Non-binary influencers share what they wish people understood about their experience

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. To mark International Day of Non-Binary People, we asked some non-binary influencers to share what they want people to know about the misconceptions and challenges that come with being non-binary, and the freedom it brings… Valeriə Avalle, 28, a blogger and Asics athlete from Italy “I’ve always known I was non-binary, ever since watching cartoons, I struggled to identify with female characters. Even if our gender identity is not known, it is still valid and must be respected.” Jade Forbes, 28, an artist from Bury St Edmunds “Non-binary isn’t a look or aesthetic, non-binary isn’t thin, white and androgynous. “When non-binary people are finally included in things, it feels like the only ones being chosen or paid fit very much into cisgender ideas of what non-binary looks like – which it can, but not all of us.”Emily Brinnand, 33, a mind-body development coach from Hove “Being non-binary is defining and expressing my own femininity, defining and expressing my own masculinity, and defining and expressing whatever is in between,” they explain. “I didn’t suddenly become someone different once I found out what gender fluidity was – I just found a word for what I was always feeling.