July 14th: International Non Binary People’s Day

July 14th, is International Non Binary People’s Day. It’s another day to celebrate the diverse and wonderful LGBT+ community in the city region and beyond, but to also raise awareness too.

What does it mean to be non-binary?

To be non-binary means that your gender identity or gender expression does not sit within the binary of ‘man’ or ‘woman’. As a non-binary person you can feel that your gender identity or experience involves being both a man and a women, or neither (having no gender); that it sits between, is fluid or is completely outside of that binary.

Non-binary people have a whole range of ways to express thier gender identity and experience. All of them are equally valid and must be respected.

Why celebrate on 14th July?

The reason International Non Binary People’s Day is celebrated on 14th July is because it is the midpoint between International Women’s Day in March and International Men’s Day in November. 

The flag of the non binary community, like all LGBT+ flags, is packed with meaning too. It was created in 2014 by Kye Rowan and features yellow, white, purple, and black horizontal stripes. 

The yellow stripe represents people whose gender exists outside of the binary, the white stripe, people with many or all genders, the purple stripe, people with genders considered a mix of male and female, and the black stripe to represent people who identify as not having a gender.

How can we celebrate and be allies to non-binary people?

  • Respect the language and individual uses – While the term ‘trans’ encompasses people whose gender is not the same as/does not sit comfortably with the sex they were assigned at birth, not all non-binary people identify themselves as trans. They may identify as one or more terms including (but by no means limited to) non-binary, genderqueer, genderfluid, agender, gender-variant or nongender (many of these communities also have their own flag, you can check them out in the “symbols” section here)
  • Respect and use their pronouns – if a nonbinary person has shared thier pronouns with you, use them at all times, even if they are not present. This will not only make the individual feel seen, understood and respected, it will encourage others to behave in the same way
  • Normalise pronouns – introduce yourself using your name and pronouns and if you are unsure of another person’s pronouns, simply ask politely. Add your pronouns to your email signature and social media profiles too
  • Use inclusive language when addressing groups – instead of “ladies and gentlemen” or “guys and girls”, use terms like “everyone” or “folks”.
  • Use the singular ‘their’ in writing – instead of he/she (e.g. “an employee can take their break from 12 noon onwards”, instead of “an employee can take his/her break from 12 noon onwards”)
  • If you’re unsure, use ‘they’ – if you aren’t sure about a person’s pronouns or their gender identity is unknown use the gender neutral pronoun ‘they’
  • If you make a mistake correct yourself and move on – If you misgender someone while speaking, correct yourself and carry on

Keep your eye out for our board member Emma Stewart (they/them) speaking about International Non Binary People’s Day in the Liverpool Echo tomorrow.

 

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