A scoping review of non-binary research in “Australian” social sciences: Community, solidarity, resilience and resisting marginalisation

Abstract

Non-binary and genderqueer identities are increasingly discussed in public discourse and academia, but there remains a dearth of academic literature centred on non-binary people's lives and experiences. When non-binary people are included in research, it is frequently as an additive to explorations of trans identities and subsumed under the trans umbrella or treated as categorically indistinct. Much has been written from a clinical perspective, but the social sciences tend to discuss non-binary identity conceptually or as a proxy in theoretical arguments. Of the emerging sociological literature on non-binary identity, much is from the United States or the United Kingdom. Thus, this scoping review engaged with the corpus of research on non-binary people in “Australia” to consider social change and policy needs. We found much about the negative health impacts resulting from discrimination and barriers, emphasising the structural and systemic nature of the existing gender binary. However, the majority of these papers include a focus on how non-binary people actively participate in the collective creation of community, identity and safe spaces for affirmation. Resilience, coping strategies and solidarity were key themes and offer important insights into how the barriers identified can be ameliorated.