Enforcing the Gender Binary and Its Implications on Nonbinary Identities: An Exploration of the Linguistic and Social Erasure of Nonbinary Individuals in the United States

Abstract

In American society’s history, there has been a strong agreement on the existence of only two genders - male and female. However, there are people outside this binary called “nonbinary” individuals. The gender binary, whose enforcement begins with language and the spreading of binary ideology, prevents nonbinary people from partaking in daily life without being misgendered. Much of gender perception is based upon the “gender schema”, which organizes traits into categories of “male” and “female” when judging others. The ramifications include, and are not limited to, social, medical, and legal discrimination. The option for a legal third sex with the choice to change gender markers later on, a standard third-person singular gender neutral pronoun, and increased advocacy for ending the conflation of sex and gender can hopefully lead to the increased normalization and acceptance of nonbinary people.