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Gender Identities

Defining Gender

Gender (n): a personal identity describing a person's relationship to their biological sex and the concepts of masculinity or femininity, which is determined by brain activity, personal lived experience within a culture, and subjective experience of internal being.

When attempting to define any sort of categorization, it is important to have a solid understanding of the working definitions used in the categorization process. The concept of a working definition is taken directly from the scientific method, with the idea that nothing can be properly studied or understood if it cannot be defined in a concrete, measurable way. Therefore, I (the author) will be attempting to create a working definition of gender using scientific understandings, cultural understandings, and personal/anecdotal understandings of gender, in order to have a definition that can be understood by all readers.

First, it is important to note that the concepts of sex and gender are separate and develop separately in the brain. I will be defining gender, which is present and observable in the brain and genetics but cannot be observed in the human body outside of gender expression. Sex, determined in utero by genetic structures and a complicated series of hormonal activities, is observable in the genitalia/primary sex characteristics, secondary sex characteristics, hormonal levels, gonads, chromosomes, and other physical and biological determining factors at birth. Read more about sex and gender here. Read about the science of trans brains here.

In my understanding and experience, gender is determined and expressed by three factors: biology, culture, and subjective experience. Biology determines brain activity and is developed in utero, and is explained in more detail on the Science of Gender resources page. Childhood socialization into a culture creates our personal understanding of gender roles, gender expression, and masculine and feminine traits. Culture is created by individual groups; therefore, since I am a white American, I will be working from a white American perspective for the exploration in this article. Finally, the subjective experience of each individual in the way they react to their sex, their culture, established gender roles, and their biology creates a uniquely designed gender experience that can only be defined by the individual themselves. The subjective nature of gender therefore means that no definition I create will encompass 100% of experiences.

Such is the nature of life.

Transgender

Transgender people identify as a gender other than their assigned birth gender. This generally refers to binary genders, like someone born male who identifies as a woman, or transitions from being male to female. However, using the broader definition, any person who identifies as anything other than cisgender could be considered transgender or non-binary. A person does not need to medically transition between genders or have surgery in order to be transgender.

Common terms you will see in association with trans people are AFAB(assigned female at birth) and AMAB (assigned male at birth), which refers to the gender written on a person's birth certificate when born. Trans people are referred to as trans women and trans men, meaning the person's gender identity has transitioned from one to the other. Some trans people also prefer to use terms like transmasculine or transfeminine.

Trans people usually experience gender dysphoria, which is a disconnect or discomfort with parts of their body or cultural identity associated with their assigned-at-birth gender. This can include (but not limited to) discomfort with their name, pronouns, chest and genital area, or pitch of voice. Dysphoria varies in severity, but can cause a host of other mental health problems like anxiety or depression. Part of alleviating dysphoria can include (but is not limited to) changing their name and pronouns, dressing a certain way, changing their hair style, wearing clothes that alter the body's apparent shape, having surgery, and/or taking HRT (hormone replacement therapy). Trans people usually use the pronouns associated with their transitioned gender - for example trans women will use she/her pronouns - but always ask the person their pronouns before making assumptions.

Non-binary

Non-binary is a gender existing outside the binary male-female. There are many different definitions and expressions of this gender, as well as a host of microlabels and subsets. In general, any person identifying as anything other than male or female could be considered non-binary, or under the non-binary or transgender umbrella.

Some non-binary people have gender dysphoria, others do not. Many non-binary people choose to express their gender androgynously (as a blend or as neither male or female); others lean more masculine or feminine, or may take a more unconventional approach to gender expression. There is no correct way to express your gender.

Non-binary people often use they/them pronouns, but others may use multiple sets of pronouns like he/they (meaning, using he/him and they/them pronouns) or she/they, or neopronouns like xe/xem/xir or e/em/eir. Always ask a person their pronouns before making assumptions.

Intersex CW: references genitalia

While not specifically a gender identity, intersex people are often included as a part of the LGBTQ+ identity spectrum due to their biological divergence from the sex binary. Intersex people are individuals who's biological and chemical sex characteristics do not match those of a typical male or female, and often include blends of the two. This can include having atypical sex chromosomes (XXY, XXX, etc), insensitivity to certain hormones (like androgen insensitivity syndrome), or having atypical internal or external genitalia (having internal testes and a vagina, or having a penis but also having ovaries, etc).

