These celebs and activists have been changing the game with their powerful work
BY IONE GILDROY, IMAGES BY DREAMSTIME
As we approach Non-Binary Awareness Week, here are 10 people who both serve up some really important non-binary visibility and inspire us with their work and activism.
Travis Alabanza
Travis is a performance artist, writer and theatre maker whose poems were first published in 2015 in the Black And Gay In The UK anthology. They regularly visit universities as a guest lecturer or panellist to discuss race, sexuality and gender. They are also the youngest person to be awarded a residency at The Tate, in 2017/18.
Travis has critiqued mainstream feminism for its roots in transphobia and racism. In 2022, Travis released their debut book, a semi autobiographical non-fiction book called None Of The Above: My Life Beyond The Binary. They have also created several installations and performance pieces.
Akwaeke Emezi
Akwaeke is a Nigerian fiction writer and video artist, who is best known for their novels Freshwater, Pet and The Death Of Vivek Oji, which is a New York Times bestselling novel. They have been featured as a Next Generation Leader by Time Magazine and a 5 Under 35 honouree by the National Book Foundation.
Akwaeke’s work often explores gender and trans themes, especially outside of Western ideas and binaries.
Jude Guaitamacchi
Jude is a trans, non-binary speaker and activist, and is also the founder of the global solidarity campaign #TransPeopleAreLoved, which aims to “make love the loudest voice.” They were also included in the Guardians 2024 Pride Powerlist.
Bella Ramsey
Bella is best known for their role as Lyanna Mormont in Game Of Thrones, as well as for their role as Ellie in the drama series The Last of Us, where they star opposite Pedro Pascal.
Bella was included on TIme’s 100 Next list in September 2023, with actor Emma D’Arcy praising them for their acting skills and activism.
Emma D’Arcy
Speaking of, actor Emma D’Arcy is also one of our favourite people working for non-binary visibility. Emma has been in series including House Of The Dragon and Truth Seekers, as well as films Misbehaviour and Mothering Sunday.
Emma was named a breakout entertainer of 2022 by British GQ, the number one breakout star of 2022 by IMDb and the fifth in Radio TImes’ top 100 most influential people in television. And if you’re not familiar with Emma from any of these things, you may be familiar with their voice from the viral “negroni sbagliato” clip, which is credited with causing the drink’s rise in demand.
Emma Corrin
Another one of our favourite actors, Emma Corrin, is probably best known for their portrayal of Princess Diana in Netflix’s The Crown, which they won a Golden Globe for. Emma has also starred in films My Policeman and Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and series A Murder At The End Of The World.
In 2022 Emma became Vogue magazine’s first non-binary cover star.
Janelle Monáe
Throughout their career, actor, singer and songwriter Janelle Monáe has been characterised by the way they’ve pushed the boundaries of gender, mainly through the way they dress. Janelle’s career has been wide-spreading, across rap and music, into acting, writing and sci-fi. Janelle has been nominated for 10 Grammys and has received a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Emmy Award.
Janelle came out as non-binary in 2022 on the talk show The Red Table Talk, saying: “I’m nonbinary, so I just don’t see myself as a woman, solely … I feel like god is so much bigger than the ‘he’ or the ‘she.’”
Liv Hewson
Australian actor and playwright Liv Hewson’s written work includes re-imaginings of fairytales with a queer slant. Liv is currently appearing on the series Yellowjackets and has also appeared in the Netflix series Santa Clarita Diet. In 2020 they received the Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award for their advocacy.
Bimini Bon-Boulash
Drag queen Bimini Bon-Boulash, was praised by viewers of the second series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, in which they were a finalist in, for their open conversation with fellow non-binary contestant Ginny Lemon, with many people saying the conversation had given them the confidence to discuss or be open with their gender identity with their close friends and family.
Bimini has featured on several radio shows and in adverts, as well as recording an EP, When the Party Ends. Bimini has also written a book, called Release The Beast: A Drag Queen’s Guide To Life.
Sam Smith
You’re probably very familiar with Sam Smith, whose first album was released in 2014. They also made the theme song for the 2015 James Bond film. Sam has won five Grammys, three Brits, three Billboard Music Awards, an American Music Award, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. Imagine winning that many awards!
Sam is the first openly non-binary musician to both release a song that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and to win a Grammy.
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