I’m a non-binary mother – and I’m constantly misgendered

Throw the fact that I’m a mother into the mix and people basically consider it permission to see me as a woman (Picture: Rachel Meghan)

‘I’m non-binary’, I told a neighbour. We were at a barbecue and talking about queerness. I went on to explain that although my pronouns are they/she and ‘she’ is acceptable, I much prefer ‘they’.

‘That’s cool,’ my neighbour replied, adding, ‘My daughter is also non-binary.’ 

I felt accepted – but then, just seconds later, that same person yelled to their partner at the grill: ‘She said she wanted a hamburger!’

I didn’t say anything. After all, I knew I’d said ‘she’ was okay.

But I had also said I pr...