Sex, Love, and Identity: Exploring Non-Binary Experiences

Happy Pride Month!

For this week’s blog, we’re going to be focusing on the sexual and romantic experiences of non-binary people. Non-binary people often face unique experiences in their sexual and romantic lives that are not well captured in mainstream research. This blog takes a closer look at a recent article from the Journal of Sex Research, which explores the often-overlooked topic of non-binary people’s sexual and dating experiences.

What is “Non-Binary”

Non-binary is a gender identity used to describe individuals who feel that their gender does not fit neatly within society’s rigid binary framework of man or woman. Instead, non-binary people may identify with both genders, neither, or experience their gender as fluid, flexible, or outside the binary altogether.

We have relatively limited information about the experiences of non-binary people. Much of the existing literature focuses on cisgender individuals or combines all gender-diverse identities into a single category. This approach can be problematic, as the umbrella term “gender-diverse” encompasses a wide range of distinct identities (e.g., transgender, genderfluid, agender, and more). While some individuals may identify with multiple gender-diverse labels, this is not always the case. For instance, someone might identify as non-binary but not consider themselves transgender, and some transgender people do identify with the gender binary.

Sex Beyond the Binary

The study by Mastrantonio and colleagues (2025) examined the sexual and romantic experiences of non-binary individuals and compared them to those of cisgender participants. Their sample consisted of 822 participants: 129 binary transgender individuals (i.e., transgender people who identified with the gender binary), 231 cisgender individuals, and 462 non-binary individuals. People often assume that all non-binary people are transgender, but about about 20% of the non-binary participants in this sample did not identify as transgender, highlighting the importance of distinguishing between different gender-diverse identities. Some of the non-binary participants identified with other gender labels as well, including genderqueer and gender-less.

Sexual Orientation

The most common sexual orientations for non-binary participants were queer (30%) followed by pansexual (18%), bisexual (16%), and asexual (15%). However, some also reported other orientations like “polysexual” and “graysexual.” In general, the prevalence of non-heterosexual identities was much higher than what has been observed in studies that focus on predominantly cis samples, where less than 10% of the population typically identifies as LGBTQ.

More than half of non-binary participants also reported experiencing sexual fluidity.

Sex and Relationships

Overall, being in a relationship (either monogamous or non-monogamous) was associated with greater sexual satisfaction across all gender identities. Among non-binary participants specifically, those who had engaged in some form of social or medical transition reported higher sexual satisfaction and better overall sexual well-being. These findings underscore the significant role of gender-affirming care in supporting the sexual health and quality of life of non-binary individuals. However, non-binary participants reported lower overall sexual satisfaction and sexual well-being compared to their cisgender counterparts. The authors suggest this disparity may be linked to minority stress and the greater number of barriers non-binary individuals often face in accessing affirming relationships, healthcare, and social support.

Neurodivergence

Interestingly, approximately 60% of the non-binary participants in Mastrantonio’s sample also identified as autistic. Autism was associated with improved relationship and sexual outcomes within this group. The authors suggested this may be due to autistic individuals’ capacity to form meaningful connections within supportive communities and/or to find affirming partners with whom they can express their sexuality authentically.

Takeaways

Non-binary people have different sexual and relationship experiences than cisgender individuals, shaped by both unique challenges and strengths. While they tend to report lower sexual satisfaction compared to their cisgender peers, access to gender-affirming care and supportive communities may help improve their sexual well-being. The findings also highlight the importance of recognizing diverse intersections within non-binary identities (like autism), which may contribute to more authentic and fulfilling relationships.

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References:

Mastrantonio, F., Griffiths, D. A., Kovshoff, H., & Armstrong, H. L. (2025). Sex beyond the binary: An exploratory analysis of non-binary sexuality and partnerships. The Journal of Sex Research, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2025.2507151

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