGAcademyOn-Demand:
Whatthe+?:UnderstandingandSupportingExpansiveLGBTQ+Identities
OurTrans&NonbinaryLovedOnes:OwningYourRoleinCreatingMore InclusivePFLAGChapters StraightforEquality:BecomingaTransAlly
AdditionalResourcesfromPFLAG:
GuidetoBeingAnAllytoTransandNonbinaryPeople
OurTransLovedOnes
NuestrosSeresQueridosTrans
10ThingsYouCanDotoBeTransAlly
BreakingBinariesWorksheet
Pronouns:BeyondtheBasics
Pronouns:WhyTheyMatter
SomethingtoTalkAboutLive
Whatdoyoudowhensomeonedoesnʼtuseanypronouns?
2SpiritResources+Information:
AncientIdentityPoem(LIVE) written&performedbyBobbySanchez 2Spirit ABriefHistoryofTerminology&PrideFlag(s) WRNative
2SpiritsMission&Vision 2Spirits(Organization)
Additional(Miscellaneous)Resources:
WanttobeanAllythisTDoV?StartwithmyPronouns ByRakhelSilverman
TheHistoryofNon-BinaryGendersisLongerThanYouThink Tempest
HowtoUsePersonalPronouns AGuidefromPronouns.org
UsingTransPatients’CorrectPronounsIsaLifeorDeathMatter TeenVogue
AQuickandEasyGuidetoThey/ThemPronouns ArchieBongiovanni&
TristanJimerson(GraphicNovel)
QueerCommunityFlags QueerEvents
TransMasculinePhilippines anOrganizationforTransMascFilipinos.
Thomas(ine)Hall:IntersexIdentitiesinColonialVirginia CFMIGPost.
@CreatingFreedomMovements #MoreJusticeMoreJoy
Scan QR code(screenshot+visityourphotosandhold downonmobile)ORvisittiny.cc/NBInfoResourcesto accessmoreinformation&resources including clickablelinksandsourcesforallinformationshared.
