More than 1 million nonbinary adults live in the US, study finds

[Alben Barkley]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/06/22/first-population-estimate-lgbtq-non-binary-adults-us-is-out-heres-why-that-matters/

The U.S. Census doesn’t ask about gender identity. Until now, no population estimate of nonbinary LGBTQ adults in the United States existed.
There are about 1.2 million nonbinary LGBTQ adults in the United States, according to the first broad-based population estimate of this kind, which was released Tuesday. That’s just less than the population of Dallas, Texas.

The Williams Institute, a research center focused on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy, conducted the study. Its data offers a portrait of a slice of the LGBTQ community that has long been ignored.

The data reveals a growing group, largely composed of young people, that mirrors the mental health struggles experienced by the wider LGBTQ community. At a time when measures that could broaden protections for gender minorities such as nonbinary people face uncertain political fates, researchers hope this estimate can show nonbinary people are a significant subgroup of the LGBTQ population.

How did we go from nobody having heard of non-binary to 1.2 million so rapidly, exactly?

[Alben Barkley]

I like how everyone is reading way too much into this when I just asked a simple question LOL. Chill. There was no ulterior motive. I just saw the article and thought this sounded high, even taking into account that it’s a small percentage of the population.

But assuming the estimate is correct or close, regarding my question: I think “people are more accepting” is certainly one hypothesis that could explain it. But I don’t think comparisons to gay people are perfect. There have clearly always been people who are gay and identify/behave as such. Sexuality is relatively straightforward compared to gender identity, and even trans identity is relatively straightforward compared to non-binary. The entire concept is a relatively new and nebulous one. It wasn’t that everyone always knew that there were non-binary people and oppressed them. It seems more like that basically nobody “identified” as non-binary at all, and suddenly a bunch have decided they are. It seems almost undeniable to me that social trends are a large part of that; unlike sexual orientation, I am not convinced that it’s something fixed and innate, but much more fluid and based on cultural views of gender roles. Hell, I thought that was the point?

I don’t particularly care and no, I am not worried about this hurting Dems in 2022. But I will say that I do find it curious how many biological women in my experience are identifying as non-binary lately, changing absolutely nothing about themselves. It’s more like “Oh I’m a tomboy who hates pink, must not really be a woman but don’t feel like a man either.” In those cases it’s not clear to me how much thought really went into adopting the label, and how much was more just following the trends or believing that any deviation from some strange Platonic ideal of how a gender is “supposed” to be meaning you are literally not that gender. I find that bizarre because by such a strict standard, EVERYONE would be “non-binary.”

[Alben Barkley]

I do think it's likely that there are some people who are legitimately non-binary; i.e. they feel genuine gender dysphoria over identifying with either gender.

But I also get the impression that a significant number of people who now identify as nonbinary don't actually experience any dysphoria in the medical sense.

Rather, they are mostly just embracing an aesthetic that has become popular within a certain Gen-Z niche.  Somewhat like the kids who identified as "goths" back when I was in high school.

1. That take takes me back to high school when folks coming out were scoffed as millennials just "going through a phase" or "following a fad", not unlike wearing skinny jeans. The more things change

2. What a murderers row that is the list of recommendations. Only folks missing are OP & DaleCooper.

Not anymore!

[Alben Barkley]

Even if there was so contingent of people who aren't really trans (whatever that's supposed to mean), who cares. Just let people live their lives. Not sure why the continued maintenance of rigid gender roles is so important to so many people here

As I've said before, suggesting that how someone dresses and behaves determines that person's gender is actually what maintains rigid gender roles.

Good thing nobody says that?

Then what then does determine gender?

I’ve honestly never heard an answer that doesn’t ultimately fall back on gender stereotypes that would otherwise be considered sexist.