Non-binary gender and LGBT history

February is LGBT history month which is always a busy time for me, hence few blog posts. I’m taking part in several events, mostly talking about the history of the non-binary gender movement which is a topic that I’ve written about – with Ben Vincent and Jos Twist – in this awesome new edited collection from Christine Burns: Trans Britain.

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The deep history of the non-binary movement is also a topic covered in this book that Christina Richards, Walter Bouman and I edited, Genderqueer and Non-Binary Genders. We really hope that this book will become a go-to volume for therapists, doctors, gender clinicians, and others working with non-binary folks. Feel free to recommend it to your counsellor, GP, or other relevant professional.

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If you’d like to read more about non-binary gender in the context of LGBT history, check out this interview that I did with Steve Topple.

We need to talk about non-binary gender. It could be a game-changer for society

Our society faces many challenges: climate change, the threat of nuclear war, and population growth – to name just three. But does the answer begin with the recognition of an issue that has a history stretching back thousands of years? Something which those in power may prefer wasn’t acknowledged?

A journey through space and time

Non-binary gender (sometimes referred to as ‘genderqueer’) is a term for people who don’t identify as male or female. As the Terrence Higgins Trust explains:

Gender is often referred to as a ‘binary’, meaning two – male and female. The term ‘non-binary’ refers to people who don’t believe that there are just two genders and who exist outside of the gender binary. Non-binary people class themselves as neither exclusively male nor female. They’re under the trans umbrella but may not consider themselves trans.

With February being LGBTQ+ history month, non-binary gender is being featured in the OUTing the Past festival. At its hub at the London School of Economics on Thursday 15 February, a presentation called Non-Binary Gender Across Time and Space is being given, providing the brief – often hidden – history of the UK non-binary movement. And its host Dr Meg-John Barker has spoken to The Canary about how non-binary gender has risen from societal invisibility to begin to become a movement; and what this could mean for our future, as a species. Read more…

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