FAQ
• What does “genderqueer” means?
Genderqueer (GQ; alternatively non-binary) is a catch-all category for gender identities other than man and woman, thus outside of the gender binary and cisnormativity [x]
• Are “genderqueer” and “non-binary” interchangeable?
For some individuals they are, but not all people identify as both genderqueer and non-binary. You may learn more here.
• What is “cisnormativity”?
Cisnormativity is the assumption that every person’s gender identity fits the gender binary.
• What is the gender binary?
The gender binary, also referred to as gender binarism (sometimes shortened to just binarism), is the classification of sex and gender into two distinct, opposite and disconnected forms of masculine and feminine. As one of the core principles of genderism, it can describe a social boundary that discourages people from crossing or mixing gender roles, or from identifying with three or more forms of gender expression altogether [x]
• Is the gender binary oppressive?
Some cisgender people may not really mind the gender binary, but it is surely oppressive to those who do not feel like their assigned sex and gender identity match. While trans-women and trans-men experience discrimination and violence, people who do not fit the binary at all see their identities also being erased and invalidated.
• What does “cisgender” means?
Cisgender, as opposite to transgender, is a label used to describe women who were assigned female at birth (cis-women) and men who were assigned male at birth (cis-men).
• What do “AFAB” and “AMAB” mean?
AFAB stands for “Assigned Female At Birth”, while AMAB stands for “Assigned Male At Birth”.
• How do people outside the binary identify?
People outside the binary may describe themselves as genderqueer or non-binary individuals, but they can also use more specific labels. Some of them are:
agender: a person who do not identify with any gender.
bigender: a person who identify with more than one gender; they may, as example, identify both as a man and a woman.
demigirl/demiguy: someone assigned female/male at birth who feels but the barest association with that identification, though not a significant enough dissociation to create real physical discomfort or dysphoria; alternatively, someone assigned male/female at birth who is transfeminine/transmasculine but not wholly binary-identified.
genderfluid: a person whose gender identity is fluid; they may, as example, identify alternately as a woman and a man.
neutrois: a person which gender identity is neutral or null.
Here you can a more inclusive list of genderqueer and non-binary identities.
• Genderqueer and non-binary people have different sexual orientations?
Of course! A genderqueer or non-binary person may identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual, etc. just as anybody else.
• Is “intersex” a non-binary gender identity?
Not at all. Intersex, in humans and other animals, is a variation in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, or genitals that do not allow an individual to be distinctly identified as male or female. Such variation may involve genital ambiguity, and combinations of chromosomal genotype and sexual phenotype other than XY-male and XX-female. Intersex infants and children, such as those with ambiguous outer genitalia, may be surgically and/or hormonally altered to fit into a perceived more socially acceptable sex category. Increasingly these issues are recognized as human rights abuses, with statements from UN agencies, a national parliament, and ethics institutions. Research in the late 20th century indicates a growing medical consensus that diverse intersex bodies are normal—if relatively rare—forms of human biology [x]
• An intersex person is also genderqueer or non-binary?
Intersex people have all sorts of gender identities. While most intersex people identify as men or women, some of them may identify as genderqueer or non-binary.