See interACT for more information on intersexuality.

Agender

As opposed to being non-binary, agender people have no gender at all, or have a distinct lack of a gender. However, some agender people could consider themselves non-binary as well.

Androgyne

Androgyne - from the word 'andro' meaning male and 'gyne' meaning female - is a blend of male and female identities. Androgyne people are male and female at the same time, as opposed to being genderfluid which fluctuate between genders.

Neutrois

Neutrois is similar to agender, but is instead an existing, entirely neutral gender. Agender people have no gender, while neutrois people have a completely neutral gender. Some neutrois people still choose to use the term agender.

Gender Apathy / Apagender

Similar and often interchanged with agender, gender apathy is a complete indifference towards one's own gender. Apathetic people often go by any pronouns, and their experiences with gender dysphoria and expression can vary wildly between individuals. They tend not to experience gender and may also consider themselves as agender or nonbinary.

Two Spirit

Two Spirit is an umbrella term used by Native American people, intended to reflect both Native and Western understandings of gender and sexuality. It usually refers to people that have both masculine and feminine qualities, or with sexualities other than heterosexual. Since each of the different Native cultures have their own understandings of gender and gender roles, Two Spirit is used to encompass them all.

This term's use is exclusive to Native peoples. More information on its history and usage is explained here.

Polygender

Some people have multiple genders at once, or fluctuate between many genders. As a standalone identity, polygender is the connection to multiple genders, but not all genders. There are several subsets and microlabels of polygender. The most well known are androgyne and demigender, but there are others like bigender and pangender, which can be or are loosely tied to other gender identities.

Bigender

Bigender people have or fluctuating between two distinct genders. A common varient of this is demigender, which is the partial connection to one gender, and another gender.

Trigender

Having or fluctuating between three distinct genders

Pangender

Having or feeling connected to all genders

Demigenders

Demigenders are the partial connection to a certain gender, or the feeling of a connection to a third gender than cannot be described. Examples of demigenders are demigirl, demiboy, and deminon-binary.

Demigender is a type of bigender identity, since it is a partial connection to two genders. Demigender people may identify as non-binary, and may use multiple sets of pronouns like she/they or he/they.

Demigirl

Partially identifies as female; may use she/they pronouns

Demiboy

Partially identifies as male; may use he/they pronouns

Demiandrogyne

Has a partial connection to a blend of male and female, as well as a third gender

Genderfluid

Genderfluid people fluctuate between multiple genders, rather than being a single, static gender. For example, a genderfluid person could shift between male and female, or female and nonbinary, or multiple genders like nonbinary, androgyne, female, and demigirl. Demigender or other polygender people can be genderfluid as apart of their gender.

Genderflux

Similar to genderfluid people, genderflux people have fluctuating genders, but rather than switching between different, separate genders, they shift in intensity. For examle, a maleflux person could feel very strongly masculine, then partially masculine, and then completely androgyne or agender. Some demigender people are also genderflux.

Genderqueer

Genderqueer is neither, both, or another combination of male and female, and is a subset of non-binary. Genderqueer people might use this term to describe themselves if they feel the term 'non-binary' doesn't accurately describe their gender, or if they aren't sure of their gender but know they are not cisgender.

Xenogender

Xenogender is an umbrella term including many, many gender identities that cannot be understood or explained using human terms. Xenogender people find their gender identity in concepts like animals, plants, ideas, aesthetics, natural phenomena, or cosmic bodies and phenomena. These identities are most often created and used by neurodivergent people, due to the different and interesting way they see the world and view themselves.

I find it incredibly difficult to put these identities to words in an objective, understandable way, so perhaps a subjective, emotional explanation will make more sense:

Maybe you feel masculine the way a canyon is masculine, or the way the sun is masculine, or the way the deep evergreen woods are masculine. Maybe you feel feminine the way the moon is feminine, and the way a field of wildflowers is feminine, and the way long skirts and bonnets and soft flowing hair is feminine. Perhaps you find your identity in the emotions that you feel while standing on the beach on a stormy day, or while standing in a blizzard, or while gazing at the stars on a clear night. You might resonate so deeply with cats, or light, or the void, that you feel it is an intricate part of you and your identity, and nothing else can describe your living experience the way that those concepts can. This is absolutely an extension of gender identity, and you can learn more about why this is the case here.

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