Gender Non-Conforming is a gender expression spectrum that describes anyone who expresses at least one gender quality that does not align with the societal expectations of their internal gender.
It should be noted that an individual may still be considered Gender-Non-Conforming even if they conform to the societal expectations for one of their genders, in this case being if the individual has more than one gender. As an example, some Gender Non-Conforming individuals may only use pronouns as a Gender Non-Conforming quality, whereas others may use clothing, hair, pronouns, and more.
About Blurring the Lines Between Cross-Dressing and Gender Non-Conformity[]
While cross-dressing is one subtype of Gender Non-Conformity, it is not the only subtype. All cross-dressers are Gender Non-Conforming, but not all Gender Non-Conforming individuals are crossdressers. For example, if a man used feminine pronouns, they could still be considered Gender Non-Conforming, as they use one gender quality that does not fit the expectations created by society for their own gender.
Qualities of Gender Expression[]
- Clothing / Accessories
- Hair (Head and body)
- Mannerisms
- Cosmetics
- Physique
- Sex characteristics
- Pronouns
- Gendered nouns
- Gendered labels
- Gendered titles
History[]
Gender Non-Conformity has an ancient and extensive history. Historically, Gender Non-Conformity has often been incorrectly labeled as, and confused with Transgenderism.[1][2] It is very important to distinguish these two today, because Gender Non-Conformity refers to gender expression, whereas the term Transgender refers to gender identity.
Ancient Gender Non-Conformity dates as far back to 150 BCE[3] where most of its recorded history are accounts of cross-dressing in theatre and literature. Performance arts have always contained practices of Gender Non-Conformity,[4] mainly in Greece and China. However, newer accounts of Gender Non-Conformity have been exhibited by Drag Queens circa the 1880s[5] at its first usage of the word 'Drag.' Though, Drag Art did not take off later until the mid nineteenth century.[6]
Performance arts are not the only historical examples of early Gender Non-Conformity. Many Transgender individuals also practice Gender Non-Conformity in the early stages of self-discovery.[7] And while the term Gender Non-Conforming is not exclusive to people that are not Transgender, it is important to note that many Transgender individuals use the term, often when they have not yet expressed the societal expectations for their affirmed gender.
The term for the Gender Non-Conforming spectrum is relatively new, as is the spectrum[8] itself. Up until recent years, Gender Non-Conforming was often mislabeled or was said that cross-dressing was the only form of it.[9] And while cross-dressing is still today the most popular subtype recognized as Gender Non-Conformity, clothing is not the only gender expression quality that composes the spectrum. It is unknown who coined the term and when.