A young Australian has used a gender reveal party to come out as genderqueer and non-binary.
Sydney resident Hank Paul wore a yellow dress, matching shoes and outsized sparkly glasses to mark the occasion at their house on May 5.
The excited 27-year-old, who asked to be referred by the honorific Mx, told Daily Mail Australia it was the first time they had worn a dress in public.
Mx Paul filmed the special occasion shared with friends and family with the event comprising of heartwarming speeches and cake cutting.
‘That was the whole point of it, to just share this part of my journey with the most important people in my life,’ Mx Paul said.
Gender reveal parties are traditionally held by parents expecting a baby but the tradition has previously been used by some members of the LGBTQI community to announce their gender identity.
Non-binary is when a person does not identify exclusively as a man or woman while genderqueer refers to someone who does not follow binary gender norms.
Hank Paul (pictured) has used a gender reveal party – something more usually used to reveal an unborn baby’s sex – to come out as genderqueer and non-binary
Mx Paul asked guests to wear whatever made them ‘feel gender euphoria’.
They revealed they bought their dress at an opp shop and completed their look with a pearl necklace and earrings.
‘I love shopping at opp shops because most of the clothes are not segregated by specific gender,’ they said.
‘They’re all just thrown on a rack and you search through it.
‘I went shopping for several weeks looking for the right thing. And so I found it and, and that’s the one I wore.’
Mx Paul gave a speech at the party and first thanked everyone for coming before doing the gender reveal.
‘Ten years ago, I shamefully came out as gay for the first time. Today, I stand in a room full of people who love me,’ they said.
Mx Paul explained they were ‘raised in a very conservative community’.
‘And so there was not a lot of representation in my life at that point about what it meant to be queer and to thrive,’ they said.
‘So at that time, I thought that this was something to be ashamed of.’
Mx Paul explained it had taken 10 years for them to make the announcement they were genderqueer.
The video shows family and friends erupting into applause and cheers as Mx Paul stood smiling in the centre of the room.
The partygoers then raised a glass to toast the reveal.
Mx Paul thanked their ‘beautiful cousin for coming even though it was her birthday’ and hugged their housemate, saying the whole evening was ‘really special’.
They then told the guests there was a sheet of paper on the wall where everyone was invited to write about what gender means to them.
Mx Paul (pictured) is a photographer and predominantly works ‘with the LGBTQ+ community
Wearing a yellow dress and matching yellow shoes, Hank Paul (pictured) was surrounded by friends and family as they came out
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One wrote their gender is ‘seasonal… but always cute as hell’, while another said it meant ‘having a seat at the table.’
A third said their gender made them feel ‘complex yet fabulous’.
‘Something I haven’t put much thought into’, another wrote.
Another person wrote: ‘If it makes you feel good and doesn’t hurt anyone, then go for it!’
Mx Paul had a very simple explanation for what gender means to them: ‘Liberation.’
They said they did not know of anyone who had previously held a gender reveal party to announce they were non-binary.
‘But I have definitely heard of people, particularly trans people who, when they’ve had their birth certificate changed, they’ve had parties to celebrate that,’ Mx Paul said.
They said they ‘wanted to be able to rewrite the narrative of what it means to celebrate gender.
‘And I think that when we celebrate the gender of someone who isn’t born yet, we’ve made a lot of assumptions about them.
Mx Paul told the guests there was a sheet of paper on the wall where they were invited to write about what gender means to them (pictured)
‘As an adult, I got to choose based on how I feel, what makes me feel most authentic.’
Mx Paul said their parents have been ‘incredibly supportive’.
‘They live in Canberra and I made a special trip to visit them before I had this party,’ they said.
‘I sat down and just told them the news and they asked some questions but they were very open and loving.’
Mx Paul is a photographer and predominantly works ‘with the LGBTQ+ community and its allies.
‘I’ve been a photographer since high school and in that space I have found that lots of businesses want support in how they can connect with LGBTQ+ plus people,’ they said.
‘So I’ve actually pivoted my business to be around teaching business owners how they can authentically connect with the community.’
G Flip holds gender reveal party
The biggest gender reveal party in Australia was when singer Georgia Flipo, known professionally as G Flip, came out as non-binary two years ago.
The hitmaker then celebrated International Non-Binary People’s Day with a gender reveal party for themselves in July 2021.
However, instead of the usual pink or blue reveal, the 26-year-old popped a balloon that was filled with multi-coloured confetti to reflect their non-binary gender.
In an Instagram post at the time, G Flip said they no longer go by the pronouns ‘she/her’ and will now be addressed as ‘they/them’ instead.
‘I’m still the exact same person, non-binary is just the best way to explain who I am and how I’ve always felt, like a gender smoothie…. also go Pies,’ they said.
The singer is best known for the hits Killing My Time and Drink Too Much, both of which went platinum in Australia, and they won Breakthrough Independent Artist of the Year at the 2019 ARIA Awards.
Australian singer Georgia Flipo, known professionally as G Flip (pictured), came out as non-binary two years ago
