So some of these terms have caused me quite a bit of confusion in the past, but I think I’m starting to understand them. I’ve written out my own definitions of the words that may or may not be helpful, but please let me know if I’ve gotten anything wrong…
Nonbinary - Identifying as neither wholly and exclusively male 100% of the time, nor wholly and exclusively female 100% of the time; not adhering to the strict male-female gender binary.
All of the following terms are more specific subcategories for nonbinary gender identities.
Abinary - Someone whose gender is unrelated to/not influenced by either binary gender. (Unaligned/other-aligned enbies and genderless folks.)
Nontrinary - A more specific subset of nonbinary that describes anyone who does not identify as wholly and exclusively male 100% of the time, nor wholly and exclusively female 100% of the time, but who does not describe themselves as a “third” gender either; a rejection of the idea that gender is a trinity/nonbinarity is a separate category, as opposed to gender being on a spectrum. (Anyone who is not male, female, or “third” gender.)
Atrinary - Someone whose gender is unrelated to/not influenced by either binary gender, including “third” genders. (Primarily other-aligned enbies.)
Anonbinary - A more specific term for those who are so removed from the gender binary, that they do not define their gender in relation to it. (Not either/or/neither/both, but something else entirely and completely unrelated; mostly other-aligned enbies, including xenic alignments and some ethnogenders.)
Anontrinary - Practically the same as anonbinary, but also excludes unrelated “third” genders. (Anyone who’s gender is both removed from the binary, and not defined as being “tertiary” to male and female, like aliagenders and many aporagenders.)
These terms are pretty broad, and I doubt most of them are used very often, especially not as identities in their own rights (just useful categories). But I imagine some people may have a difficult time narrowing their gender down beyond “not male or female.” So, in that respect, they can come in handy for those who are unsure of their exact identity.
If you’re still confused, here are some examples of terms that would fall under each category (and some that would be excluded by its usage):
Anyone who does not identify wholly and exclusively as either binary gender all the time
Excludes: Binary men & women
Quoigender, maverique, mercuriuan, plutoian, stellarian, genderfree, gendervoid/genderless/nongendered, some aingenders, many xenogenders, many ethnogenders
Excludes: demiboy/demigirl, xoy/xirl, genderfaun/genderfae, ambonec, epicene
Demi- boy/girl/nonbinary, xoy & xirl, genderfaun & genderfae, mercurian, stellarian, orientationgenders, many xenogenders, agender
Excludes: Binary men & women, “third” genders/aliagenders/non-specific aporagenders
Quoigender, maverique, some aingenders, many xenogenders, many ethnogenders, gendervoid/genderless/nongendered
Excludes: Demiboy/demigirl, xoy/xirl, genderfaun/genderfae, “third” genders/aliagenders/non-specific aporagenders
Many xenogenders, some ethnogenders, some aingenders, gendervoid/genderless/nongendered
Excludes: binary genders, masc- or fem-spec or -aligned genders, genders defined in any way as being “neither” or “both” (in relation to the binary)
Many xenogenders, some ethnogenders, some aingenders
Excludes: binary genders, masc- or fem-spec or -aligned genders, genders defined in any way as being “neither” or “both” (in relation to the binary), “third” genders/aliagenders/non-specific aporagenders
(Let me know if you can think of anymore examples for these, thanks!!🦋)
(Thanks to @lgbtqiarchive for helping me in defining trinary terminology!)
Note: I’ve also come across the terms negabinary and unbinary, but I’m still not 100% sure what they mean. Feel free to add onto this post if you’ve got any ideas.
