Some people use “enby” to mean nonbinary.
Nonbinary vs. EnbyDo These Terms Mean the Same Thing?
Gender identity is different fromgender expression.
Alison Czinkota / Verywell
Gender is also different from sex and sexual orientation.
People of any sex can have any gender identity and sexual orientation.
The concepts are independent.
What Is the Gender Binary?
The biology of sex is complex.
Most people are XX or XY, but some people are XXY or XO.
In addition, your chromosomes don’t fully determine your sexual anatomy.
Some people have XY chromosomes and are born with uteruses.
Someone can be intersex, but a person is not “an intersex.”
While there are many types of nonbinary gender, some are more commonly discussed than others.
For example, if you are someone attracted to men and identify as heterosexual, your gender is woman.
Some nonbinary people identify as woman- or man-aligned.
Many transfeminine people who fit this bill can and do identify as lesbians.
Being woman- or man-aligned is not a watered-down version of being woman or man.
Alignment does not make a nonbinary person less nonbinary.
There are also nonbinary people who identify as being unaligned.
Gender and Pronouns
People who are nonbinary may use gender-neutral pronouns.
Although there are a variety of gender-neutral pronouns, the most commonly used is the singular ‘they.’
(The singular they was used twice in the previous sentence and you probably didn’t notice.)
It’s not that much harder to use the singular they to refer to people who use this pronoun.
Plus,using a person’s correct pronounis both truthful and respectful.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
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