In May 2021, popstar Demi Lovato revealed to the world on Twitter that they identified as nonbinary and would begin using the pronouns they/them. A number of Snopes readers asked us about the meaning of the term “nonbinary.” Many also asked about the meaning of the word “genderqueer.”
On the same day, Merriam-Webster’s dictionary reported that searches for the terms “they” and “nonbinary” were “among [its] top lookups on May 19th, 2021, after singer Demi Lovato announced that they identify as such.”
The Trans Journalists Association (TJA) explains the meaning of the term “nonbinary” as:
An umbrella term for genders other than man and woman. This is also a term for a specific gender. While non-binary is considered a trans identity, not everyone who is non-binary considers themselves trans. Be aware that Indigenous communities and communities of color have other words to describe gender variance. Sometimes these terms can be included in the non-binary umbrella and sometimes they cannot.