Abstract
Background: Nonbinary individuals can experience many challenges on the pathways through nonbinary identity development (NID). Most NID scholarship has focused on children, and few studies have specifically investigated how wellbeing factors into NID.
Aims: The aim of this nonbinary-led study was to explore NID in a group of nonbinary adults in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Methods: Prospective participants were recruited via an online expression of interest questionnaire. The first author, themselves nonbinary, conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 nonbinary adults, selected to maximize diversity in age, gender, and ethnicity.
Results: Reflexive thematic analysis resulted in three themes, which characterized NID as an ongoing conflict between improved individual wellbeing but poorer social wellbeing. Through realizing, considering, and exploring one's nonbinary identity, participants improved individual wellbeing and gender authenticity (Theme 1). NID involved learning about nonbinary identities and seeking nonbinary space in the binary world, which was often met with resistance from participants' communities (Theme 2). NID did not happen in identity isolation; there were interactions between participants' genders and intersecting experiences of oppression, as well as implications of community and relational structures (Theme 3).
Discussion: This study contributes to existing nonbinary-led NID scholarship and provides more detailed insights into NID and wellbeing from the perspective of nonbinary adults. Future research could build on these findings by more widely accounting for intersectionality and longitudinally exploring NID. Improved nonbinary visibility and allyship are needed to advance social wellbeing in NID.