Ah folks, while I do think my writings on gender and justice are important and I have helped many -
I've never claimed to be an expert. I've learned a lot but I am always learning more.
But here's something I can definitively answer.
In response to the question - "Are nonbinary people considered to be trans?" I can say without equivocation:
A nonbinary person is trans if they identify this way.
It's that simple.
But...
In another sense, holy beans yes a nonbinary person is trans.
lulz
Because the experience of being trans is primarily thus:
I am a different gender than the one I was assigned and the one in which I was indoctrinated.
If you're cisgender, I guarantee you can't imagine what a big deal this really is. You can try, but you'll never get it.
And that's okay.
It's still very important you keep educating yourself.
I hope to provide a little of that, here.
***
I was assigned a gender when I was born. And then for years and years and years - almost a half century - this gender performance and identity were repeated at me and reinforced over, and over, and over and over, everywhere I went. From home to school to the grocery store. Everywhere.
(This gender is still hurled AT me, even today!)
When I came out as nonbinary, I experienced immediate exclusion, ridicule and scorn. From people I'd known (and previously trusted) for decades.
I can't begin to tell you what a mind-f*ck this has all been for me. It's a lot to recover from. :)
This post isn't really about me, though.
Promise.
***
I mean, let's think about it.
Today in America people are obsessed with knowing a baby's supposed gender. But really what everyone is after is the baby's genital configuration, not only knowing it but publicly disclosing it. Americans are so obsessed with babies' genitals they look for them in the womb! They go peeping on a fetus' goodies using the most advanced medical technology we have.
Weird energy if u ask me.
(Disrespectful too! But most people aren't ready to hear that!)
If you're a pregnant person or you've been one, you know that this is almost the first thing people ask you when you disclose you're to have a child. "Boy or a girl?"
With all my pregnancies, I elected not to spy on my baby's genitals in the womb and what I can tell you is, I had people ANGRY about this with me. People told me all kinds of reasons it would be more practical and BETTER FOR THEM, if I not only looked for my babies' genitals but then told everyone about them AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
And the obsession with a child's genitals does not end while baby is in utero. Oh no. That's just the tip of the iceberg!
The rest of their life a child is put into one of two boxes - "boy or girl" - that's it.
Those are the only options.
And they are repeated at us, stereotyped, joked about, and enforced multiple times daily.
I never knew there was another option outside "boy or girl" until I was a grown-ass adult, almost old enough to be a grandparent.
So yes -
For now and up until now in the American mainstream, being nonbinary - or genderqueer, bigender, agender, two-spirit or genderfluid - is absolutely a trans experience.
Boy don't I know it, because of the way I've been treated!
So I guess what I'd say is:
Your nonbinary friend (or family member, or coworker, et cetera) may or may not identify as trans.
But trust me, they were raised in a highly adversarial environment to who they really are.
(Some parents/carers raise their children without gendering them at birth and in early childhood, letting the child come to their own conclusion. This is such a fantastic practice that I encourage everyone reading here to educate themselves on this. I've included a link below that serves as a wonderful primer. But remember: the parents/carers who do this, experience severe resistance - and anger - from much of society. Not only that but: even if the parents/carers raise their children in this way, much of the outside world actively works against this.)
***
In closing, and in reference to the question I started with, I actually like what Wikipedia has to say here:
Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gender that is different from the sex assigned to them at birth, though some non-binary people do not consider themselves transgender.
Perfectly said!
Nonbinary people experience persecution, draconian legislation that aims to eradicate (544 bills in 42 states at the time of this post), scorn, marginalization, and ridicule - based on their gender identity (or lack thereof).
I feel pretty comfortable calling that a trans experience.
Resources:
"Can I be both transgender and nonbinary?", Planned Parenthood
Research shows exposure to gender stereotypes as a child causes harm, study
