This past August, Teen Vogue released its first issue curated entirely by women. One of the most popular segments featured Gloria Steinem and Amandla Stenberg in conversation. They were "feminist forces—separated by more than six decades in age—[uniting] to plot the future of the movement." You can read the piece here.

(Photo credit: Teen Vogue)

The feminist role models discussed intersectional feminism, reproductive rights, and more. At one point, Steinem asks Stenberg: "Was there a time in your life where you thought feminism—or if we could allow other words, womanism—wasn’t for you?"

Their response is introspective and eloquent, but the final sentence of their statement is the most thought-provoking.

"I never did not identify as a feminist, but I didn’t know where I belonged because I didn’t see myself represented. As I started to explore my gender identity, 
I didn’t know how I could claim the title of feminist without subscribing to the gender binary. I thought I had to be a proud woman to be a feminist. Then I came to the realization that I can be proud of women without necessarily identifying as one. A lot of people are rejecting the binary—that’s the future of feminism."

The complete rejection of the binary, while not new in practice and identification, is starting to become an acceptable proclamation. Along with Stenberg, Miley Cyrus, Gerard Way, Ruby Rose, Angel Haze, and Olly Alexander are just a few celebrities who have rejected the gender binary in recent years.

(Photo credit: BBC)

But what does it mean to reject the gender binary?

The Oxford English dictionary defines gender as "the state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones)." The dictionary defines nonbinary as "denoting or relating to a gender or sexual identity that is not defined in terms of traditional binary oppositions such as male and female or homosexual and heterosexual." Therefore, to be nonbinary is to reject the societal and cultural notions placed upon you based on your biological sex. Sometimes this means not identifying as a man or woman. Either way, nonbinary people are part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Nonbinary people do not always identify with similar pronouns or labels. Many use they/them pronouns, like Stenberg. Some are comfortable with multiple or all pronouns when being referred to. A few common labels, apart from "nonbinary," are "genderqueer," "agender," and "gender-fluid." Each one of the labels has slight variations in definition, which reveals the diversity in identification. Others may choose not to identify with any labels at all.

iO Tillett Wright is one of them. A rising author, photographer, and activist, Wright is known for openly rejecting gender norms throughout his life.

(Photo credit: iD)

The very definition of "nonbinary" challenges the idea that there are only two ends on the spectrums of sexual orientation and gender. You're either straight or gay, and male or female. Wright disproves these notions in his TED talk, Fifty shades of gay, which has over 2.5 million views:

"I found that most people fall on a spectrum of what I have come to refer to as 'Grey,'" Wright explains. "What I am saying though is that human beings are not one-dimensional. If you have gay people over hereand you have straight people over here,and while we recognize that most people identifyas somewhere closer to one binary or another,there is this vast spectrum of people that exist in between."

However, it's Wright's current project that has garnered massive amounts of attention. According to the project's official website, "The Self Evident Truths Project is a photographic document of 10,000 people in the USA who identify as anything other than 100% straight." The goal of the project is to humanize these people, who are often subject to societal bigotry and stereotyping. Putting faces against the labels forces us to view people as people, rather than reduce them to props in our biased perspectives of the world.

But to return to Amandla Stenberg's point—how does rejecting the gender binary help feminism and the fight for equality?

The oppression of any marginalized group stems from the gender divide. Before people were divided by race, sexual orientation, or other ascribed characteristics, they were divided by gender. Patriarchal systems still remain dominant over the vast majority of countries worldwide, and their lasting impacts will remain after they've been dismantled. Realizing that gender is a societal construct rather than a dividing factor could eliminate current status quo. The idea that a person's worth is based on their ascribed characteristics would be scraped in time. Of course, innumerable elements of society need to change in order for the status quo to shift from ignorance to tolerance.

Stripping the importance and relevance of the gender binary is a step in the direction of equality. The rejection of societal constructs humanizes all of us, creating a sense of understanding rather than intolerance. After all, as Wright has said, "familiarity is the gateway drug to empathy." And all ignorance stems from a lack of understanding and, therefore, empathy.

Note: This article does not reflect the views of Concordia University Chicago or the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.