What Does It Mean To Be Non-Binary?
People who identify as non-binary don't identify with the traditional two gender categories. Non-binary people don't fully identify with either women or men, but rather as both, as in-between or as having no gender.
Non-binary identity encompasses many other identities, such as genderqueer, genderfluid or agender, and it's based on the notion that gender it's not single or fixed, but fluid and constantly evolving. For example, there are non-binary people who define themselves as transgender, as they don't identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. Labels are seen as conventional and transient.
27-year-old Martha tells us about her experience:
“It was always very clear to me that I was different, though I didn't know why, from what and how. I didn't even know the non-binary world existed, and this is what's nice about it: discovering diversity through dialogue, understanding, experience – like doing a puzzle. Diversity is the sum total of the features that characterise us.”
In fact, binary-people's partners also call into question their own roles and mindsets in order to reach an intimacy that celebrates and respects each partner's uniqueness. Abandoning traditional roles has an influence on how we experience sexuality and allows to discover pleasure from a diverse range of perspectives.
I thought I couldn't experience pleasure, but now I see it as a discovery: a discovery that I can make together with someone I trust and who will accompany me on this journey.”