**non-binary people do not owe cis people a certain look.** - to demand a certain look of non-binary people defeats the purpose of existing _outside_ of the binary. we cannot risk reducing it to a "third gender" and ignoring the complexity of the non-binary identity. - the cishet perception of gender and obsession with maintaining gender roles causes the belief that there is a male/female way to dress. in reality, anyone can dress in an androgynous style or wear clothing which is typically gendered and not have it reflect their identity. - some claim they believe non-binary people should make their appearance ambiguous to avoid being misgendered. however, the issue is not innocent mistakes and assumptions we are all conditioned to make. the problem is actually being disrespectful even once you are corrected. they should be able to dress how they like without worrying about the perception of others since those who care will be open to understanding and being respectful. - you can actively choose not to misgender anyone by not assuming their appearance correlates to their identity in the first place. referring to people as they/them until specified otherwise saves everyone the trouble. this way, people can dress to fit the binary or in an entirely androgynous way and not fear being wrongly perceived. - this [medium article](https://medium.com/@transphilosophr/nonbinary-folks-dont-owe-you-anything-4c93decbd49d) says it best when they state that 'nonbinary folks don’t owe you justifications for their validity.' they don't have to explain that they are valid no matter how they dress. - non-binary people are from all walks of life and have different styles. they are not defined by one style, that is rather the point. they are entitled to dress how they like and have different relationships to gender. presentation and pronouns are not equal to gender.

[Non-binary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-binary_gender) is an umbrella term that refers to any gender identity that isn’t male or female. Whereas [androgynous](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Androgyny) is an outward appearance of indeterminate gender or how someone expresses themselves. While some non-binary people may express themselves androgynously, this is a personal choice and not a requirement of the non-binary gender identity.