History and Cultural Diversity

Breaking down barriers and binaries in trans healthcare: the validation of non-binary people

“…For the sake of this editorial, I define non-binary people as those who do not identify (exclusively) as male or female. I also use this as an umbrella term which is inclusive of people who identify themselves as genderqueer, agender/neutrois, and culturally specific conceptualizations of gender that exist outside of the Westernized gender binary (Vincent & Manzano, 2017). Language and identity categories are in a constant state of evolution, with many other terms used to capture particular experiences of (non-binary) gender.…”

Un/gendering Social Selves: How Nonbinary People Navigate and Experience a Binarily Gendered World

“…For example, in parts of Chile and Argentina, “machi” are spiritual leaders who fluidly move between or embrace both womanhood and manhood during healing ceremonies (Bacigalupo ). Similarly, “hijras” on the Indian subcontinent and “two‐spirit” indigenous North Americans are not confined by binary gender identity and engage in ritualistic practices involving gender fluidity (Vincent and Manzano ). We note such cases not to equate or conflate them with adopting a nonbinary identity in contemporary U.S. culture but to point out that various cultures have made space for those who do not identify as binarily gendered.…”

Specific Detriment: Barriers and Opportunities for Non-Binary Inclusive Sports in Scotland

“…Gender expressions, roles, and identities that transgress binary gender norms, practices, and embodiments have existed across time and throughout the world in different cultures and geographical regions, examples including the Hijra in India, Kathoey in Thailand, and two spirit identities in Native American communities (Feinberg, 1992;Herdt, 1993;Vincent & Manzano, 2017). While "non-binary," as a label for an identity category and a specific, principally Western movement of gender activism, has only reached critical mass during the last decade (Bergman & Barker, 2017), the myriad historical and cross-contextual realities of gender diversity bring into question the idea that gender is a binary constant (Vincent & Manzano, 2017).…”

“…This is analogous to the limitations of the cis/trans binary in capturing the complexities of identity and interpersonal interactions (Enke, 2012). Like many do, we will use the term "cis" to refer to women and men who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth, because "cis" challenges the common implicit exclusion of trans people from the wider "men" and "women" categories, avoiding the positioning of cis gender as the implied norm against which "trans" can be used as a qualifier, signifying deviance (Vincent & Manzano, 2017). Yet, the cis/trans distinction enacts a conceptual border of its own that silences the ambiguities of gender identities and expressions that sit at the boundary between "cis" and "trans," including some non-binary gender articulations that cut across "cisness" and "transness."…”