Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

[Today is International Non-Binary People's Day. So here's a reminder that various cultures, ancient and current, had or still have non-male/non-female genders.]

"[...] The word 'non-binary' may have only come into public use more commonly in the last five years, but prior to that many other associated words were used to describe existing outside of binary gender and also expressions. Gender non-conformity has existed since humans have been here.

"In 19th Century Italy, many were called femmenielli, and alongside the Hijra community in South Asia, there are countless examples of indigenous ways of being outside the binary, and in many parts of pre-colonial African countries too. Sure, none of these communities were using this exact word, at that exact time, but the conception of being something beyond a man or a woman is certainly not a 21st Century phenomenon. This isn't to say the dialogue surrounding non-binary identities hasn't shifted and expanded, in many ways it has, but more to note a specific frustration I have with the framing of these identities as 'new', and the implications that this has on being a Black non-binary person.

"I do not think it is a coincidence that things are often seen as 'just beginning to exist' when they are placed within frames of the West and/or whiteness. Did we mean to say 'non-binary was new', or did we just mean to say 'non-binary is now something I see more white, western, middle class people talking about'. [...]"

-- Travis Alabanza, "Non-Binary People Aren't A New Phenomenon -- We've Been Here As Long As Humans Have Existed", 2018-05-12