Apples, Oranges, and the Trans Umbrella: Understanding Transgender and Non-Binary Identities

What’s the difference between being transgender and being non-binary? It’s a common question, and the best way to explain it? Fruit metaphors. Stay with me.

Think of gender like apples and oranges.

All apples are apples—just like all cisgender people fall into one of two categories: cis men or cis women. It’s simple, straightforward, and easy to classify. But oranges? Oranges belong to a bigger category—citrus. And citrus is an umbrella term, just like transgender.

Under the trans umbrella, you’ve got trans men and trans women. But you also have people who are agender, genderfluid, and non-binary (which is where I fit in). Each identity has its own unique flavor, but we all fall under that larger trans umbrella.

This graphic below helps visualize it:

Cisgender: Aligned with assigned gender at birth
Transgender: An umbrella term that includes many gender identities
Non-Binary, Genderqueer, Agender, etc.: Exist within the trans spectrum but don’t fit into the traditional male/female categories
Intersex: Biological variations that don’t fit traditional definitions of male or female

At the end of the day, whether you’re an apple, an orange, or any other fruit in the basket, we all share one core identity: human. And that’s the most important label of all.