Did You Know? Non-Binary

Jerry Summers

Many individuals have heard the term “non-binary” listed in various sources in the media, but few have defined the word on a gender defining basis.

Here goes an attempt to dissect the term down to a relatively simple definition:

1. Binary – a coupling of two different items;

2. Used in the historical designation of gender is the inclusion of male and female;

3. In this category of gender, non-binary means that an individual does not fit in the traditional categories of binary as defined above;

4. Included within the definition non-binary are other subdivisions such as trigender, demigender, multigender, etc.

(The breakdown analysis and description of these terms is beyond the scope of this effort to come up with a brief explanation of non-binary.

Any effort to attempt to address an individual in a proper category of someone’s pronouns is also outside the purpose of this attempt to briefly define the term).

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You can reach Jerry Summers at jsummers@summersfirm.com)