ENBYSWHO ARETRANS
ENBYSWITH MULTIPLE SETSOF PRONOUNS
ENBYSWHO AREAROMANTIC
ENBYSWHO JUSTDISCOVERED THEIRGENDER
ENBYSWHO AREQUEER ENBYSWHO AREDISABLED
ENBYS WHOFEEL INVALIDATED 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.
ENBYS WHOARE ASEXUAL
ENBYSOF ALLAGES
ENBYSWHO ARENOTOUTYET
ENBYSWHOARE STILLDISCOVERING THEIRGENDER
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 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:
#FFF433—Yellow
#FFF8E7—CosmicLatte
#9B59D0—Purple
#2D2D2D—Black
EACH COLOR HAS A SPECIFIC MEANING: COLOR A
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.
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)
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: @CreatingFreedomMovements #MoreJusticeMoreJoy
available on YouTube access online via tiny.cc/AncientIdentityPoem
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