Miley Cyrus, Pete Townshend, Ruby Rose, Amandla Stenberg, Eddie Izzard, Tilda Swinton and Steven Tyler all have something in common…and it isn’t their celebrity status. They identify as nonbinary.

But first, a few definitions.

“Binary” literally means “something made of or based on two things or parts,” which, in relation to gender, refers to the two binary genders, male and female; it makes sense, then, that nonbinary gender identities are any gender identities that are not strictly male or female. I think the simplest way to define “nonbinary” is to first define its opposite, “cisgender.” Someone who is cisgender identifies with the gender assigned to them at birth based on their biological sex, which means that a nonbinary person is anyone who does not fully identify with the gender that “matches” their biological sex.

Nonbinary, as an umbrella term, encompasses literally hundreds of other gender identities – like genderfluid, agender, pangender, bigender, neutrois, graygender, and, in fact, so many more gender identities that it would be impossible to list them all here. Some psychologists even suggest that the number of genders in existence is infinite or unlimited, because we all experience gender differently (even if some of us claim the same gender identity).

Now, I know that you’re probably trying to call to mind an image of each of the celebrities I mentioned earlier, and maybe you’re thinking to yourself, “But Ruby Rose looks like a woman and uses she/her/hers pronouns and you’re trying to tell me that she’s not a woman.”

That’s right. I am. Because despite the way she looks, the pronouns she uses, or her biological sex, she’s not a woman. Because even when she's in a dress, she’s not a woman. Because even if she had long hair, she wouldn't be a woman. Because even though she isn’t a woman, she’s not a man, either. She has explained in countless interviews that she is genderfluid, which means that her gender varies over time or changes in response to certain situations or circumstances. This can be particularly confusing in a world that operates on a system of binaries and insists on the erasure of any identity that doesn’t meet the standards of that binary. In the same way that bisexuals are invalidated by the binary system – “you’re either straight or gay” – nonbinary people are invalidated by a binary system that suggests that someone can only be male or female.

While the “T” in LGBT+ is working its way into discussions about equality across the globe, it seems as though lesser-known nonbinary identities aren’t just being ignored, their existence is going entirely unrecognized and acknowledged outside of the nonbinary community. As transwomen and transmen are allowed into the spotlight to be vocal about their experiences as transgender people, nonbinary folks are rarely afforded such an opportunity. We watched as Caitlyn Jenner was thrust into the spotlight during her transition, and are still witnessing the effects it’s having on her life. Laverne Cox has used her voice as a transgender woman of color to speak out about racial inequality, gender inequality and women’s rights. But where are the nonbinary celebrities who deserve the right to talk about the issues that a lot of nonbinary people struggle with, like gendered language and misgendering, gender dysphoria, the legal aspects of being nonbinary, and presenting as a nonbinary person? (Most recently, the media covered Oregon resident Jamie Shupe's fight for the addition of "nonbinary" as a legal gender that both they and other nonbinary individuals in Oregon may claim -- even on legal documents like their driver's license or passport, but beyond that, the discussion of non binary gender identities is nearly nonexistent in the mainstream media.)

This isn’t to say that transgender individuals have enough room in the media, but instead to say that as they gain the ability to use their voices, I’m hopeful that they invite other nonbinary people into those very public and very televised spaces and say, “I understand that you have things to say and you deserve a voice,” for the sake of all the nonbinary people who feel as though their gender isn’t valid (or valid enough) simply based on a lack of recognition.