Anonymous user
Slight grammar improvements
mNo edit summary |
(Slight grammar improvements) |
||
Line 1:
[[File:Enbyflag.png|thumb|220x220px|The non-binary flag.]]
'''Non-Binary''' (sometimes shortened to '''
Non-binary can be a gender identity on its own, or it can be used as an umbrella term for anyone whose gender is something other than male or female. Some people may also use the term [[genderqueer]] interchangeably with non-binary.
Line 23:
Each non-binary person has a unique relationship with pronouns. Some non-binary people may go by she/her pronouns or he/him pronouns. If they're an English speaker they may go by they/them pronouns. Others still will go by [[neopronouns]].
== History ==
Line 39:
=== Victorian Era (17th-19th Century) ===
* In the 17th century, English laws concerning inheritance sometimes referred to people who didn’t fit the gender binary using the pronoun "it". While dehumanizing, it was considered the most grammatically fit answer to gendered pronouns around then. This is an example of people being considered legally outside of male and female.<ref>https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/singular-nonbinary-they</ref>
* Although the "singular they" had been in use in English for hundreds of years in 1745, prescriptive grammarians began to say that it was no longer acceptable. Their reasoning was that neutral pronouns don't exist in Latin, which was thought to be a better language, so English shouldn't use them either. They instead recommended using "he" as a gender-neutral pronoun. This started the dispute over the problem of acceptable gender-neutral pronouns in English<ref>https://www.theawl.com/2011/01/our-desperate-250-year-long-search-for-a-gender-neutral-pronoun/</ref>.
* The Public Universal Friend (1752-1819) was a genderless evangelist who traveled throughout the eastern United States to preach a theology based on that of the Quakers, which was actively against slavery. The Friend believed that God had reanimated them from a severe illness at age 24 with a new spirit, which was genderless. The Friend refused to be called by the birth name, even on legal documents, and insisted on being called by [[Nullpronoun|no pronouns]]. Followers respected these wishes, avoiding gender-specific pronouns even in private diaries, and referring only to "the Public Universal Friend", "the Friend" or "P.U.F." The Friend wore clothing that contemporaries described as androgynous, which were usually black robes.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Universal_Friend</ref>
|