Non-binary Awareness Week is the week around July 14 (International Non-binary People’s Day). It has been celebrated since 2012, and gains recognition every year. This is not so different from non-binary and gender non-conforming identities themselves, which have historical precedent in cultures all over the world.
Non-binary identity encompasses a range of experiences, regardless of biological sex, sexual orientation, or even gender expression. There are non-binary people of all races, ethnicities, and nationalities. There are non-binary people all along (and beyond!) the spectrum of gender presentation. Some non-binary people identify somewhere along the spectrum— that is to say, some percent feminine and some percent masculine. Others don’t identify with any gender (agender), some identify as multitudes, and some identify beyond the gender spectrum (aporagender; maverique).
As a note: while it is common to use “NB” to refer to non-binary people, a significant portion of the community is moving away from this to avoid confusion or co-opting an abbreviation coined by Black women activists to refer to non-Black (NB) people. People often use “enby” instead, though some prefer to stick with non-binary, or a more specific descriptor of their identity.
Today we are sharing some of our non-binary team members’ thoughts and perspectives about what it means to them to be non-binary and to be visible, as humans and mental health professionals.
Erica Zajac, LCSW
As a non-binary person, I have found it it difficult to discuss with certain people, and sometimes choose not to because of the emotional labor it requires. As a clinician, I believe it helps my gender non-conforming patients, as many cisgender people need a lot of education which can be exhausting and/or not affirming. I believe that it allows me to join faster with a client; instead of spending time educating a therapist, we can get into the work we need to focus on faster. In addition, there are still a lot of issues that cisgender mental health providers don’t understand and therefore would not be able to address or understand in the same way, such as micro aggressions and gender dysphoria. I am hoping awareness will bring more allies who work to educate themselves and others. The more that people support us in our personal and professional lives, the more we can work to end gender discrimination.
Dean Tulkoff, TMS Technician & Winnicott Coach
My pronouns are ze/hir/hirs or they/them/theirs. I am neither a man nor a woman. I’m a little of both, a whole lot of neither, and the gender label I am most comfortable with is Genderqueer. Conforming to gender roles is a heavy weight I could not carry, and fitting neatly in a category has never really worked for me. The realization that i don’t have to was one of the most liberating realizations I’ve had. What being Genderqueer means to me is self determination. I find freedom in the spaces in between and beyond. Who I am is simply me, not defined by gender, but simultaneously deconstructing and redefining it.
Timothy Biden, Front Desk Associate
For me, being nonbinary continues to evolve in meaning. As a kid I was constantly redirected from Barbie to GI Joe, from pinks and purples to blues and greens. When I asked for dance class, I was signed up for t-ball. To be a “man” felt like I was constantly signing up for a club that didn’t want to admit me. The beginning of my journey (which wasn’t that long ago, to be honest) came through meeting other wonderful NB individuals and reading literature by NB authors that gave me the vocabulary and validation to truly know myself. If I’m honest with myself, I’ve never felt either “man” or “woman” per say, I feel both, I feel neither, I feel gender expressions that I don’t necessarily have the words to describe. To be non-binary gives me the freedom to communicate more honestly with myself than I have ever in my life.
