Over several months, we spoke with five of these comedians about the joys and frustrations of explaining their gender onstage and the entertainment industry’s newfound interest in nonbinary performers. All this coincides with a greater awareness of gender diversity in the culture at large. In 2019, Merriam-Webster’s word of the year was the singular pronoun “they,” and both the singer Sam Smith and Jonathan Van Ness of “Queer Eye” came out as nonbinary. The Supreme Court recently ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects gay and transgender workers from workplace discrimination. And on the state and federal level there are proposals that would allow a third gender option on passports and drivers’ licenses.

Source: New York Times June 25, 2020 18:45 UTC