July 14 is International Non-Binary People’s Day! It’s basically my birthday. Just kidding. I’m obviously a Libra.

Non-Binary People’s Day came about to celebrate non-binary folks and their identities, while raising awareness of the challenges faced by the non-binary community. It’s a moment to reflect on the richness and diversity of our gender identities, as well as celebrate the wonderful non-binary people in our lives and LGBTQIA+ communities.

At Archer Magazine, we’re lucky to have many wonderful non-binary people who both write and work for the magazine. Today we wanted to give a shout-out to a few of the pieces we’ve published over the years by the non-binary writers in our Archer community.

The non-binary talent within the physical and digital pages of Archer Magazine could never be contained in a single list, but I’ve collated just a few pieces that celebrate non-binary identity, bust myths and explore the rich gender diversity within our community.

We have enough for 100 of these lists, which I just may spend the next year making.

Happy reading, and happy International Non-Binary People’s Day!

– Dani Leever, Deputy Online Editor.

Image: nito

Image: Alexandra Kacha

Alexandra Kacha’s images challenge heteronormativity through a non-binary gaze: an interview by Star Welis

Originally published in Archer Magazine issue #15, this photo series and interview explore the non-binary gaze; a very welcome antidote to the male gaze that is so painfully prevalent and ongoing in the media. Alexandra’s images are racy, kinky, body-positive and sex-positive, while radiating unfettered queer and trans joy. Their images, and the way they speak about their craft in this interview bring such hot joy to my non-binary heart.

“I feel like the non-binary gaze is so different. It is fluid and it understands. I hate seeing heteronormative male photographers inserting themselves into BDSM photos, it makes me cringe.” Read more…

Image: Misha Dutkova

Dance and gender: How dance helped me love my trans body by rudi lorimer

I loved working on this piece with rudi. It’s a tender reflection on gender, movement and essentially what it means to inhabit a body. rudi meditates linguistically on dance, learning to move in a way that feels euphoric and coming to love their trans body. It’s a tear-jerker!

“This body – that I hated, and that told the world I was someone I was not – was also my place of safety and security. The way I moved my body was the one thing I could control in a world that confused and bewildered me constantly.” Read more…

Latinx language: Between a gender and grammatical binary by Mariana Podesta-Diverio

Image: Kale Chesney + Georgia Smedley

This piece is from deep in the Archer archives, having appeared in issue #7: the THEY/THEM issue. It’s an engaging and poignant read exploring cultural identity, finding community, online spaces and the author’s relationship to Spanish language. 

“I’m lucky to live in a time where a cathartic session on YouTube or tumblr is a few clicks away, and I can learn about how other queer Latinx immerse themselves in different parts of their identity, drawing upon intersecting elements of their histories and selves.” Read more…

Drag and gender: Performing as a non-binary human by Dani Weber

Image: Anju Subba

This piece was also published in Archer Magazine issue #7: the THEY/THEM issue, from 2017,  written by Dani Weber, a.k.a Dani Boi, a.k.a our Archer Magazine event producer! Dani explores drag as a non-binary person, analysing the rigid gender binary that exists within some drag scenes. Poetically and powerfully, they express how drag can be a powerful tool to dismantle the gender binary.  

“To suggest there’s only two binary ways of doing drag is to suggest that western beauty standards, and cultural ways of acting like a man or woman, are the only forms of gender expression.” Read more…

Non-binary recognition: From haircuts to ghosts in the machine by Hannah Gillard

Image: Timo Wagner

In this piece, Hannah describes the way they move through the world, highlighting the amount of times that a non-binary person’s identity is questioned or dismissed. It’s a personal and poignant piece; equal parts engaging and informative. 

“From administrative systems, to bathrooms, to the barber’s chair, non-binary people deserve to be recognised for who we are.” Read more…

Dani Leever is a non-binary nonfiction writer, editor and DJ from Naarm. They’re Archer’s Online Editor – a role they truly think is the best role on planet Earth. They love The Veronicas, pinot grigio and playing Nintendo Switch in the bath.