What does non-binary mean?

Non-binary means that someone does not feel like a man or a woman, or not exclusively one or the other. A non-binary person places themselves outside the man/woman binary: somewhere in between, a little bit of both, or neither. The word describes a gender identity, meaning how someone experiences themselves. It says nothing about their body or about who they are attracted to.

Non-binary: meaning of the word

'Binary' means divided into two parts. The binary model refers to categorising people as men and women. Non-binary is a translation of the English non-binary and literally means: not divided into two. In academic literature, the word is often mentioned alongside the older term genderqueer.

Non-binary is an umbrella term. It includes a range of self-descriptions, such as genderfluid, agender, bigender, trigender, polygender, demigender, pangender, maverique, aporagender and xenogender. The complete overview can be found on the glossary page.

What is a non-binary person?

A non-binary person is someone who describes themselves that way. There is no test, diagnosis or physical characteristic that can establish this. It is based on self-reporting. What non-binary people have in common is that they experience the man/woman classification as inadequate for themselves. This concerns an inner sense of gender, not a description of the body. More about this distinction can be found under gender identity and expression.

What sex is a non-binary person?

Biologically, a non-binary person has the same sex as anyone else: male or female. Non-binary is not a third sex and not a biological category. Intersex is something different as well: it refers to rare medical variations in physical sex development. The difference between sex and gender is explained on the page what is gender. In official registration in the Netherlands, a non-binary person is registered as male or female, unless a court has ruled otherwise.

What does a non-binary person look like?

There is no single answer. You cannot tell from someone's appearance whether they are non-binary. Some non-binary people choose an androgynous appearance, with clothes and a hairstyle that are not clearly masculine or feminine. Others look just like most men or women. Clothing and appearance are called gender expression, which is different from gender identity.

How do you address a non-binary person?

That varies from person to person. Some non-binary people use 'he' or 'she'. Others ask for a gender-neutral pronoun. According to the language advice of the Dutch Language Union, 'they' and singular 'them' are the most promising forms, with 'theirs' and 'their' as possessive forms. Examples from that advice include: 'They are here for the first time today' and 'Tonight, Bo is coming to talk about their book'. 'Them' is more common in the Netherlands, while 'they' is more common in Belgium.

According to Onze Taal, 'them' and 'their' have been used as singular pronouns since around 2016. The Dutch Language Union does not prescribe anything. It notes that people often have a preference of their own and that they generally appreciate it when others take that preference into account. There is no legal obligation to use particular pronouns. More information can be found on the page about gender-neutral language. The origins of 'they' and 'them' in Dutch are described on letterbrij.nl.

The X in the passport

Dutch law does not recognise a general third category alongside male and female. An X can only be obtained through the courts. On 28 May 2018, the Limburg District Court ruled that the birth certificate of Leonne Zeegers from Breda could state that their sex could not be determined. On 19 October 2018, Zeegers became the first person in the Netherlands to receive a passport with an X. Since then, more people have followed that route. A bill allowing an X without a court order has been put out for online consultation. The procedure is explained under changing sex registration and changing a passport.

How many people in the Netherlands are non-binary?

Based on the 2023 Safety Monitor, Statistics Netherlands estimated that approximately 45,000 residents aged 15 and over are non-binary or genderqueer. That is 0.3 per cent of that population. According to Statistics Netherlands, this group is younger on average than the rest of the population and is relatively often found in highly urbanised municipalities. Other studies arrive at higher or lower figures. The result depends heavily on the question asked and on the answers people can choose from.

Famous non-binary people

In the Netherlands, presenter and musician Raven van Dorst is the best-known example. On 5 May 2021, Van Dorst announced on Instagram that they were non-binary and asked people to use the pronouns 'they' and 'them' in Dutch. Van Dorst was born with an intersex condition. Internationally, the British singer Sam Smith is well known; in 2019, Smith came out as non-binary and asked people to use the English pronouns 'they' and 'them'.

Non-binary identities and medical care

Gender care in the Netherlands was originally organised around persistent gender dysphoria and a transition from male to female or vice versa. An individualised pathway is increasingly available for non-binary care needs. These needs range from no medical intervention at all to specific hormonal or surgical procedures. The downside is that assessment for treatment has consequently become less clear-cut. Hormones and surgery are significant interventions and partly irreversible. See also the page on detransition.

Critical perspectives

It is understandable that people may feel uncomfortable with rigid expectations about how a man or a woman is supposed to behave. One can recognise this without concluding that someone falls between or outside the two sexes. Feminist and gender-critical authors, such as Kathleen Stock and Helen Joyce, point out that non-binary often expresses resistance to gender norms rather than describing a separate category of person.

In addition, gender identity is a theoretical concept. It cannot be measured objectively and is based on what someone says about themselves. Many non-binary labels originated online and have no established scientific basis. The fact that the group is relatively young on average and often lives in large cities is consistent with a cultural phenomenon. Researchers point to the role of peers and social media. In this context, the controversial hypothesis of rapid-onset gender dysphoria is also discussed.

Finally, there is debate about the consequences of recognition. Supporters see a third option in registration as recognition of diversity. Critics point to tensions with rights and services based on sex, such as women's sports, shelters, statistics and medical research. In their view, recognition of a self-chosen label is not the same as scientific substantiation.