Non-Binary People In History and Across Cultures

Non-binary people in history have always been around. They are people who identify as neither male nor female. In this article, we explore the various cases of historical figures who may have been non-binary.

They may have been somewhere in the middle of the gender spectrum, have had a fluid identity, or not have had a gender at all. In fact, non-binary doesn’t describe a single gender identity. The term describes a vast range of identities that don’t fit into a binary gender structure of male or female.

Why Is it Important to Recognise Non-Binary People in History?

Recent studies have found that non-binary people make up as much as 11% of all LGBTQ+ people. In the USA alone, that’s around 1.2 million people. Despite this, the recognition of non-binary people in history and their rights has been sluggish worldwide.

Some countries like Uruguay, Nepal, Iceland, Argentina, and Australia legally recognise non-binary identities. Other countries like India and Pakistan recognise traditional genders (like the kinnar and khawaja sira). However, in many countries (like the UK), non-binary people can’t yet have their correct gender marker on their legal documents or IDs.

Dangers of Not Recognising Non-Binary as a Legitimate Identity

There are real dangers inherent in not recognising non-binary identity – in its various forms – as something that exists and has historically existed as a natural part of human diversity. Without proper legal recognition, non-binary people are at risk of falling through the gaps in anti-discrimination protections.

For instance, the UK’s Equality Act 2010 names gender identity as one of its protected characteristics. Still, it took the Taylor v Jaguar Land Rover court ruling (2020) to clarify that this includes non-binary people.

The lack of visibility can also make it difficult to access care and support services. Non-binary people have a higher occurrence of depression and suicidality. They also have a lower uptake of mental health services than transgender people in general.

From Invisibility to Visibility

One of the reasons for this lack of recognition is the perception that non-binary people are a new phenomenon. Over the past ten years, the number of people identifying as gender-incongruent (their gender identity does not match their assigned sex at birth) has doubled.

Non-binary people are more visible than ever in arts and media, like musician Janelle Monae, showrunner Noelle Stevenson and actor Asia Kate Dillon. But this isn’t something new. Rather, it’s the consequence of better knowledge and improved visibility.

 

Listen to our podcast on non-binary identity with author and academic Meg-John Barker

 

Non-Binary People In History: An Overview

Non-binary people in history have always existed. Many indigenous peoples, for instance, have traditional gender roles that exist outside the binary.

Two-spirit is an umbrella term that some Native American and First Nations people use to describe identities that exist beyond male and female. They do not correspond to non-Native structures of gender. In Hawaii, māhū are non-binary people with a rich history of important spiritual and social roles.

In the Byzantine Empire, some AFAB people went on to join all-male orders of monks, using

male and female pronouns interchangeably.

The famous French warrior Joan of Arc used female pronouns. However, when she was called by God, she took up exclusively masculine clothing and social roles.

In more recent non-binary history we can find people like Vita Sackville-West, who had relationships with both men and women, sometimes presenting as a woman and sometimes as a man.

We don’t have to look hard to find non-binary people in history and all around the world. The problem isn’t that they are new, but that governments – particularly now, in the 21st century – have failed to recognise them.

Non-Binary People In History: Two-Spirit Identity

The term “two-spirit” was coined in 1990 to represent indigenous American peoples’ cultural recognition of non-binary identity, through their own understanding of gender, throughout history. The term was coined to elegantly portray the uniqueness, character, and nature of the vibrant indigenous third-gender tribal culture as distinct in comparison to modern, non-native LGBT culture.

Two-spirited people in Native American history typically enjoy and fulfil ceremonial and social roles that are outside of their sex assigned at birth. Two-spirit people harbour both the soul of a male and female spirit within themselves, graced with the vision to see life through the eyes of both genders. It doesn’t necessarily mean the person is gay or transgender.

The term is generally only appropriate for Native people and is a highly ceremonial role for what modern society calls gender fluid, genderqueer, or gender non-conforming.

As a show of strength, desire, and tradition, the term was elegantly and deliberately designed as a bastion of staunch resistance to their colonisers, to ensure the potency of their ceremonies. It was also meant as a way to highlight that their culture and understanding of non-binary identity was unique and not interchangeable with other cultures.

Modern Native Perspective on Two Spirit Identity

Incredibly, many elders in Native American society have vindicated the terms use, imploring that it’s different from western LGBT identity and has much more of a spiritual, sacred, and ceremonial role in Aboriginal societies.

Being two-spirit was absolutely secondary to their tribal identity but continued to play a very important anthropological role within Native American society. Still, despite the term’s positive intentions across native peoples’ cultures, it was not without criticism within the Native community, as with all non-binary people in history.

Some tribes claimed it will erase their own tribes’ bespoke and sewn terms for non-binary people. However, even though many of the tribes oppose the term “berdache”, there are still individual terms that are deeply woven within their culture, many of which are delightfully celebratory and gracefully commemorated.

Furthermore, there’s also alarm that this might promote the idea that all Native Americans believe that two-spirit people have the spirit of both male and female, which is not always the case.

Note: Tribes often have their own terms and understanding of the two-spirit identity, so it’s best to consider it as a non-binary umbrella term.

Two-Spirit Societies Today

Among the goals of various two-spirit societies are a combination of group support, outreach, education about non-binary people in history, a variety of activism, and a multitude of different cultural traditions, including the preservation of old languages, skills and a variety of ceremonial dances.

They take on a variety of traditionally feminine activities such as cooking and cleaning amongst themselves, too!

Some of the two-spirit societies around the world include:

Historical Accounts of Two-Spirit People and Cultural Misunderstandings

When certain people of native tribes did cross-dress, this was not indicative of the person’s gender identity, ceremonial role, or social role in Native American tribes.

Some native Americans and non-binary people in history may have mistakenly portrayed as two-spirit, when in fact this may have holistically been a cultural misunderstanding by Western Historians.

The overall role and existence of two-spirit people within Native society have been acutely described as being an absolutely fundamental institution among many of the tribal people of Native America.

They have been recorded as being in over 130 indigenous American tribes, across all regions of the North American continent.

When explorer Don Pedro Fages went on his expedition in 1770, he noted the presence of Two-Spirit people, or as he allied them “sodomites”. He was relatively surprised at their high level of spirit and their high rank within Native American societies.

Recognizing Non-Binary People and Their History

The fight for legal recognition for non-binary people may be ongoing. The evidence for non-binary people in history should add conviction to the fight. However, there are a few easy things we can do to help improve the situation.

For instance, it is already becoming commonplace to include gender pronouns in social media profiles, work emails, and similar. This can help non-binary people who use neither masculine nor feminine pronouns be open about how they identify.

In public services, like shelters and outreach programs, we should consider whether we’re doing enough to ensure the inclusion of non-binary people. In women’s services, trans-inclusive organisations run the risk of excluding non-binary people if they use gendered terminology.

Likewise, in healthcare, it’s important to understand how gender binaries can prevent people from accessing vital services. Non-binary people are more likely to miss cervical screenings, for example. This is because the information and procedures are so heavily gendered. This can even extend to transgender healthcare, where some services only consider transition options for trans women and trans men.

Find Alignment With GenderGP

At GenderGP we understand that not all gender journeys fit into a binary structure. For that reason, we aim to provide non-binary people with a pathway tailored to their identity and their needs.

By looking at non-binary people in history, we have a strong understanding of non-binary people’s needs and wants.

 

Find your pathway today, whatever your identity.

 

The first step to better recognition of non-binary people is to see them and to hear them. That means listening to them forthwith and recognising their stories throughout history. If we can do this, we can bring about a cultural shift. This will lead us to better protections, better understanding, and better rights for all.

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