enby
noun
| EN-bee
A nonbinary person; relating to or being nonbinary
What does enby mean?
Enby is an informal term for a person whose gender identity is nonbinary (neither entirely male nor female). It is used to refer to a nonbinary person or to nonbinary gender identities.
Examples of enby
Just a reminder to our queer/trans/enby community, Redwing Cafe is a safe space for you and we strive for a future where that is true everywhere
—@redwingcafe, Instagram, 23 Feb. 2024
As a transfeminine enby, I find myself feeling excluded and erased in both transfeminine spaces AND enby spaces.
—The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey has shared a heart-warming message to themselves as a child on social media, and trans, enby and “gender funky” fans everywhere are loving it.
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Where does enby come from?
Enby is based on the pronunciation of NB, an abbreviation of nonbinary. The term is thought to have originated on the social website Tumblr in 2013, when a user named revolutionator suggested it as an nonbinary alternative to gendered terms like boy and girl. Some people feel that the word enby should be used as an abbreviation for non-Black (in distinction from the use of NB for nonbinary), in reference to non-Black people of color.
How is enby used?
Enby is often in use as a noun, to describe nonbinary people (‘enby authors’). Like the term nonbinary itself, it is also used as an adjective, as in “The director sought to increase enby representation in film.” Its plural form is enbies or enbys.
Not all people who identify as nonbinary refer to themselves as enby, and some object to it as cute or childish. As with other such identity terms, labeling someone enby when you do not know their feelings on the word may be offensive.
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